Thanks for reviewing, NightWing101, BiShiE-HuNtEr2804, and TeamComrade11! No they did not "do it" in the last chapter. Sorry if that was implied... the year is 1928, after all. However, I'm not totally discounting the possiblility that they might... later...

Here's another upload, because you're so awesome. Mind the typos; this is hot off the press. It all comes down in this chapter. Enjoy.

-Scarlet

Chapter 24: Stolen Kiss

February 31st 1928, sunrise

Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness, Washington

It was the end of the month by the time I caught my breath. Nothing much had changed since Jasper returned; I only saw a small difference in him. The change was not only his choice of sustenance, but his countenance as well. It was as though he'd left to decide something very important (feeding from animals, perhaps) and he returned to fulfill his commitment. The only thing that bothered me was his lack of enthusiasm... he didn't want to live as I did.

One particular day, I was teaching him how to detect different scents in the forest. He was ill out of tracking practice, and I felt his irritation of his lack of skill. I only laughed, and told him that everyone must begin from the bottom.

The area being so plentiful with wildlife, it wasn't long until an elk stumbled across us all of its own. I crouched in the ferns several yards away and watched its neck gracefully dip into the tall spring grass. The dew from the bushes soaked into the hem of my skirt and dotted my face when I brushed against it. I glanced at Jasper; he looked as though I'd handed him a rotten egg.

"Be quiet and quick...," I whispered. "He won't see you coming."

He wrinkled his nose and swallowed. "I don't want to do this."

"Jasper," I hissed. "You hunted cougar just last week."

"Yes," he agreed lowly, "I did. But that was... cleaner."

I bit my lip. Every time Jasper hesitated, I worried for the promise he made me. Does he really want this? Or is he just playing along... "There's no such thing as dirty or clean prey, Jasper."

He sighed, and half-stood from his crouch. He looked down at me, and then back at the elk with a determination on his face. He shot forward, taking the elk by surprise, and sunk his teeth into its shoulder. I winced as the animal cried out and writhed from the pain. I ran to the scene, and placed one hand under the creatures chin and one on the back of its neck. In one smooth motion, the animal was put out of its pain. It wasn't long after that Jasper finished and, with a blood-stained shirt, he stopped and stared at me.

"Why did you do that?"

I blinked. Isn't it rather obvious? "Why? To put it out of its misery, of course." I crossed my arms, offended. "Have you ever been bitten in the shoulder before? It isn't pleasant..."

"Why yes, I have...," he drawled, pulled at the soiled material of his shirt. "But I've never been an elk before." He looked up under his lashes and chuckled, and I fought against the utter ease that crept in on me.

"You're helpless..." I turned away and blinked rapidly. It broke my heart that he took my convictions so lightly.

"However..." He lightly spun me around by the shoulders, and his eyes were apologetic when I met them. "The fact that the elk felt nothing as I took its life was a miracle."

The term "felt" threw me for a moment, until a realized he spoke of mental pain rather than physical. Whereas I was worried about the elk experiencing pain, in reality, it felt nothing at all. Jasper had once confided in me the terrible emotions one experiences when losing their life. He hadn't told me much more, because I'd implored him not to. The thought of human loss alone turned my stomach.

I smiled. "Jasper... this is a wonderful gift."

He laughed again, as though it were of no value; but his voice held feeling, "You can't possibly know... how it feels – the peace." His eyes shone with relief. "It's more than anything...," he trailed off, and simply smiled down at me.

I took his hand in mine, even though it was damp with blood, and twined our fingers together. "You will never be the same, Jasper. Once you've experienced this" – I rose our hands between us – "you cannot return to the old way." I desperately hoped that my words reached him.

We stared at each other for a long moment, and I suddenly realized the rather intimate atmosphere I'd created. I felt my stomach twist into knots, and my hand loosened around his. He held fast, however, and stepped even closer. A burst of nerves made my heart skip a beat. "Cora... might I ask you something?"

My breaths came closer together; it felt like the oxygen had evaporated from the atmosphere. Words failed me, so my head bobbed up and down.

"That night on the roof... what were you thinking?"

Anything but that –! "You know what I was feeling, Jasper." My voice wavered, so I tried to put some effort into it. "That's all you require."

His fingers tightened around mine for a second, and he closed his eyes as if catching himself from anger. "No." His voice was almost desperate. "It's not enough..."

I was becoming indignant, but his closeness had made me edgy. "Then you must accept that, Jasper."

"I only ask," he continued, "because you confuse me so very much, Cora. Your actions, your feelings – they don't make sense to me. This, for instance..."

He rose his hand, and brushed his fingertips across my cheek. I shivered at the gesture, so foreign to me, and tried to step away. His other hand held me there.

"...It seems to disturb you, but your emotions suggest otherwise."

I met his eyes, questioning and curious as they gazed down at me. He dropped his hand from my face, and waited for me to respond. I was stricken speechless... He was digging in an area of my life that I usually kept locked away. That I shoved into a corner and refused to remember. He was asking about Carlisle. "Jasper... I don't –" my voice stuck in my throat.

He released my hand and stepped away. "You don't have to answer. I know how much the past hurts sometimes." His eyes drifted to the ground, but I noticed how they hesitated on the bare skin of my forearm.

It wasn't often that I wore short-sleeved clothes; I usually hid the scars that haunted me. Raising my arm, I looked at the two marks the inside of my arm, on the soft skin there; how they overlapped into a twisted oval. I didn't bother hiding the sadness that rose up within me. I'd received the first over a hundred years before, when I tarried with Lakota's tribe. The other was newer – more ghastly because of it – and had been obtained within the decade.

I rose my arm for him to see, and pointed with my other hand. "This one looks very much like yours, Jasper. The one on your neck."

Reflexively, his hand clasped the right side of his neck, where two gruesome scars met. Anguish, like my own, filled his eyes. I felt guilty... he had enough sorrow of his own, let alone experiencing mine on top of it. "I'm sorry," I croaked as I let my arm fall to my side, feeling my throat constrict. "You don't deserve –"

And then his lips were on mine. His hands held my arms firmly to my sides and his body pressed against into me. I became as stone, unmoving under his ministrations. Then, as his scent consumed me and our feelings became as one, my inhibitions vanished. My body fought against my mind, knowing better... but soon my arms came around his neck, and my toes pushed against the ground to press my lips closer to his. I felt the coolness of his tongue slide past my lips and my head spin with his flavor. I sighed as I tasted him, and pulled myself closer to his body. His hand caress the back of my neck, where the scars from James lay, and he whispered my name as our lips parted slightly.

I opened my eyes when I found that they'd drifted shut. He gazed down at me; I was still in his arms and he in mine. I smiled softly in a haze of affection, until I drifted back to earth. His hooded eyes became worried as my body stiffened.

I pulled away from him and turned my head. "We shouldn't have done that," I stated. I'd meant to say "you shouldn't have," but my mind was clouded. Granted, I couldn't possibly deny the connection between us... but etiquette must be observed.

"I disagree," he said, if not a little smug. "You consent – don't deny."

I gaped, extremely affronted. "H-How dare you say that! What you did was out of line, Mister Whitlock. Absolutely inappropriate." I turned up my nose, refusing to meet his eyes.

"I thought the evasiveness was behind us, Cora." He sidestepped and caught my eye. I glared at him. "You know how I feel about you..."

"Do I?" I thundered. "You lead me to believe that all you sought from me was refuge; a new life. I don't know how you feel about me! I'm not the empath!" My face flushed from anger and my hands shook at my sides.

He smiled, as though my frustration was only an entertainment. "Do you know now?" he quipped.

I gasped, and reached out to smack his arm. He was quicker, and my hand only harmed the air. "That is not the way to approach a lady about how you feel, Jasper! You tell her gently, with respect" – I glared harder when he laughed – "not by violating her!"

Shock crossed his face. "'Violating her'?" he repeated. "I did nothing of the sort!"

"Yes, you –" Before I could finish, he leaned forward and swiftly pecked my lips. The action dazed me, but for only a moment. I sealed my lips into a line, and ground my teeth together. "How... dare you."

He caught the wrist when I raised my hand to strike his face. "I feel for you, Cora," he declared, as though continuing a conversation. "Perhaps since the very first – I'm uncertain. In those weeks I tried to leave you, your face stayed there in my head until my heart ached at its absence. I changed my ways, which you had found deplorable, and returned here to offer myself to you. I beg you to accept me, and perhaps return a small amount of the adoration I hold for you. Now... was that an appropriate approach, my darlin'?"

Throughout the entire speech, I wrenched and twisted my hand in an attempt to escape him. I felt an acute excitement at his words, and the feeling made my rage crumble. However, I didn't allow myself to realized just what they meant. I carefully picked up the pieces of my anger until I could yell at him again. "Why, you assuming, cowardly, infuriating, boorish –"

"Beautiful, fascinating, charming, adorable enchantress... You've stolen my heart." By the humor in his voice, one would think he was joking. He kissed the palm of my hand that he held and the sensation rippled through me. "What shall you do with it now?"

"Jasper, I... I -" A sudden terror filled me when I heard some familiar, swift footsteps. Jasper heard it too, but he didn't seem as troubled. "Oh, no... Jasper, you mustn't tell him -"

"Why not?" he interrupted.

Edward's prying in my thoughts by now. "He won't approve, Jasper - !"

"But you approve, Cora." The pride in his voice was all-encompassing. "What should it matter what he thinks?"

"Because - !" I shouldn't love you! I clapped a hand over my mouth as though I'd said the words aloud. As Edward's steps slowed and he came into view, I knew that all bets were off.

He eyed me speculatively as he joined us. Jasper stood close to me - too close - but I did nothing to right the situation. It was beyond repair. Is there nothing that I can hide from you?

"No... I'll find out eventually." A slow smile spread on his face. He reached out a hand to Jasper, and for a moment I thought he would use it to hurt him. But no... they shook hands, both smiling. "Congratulations," Edward said. "I don't regret supporting you."

Suddenly, with those words, all the past months events clicked in my mind. Edward allowing him to stay, Jasper leaving... then returning with a changed heart. Jasper had been keen on me from the very beginning, and Edward saw this. I tried to form a rational explanation, but nothing came to mind.

"Sometimes emotions aren't rational, Cornelia. Nor the things we do for them." By the way he regarded Jasper's diet, he believed the sentiment fully.

I looked at Jasper then, and he smiled. It was a moment before I realized my own smile, too. He stepped forward, and I naturally fit into the circle of his arms. We were alone again; Edward had left us to ourselves. "None of this makes sense..." I sighed and held his waist tightly.

"It doesn't have to, darlin'...," he murmured against forehead, then kissed it softly. "I only hope you'll agree to have me."

An exquisite warmth filled me; an affection. "Of course I will... I just need time, Jasper." My eyes closed with peace.

We stayed that way for a long amount of time, discovering the new feelings that had crept up from behind. I was mostly certain that the emotions I felt were my own, but only time would tell if they were true. I didn't believe in "love at first sight" at the time, but I didn't discount the theory entirely.

I thought of the future, there in Jasper's arms, and it didn't seem quite as daunting as before.

Did you like the kissing scene? Was the end too fluffy? Just to warn you, there's going to be a major time-warp in the next chapter. I'll leave your imagination to fill in the missing moments from Jasper and Cornelia's relationship. Hehehe.

Next time: "Twelve Days of Christmas."

-Scarlet