Yes, I'm still alive. Sorry it's taken me so long to update - I had a little bout of writer's block. But I hope it was worth the wait. To refresh your memory, Bella has just snuck out of Charlie's house. They were getting sick of Charlie constantly chaperoning them to guard Bella against any more pregnancy scares. Let's see what they're up to...

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed. I'm sorry I haven't gotten back to all of you - I do try to answer each and every review, but I am WAY behind. But I thank you and I appreciate it - and to all of you who have followed my story and me and favorited my story and me - I love you all!

And big news for me - I GOT A ROYALTY CHECK TODAY FOR WORDS THAT I ACTUALLY WROTE! SO I'M A PUBLISHED, PROFESSIONAL WRITER AND YOU ARE ALL HERE TO SHARE THE AMAZING NEWS WITH ME! Hurray!

Remember, anything you recognize isn't mine.

CHAPTER 26

We drove to the reservation and directly to Jacob's house. "Isn't Billy home?" I asked.

"He's home. I have something else planned," he said, grinning as he pulled around toward the shed.

There was no way I was going to do anything in the shed. He had to know that! I mean, I was desperate and everything, but I wasn't exactly hard-up.

But sure enough, he got out of the car and opened the door of the shed. There was a warm glow coming from inside…so I thought I'd at least give it a look. He stood in front of the shed, grandly sweeping his arm in a gesture of welcome. I walked ahead of him in to the shed.

Or was it the shed? I turned back to look at him, just to be sure I was in the right place. He had an irresistible expression of anticipation, his eyes alight and his grin all but bursting off his face. "Well?" he said, raising his eyebrows in question.

It sure didn't look like the shed I knew, the one in which we'd spent the bulk of the spring repairing the bikes and talking over life in general. There was a threadbare carpet on the floor and arranged on it was a faded but clean futon with furry looking fleece blankets across the back. Two huge pillows dominated one end. In front of the futon there was a makeshift coffee table fashioned out of a large wooden crate and what looked like a large, paned window as the top. The individual squares of the window panes held two lit, scented candles, a bowl of dipping chocolate, and two plates of fruit. Fat red strawberries and chunks of pineapple mingled with slices of pear and apple. He'd made the shed into a love nest.

"Jake," I said reverently. "When did you have time to do this?"

He shrugged, his hands jammed into his pockets as he joined me at the edge of the rug. "Whaddya think I've been doing since I left you at Charlie's?"

"You did this all tonight?" I asked in disbelief.

"Well, the pack helped. Paul and Jared mostly. And Rach did the more romantic stuff. But yeah, we did it all tonight."

"Jake, it's…it's incredible," I said, still unable to believe what I was seeing. It was perfect.

"Well, come on, let's not let it go to waste!" He grabbed my hand and pulled me to the futon, where he sat me down first. He sat next to me, and then wrapped me in his arms. "God, you feel so good, baby," he sighed into my neck.

It seemed like it had been forever since we'd been able to do this; to hold each other without a glare or an insistent throat-clearing, to relax against one another without fear of being told to "Cool it!", Charlie's favorite expression lately. I just wanted to hold him, to feel his heat and his strength, so inhale the scent of him, to luxuriate in the maleness that was Jake. We sat like that, wrapped up in each other, for an interval of time that I couldn't even begin to put a number on.

Jake's hand roamed across my back, the pressure increasing with every stroke. I inhaled his smoky, maple-y aroma, nuzzling into the hollow at the base of his throat. His skin was warm and smooth, and without even thinking about it, I licked his neck, taking in his amazing taste.

Jake immediately pulled me up to his face and planted his mouth on mine. The kiss was deep and soulful, our lips warm and hungry. His mouth molded to mine, yielding and soft but in charge, ever the Alpha. I was truly putty in his hands.

He slowly lifted my sweater, removing my clothes with unhurried deliberation. We had all night, and I intended to enjoy every minute. As his hand swept along my belly in its path to remove my top, he pulled back slightly from the kiss and his tongue flicked over the center of my upper lip. It almost tickled, but it felt so amazing that I returned the favor. The tips of our tongues touched and danced together outside our mouths.

After a few seconds of this, he started to laugh. "Kind of weird, huh?" he said with a smile.

"No, I liked it," I told him, pulling his face back to mine. "But I'd rather kiss for real. Especially since it's been so long…" I pulled him close again, wanting to feel his lips on mine.

He took the bait and kissed me soft and full and slow, his hand continuing to undress me. He lifted my sweater over my head and tossed it on the back of the futon, then smoothed his warm hand down my back, stopping at my bra strap. With a quick flick of his fingers, he popped it open and slid it down my arms, putting it with the sweater. That didn't take long; I was already naked from the waist up. Before I could even blink, his shirt was off too. He pulled me close, the feeling of skin on skin making me nearly frantic for more. My hands roamed over his broad, strong back as I snuggled into his shoulder.

"Slow down, baby. We've got all night." His palm came up to cup my face, his thumb smoothing across my bottom lip. "Let's take our time."

"Don't make me wait, Jake," I begged, panting. "It's not fair! It's been so long."

He didn't answer. "Come on, let's relax, huh?" he said, lying me back on the futon and positioning himself over me. I moved my legs apart to give him room, resting my head on one of the pillows on the futon. Jake's hand reached behind me to cradle my head, lifting my face up so he could kiss me some more. "There, that's better, isn't it?"

I didn't answer, because my arms were wrapped securely around his neck and my mouth was on his.

His lips dipped to my chest. His hand gripped my breast while his tongue played over my erect nipple, eliciting a sigh of pleasure from me. It seemed like it had been forever since we'd had a minute of intimacy, and he was right. We should slow down and enjoy. But I was dying to feel him – to feel his hands on me, to feel his body under my hands, to feel him inside me. I touched his back, kneading the powerful muscles there, pulling him close. As his warm breath flowed across my breasts, I put my hand on the back of his head, pulling his hair into my fist and pressing him closer, ever closer.

He showed a little less restraint now, now that I was revealing my aggression. His teeth bit down softly, just a little nibble, on the tip of my breast. I arched into him, giving him more, wanting more myself. He let out a satisfied growl and in response, I thrust my hips urgently into his thigh.

He made an unintelligible grunt and said, "Honey, you're not making the taking-it-slow thing easy."

"I so don't want to take it slow, Jacob," I moaned in response. "I'm losing it here."

"Ugggghh," he rumbled, frustrated. "God, babe!" He turned his head away, his eyes narrowing. Then he stretched up and kissed my chin. "Okay, you asked for it."

His hand went to the waist of my jeans and unzipped them, fumbling at the button after the zipper was down. Then he tugged at the denim covering my outer thighs and pulled my jeans down, taking my panties with them. He knelt up and started to remove his sweat pants, grunting, "Take your pants all the way off, babe."

In a second, all I had on was my socks, and he was wearing absolutely nothing. And if anyone had a body that was worth looking at naked, it was Jake. I could write poetry about those abs. As he stood beside the futon, kicking his sweats under it, his hips were positioned right in front of me and I just couldn't resist. It had been so long and all I wanted to do was taste him. I reached out with both hands and pulled him toward me, planting a kiss right on the tip of his rock hard erection.

He looked down at me, taken by surprise as I extended my tongue over the swollen head, licking it slowly as I looked up at his face. His expression was irresistible, a combination of overwhelming sexual arousal and devastating tenderness. Our eyes locked. His hands fisted into my hair, an elongated sigh escaping from his throat. I wanted more than anything to give him the pleasure he'd given me with his tongue on the day we'd fought the last of the vampires in Charlie's yard. I was committed to it. I'd wanted to do this for him ever since that night, and now was the perfect time.

I kept looking at him as I moved my mouth wetly up and down his turgid shaft. It seemed to grow as I sucked, getting even thicker and longer. I felt it touch the back of my throat and stopped for a second to keep from gagging. Damn, he was huge!

I bobbed up and down a few times, then drew back and coiled my tongue over him, watching his expression the entire time. He seemed to be having trouble keeping his eyes open. His head fell back as they closed, but then he seemed to think better of it and looked back down at me, conquered with pleasure. He didn't want to look away – he was afraid he'd miss something. A devilish grin formed on my face and I raised one eyebrow as I pulled him deeply into my mouth.

His quiet moan turned into a hiss as he continued to try to watch. "Jesus, Bells," he choked, his fists clutching in my hair. "God, baby, that feels so good."

"Mmmmm," I answered, continuing to look up at him with a naughty expression of lust. I wanted him to know that I enjoyed this as much as he did. Hungrily I worked my mouth over him, taking my time and running my tongue around and around his swollen member buried deep in my throat. He began thrusting in time with my movements, our eyes still locked on each other.

I could feel myself getting worked up and wet, and my hips started thrusting as well, searching for something, something I needed but couldn't quite place. Jake's brows met as he stared at me in ecstasy, his eyes narrowed and his breath coming quicker. "Shit, baby, you gotta…aw Bells, honey…" he murmured unintelligibly as his hips plunged forward again. There was an urgency to his movements and I knew he was nearing the finish line. So I upped the ante.

I pressed my mouth deeper onto him, taking every inch I could into my mouth. The swollen head pushed into my throat, deeper than it had so far, and I moaned, the vibration causing him to grasp my head tighter, holding it still. My eyes closed finally, and I concentrated on the love, the pleasure I was getting from this gift I was giving him. I knew it was only a matter of seconds…

He tried to pull my mouth away. He really did. But I was having none of it. I wanted the taste, the feel of him in my throat. I wasn't moving away now.

"Baby, I…" he began frantically. I stopped him with a rabid assault on his manhood in an intense culmination of this gratifying scene and I got what I wanted. He gushed into my mouth, coating the back of my throat with his seed. I swallowed every drop. It was like the nectar of the gods.

His hands had left my hair and his palms now covered his eyes as he panted deeply. "Fuck, Bells, I'm sorry. I tried to warn you…"

"Shhh," I crooned, kissing the tip which now bobbed slowly in front of my face. "I wanted it."

"You…damn, baby," he said, his hands moving away from his face. I smiled up at him, standing there and looking so damn delectable. "Really?"

"Mmmm-hmmm," I breathed, reaching up to pull him back down on top of me. "So much."

"Jeez, Bells…that's so…" he stopped for a minute and turned his head, grinning at me. "Fuckin' sexy."

My smile turned into a laugh.

He laid me back down, reaching over to the little coffee table and grabbing a strawberry, which he dipped in chocolate. "Here," he said, running the chocolate over my lips. "This'll get the taste out of your mouth."

I licked the chocolate from my lips and allowed him to feed me the strawberry, but I shook my head and told him, "Why would I want to get the taste of you out of my mouth? Don't be ridiculous."

"Ugh, that's gross," he commented.

"Did you think I tasted gross when you did that for me?" I asked.

He turned to me, licking off a bit of chocolate on the corner of my mouth. "Naw, baby, you taste like…" His lips touched my ear as he whispered, "Caramel."

I giggled. "Well, I wouldn't say you taste like caramel. Maybe…maple syrup."

A lopsided grin and a raised eyebrow were my reward. "You're incredible," he said.

"I know," I smiled, grabbing a piece of pineapple and dipping it in the chocolate sauce. I let a drop fall over his nipple. "Oops!" I cried, exaggerating my distress. "I guess I'll have to clean that up!" I bent closer to him and flicked the chocolate off with the tip of my tongue.

"Oh, you wanna play that way, huh?" He was my playful Jake now, grinning and mischievous. He swiped a finger through the chocolate and dropped it onto my stomach.

"Jake!" I cried in fake dismay.

"I'll take care of it," he grinned, bending to lick it off. His feverish tongue lapped the chocolate away.

We played in the chocolate awhile, getting sticky and full. We shared some of the fruit he'd set out. We still had plenty of time left on our clandestine date when things settled down and we started talking seriously.

"So you've been on the pill for a month now, right?" he asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, and my period's over too," I confirmed. I'd finally gotten it the previous week.

"That means we're safe, right?" he asked.

"As safe as we can be on the pill," I told him. He looked troubled for a second. "What's wrong?" I asked. Nothing should mar this night. It was for fun and happiness, not disappointment or sadness.

He lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug. "It seems stupid, but when we found out you weren't pregnant…I was kind of…bummed."

"You were?" I asked, squinting my eyes and turning my head. "Why?"

"Well, after I got over the initial shock, I…kinda started to like the idea. You having my baby. Us being parents together. Getting married. Living together as husband and wife?" He looked up at me hopefully.

I smiled gently. "We'll do all those things, Jake," I said. "But the timing was bad."

He sighed, looking back down at his hands. "I know," he admitted. "But still…" He looked up at me again, his face wistful. "I want it now."

"You do? Really?" I asked. Of course, I wanted to be married to Jacob, and I didn't care if it was tomorrow. I didn't want to wait. But I thought it was because I was the silly girl, the one who never thought things through. Jacob was deliberate, trustworthy, smart. He wanted the whole thing now?

"Jacob, you're sixteen," I said, pulling his warm hand between mine and holding him tight. "It's not a good time."

"Says who?" he asked belligerently. "Maybe by the calendar I'm sixteen. But I'm physically a man. And I have more responsibility than lots of guys twice my age. I've been helping take care of my dad since I was nine, and taking care of him alone since I was twelve. I'm the Alpha. I'm the chief. And I want to be with you all the time, Bells. Like really be with you, day in and day out, not just when your dad and my dad say it's okay, or when school is out or whenever. Who says we're too young?" He wasn't angry or argumentative, but he was definitely passionate. He felt strongly about this, I could tell.

"Society," I answered. "School. Our parents."

"I don't care about any of that stuff," Jake said, looking straight into my eyes. "I don't want to wait."

"Jake, what are you saying?" I asked.

He looked at me steadily for a long minute. Then he said, "I don't know. I guess I just…missed you a lot this past month. It's been shitty not being able to be together."

I sighed, relieved. "I know," I told him, pulling his hand up to kiss it. "Summer will be here before we know it. We'll be together all the time. I promise." I smiled at him.

He seemed to shake himself out of his passionate rant. "I know. You're right," he said, seeming to force a smile. "C'mon, let's not waste any more time."

He held himself with his hands on either side of me and bent his elbows so he was doing a pushup over me as he dipped down to kiss me. His mouth covered mine, greedy and insistent. His tongue, warm and sweet, surged between my lips and he moaned feverishly.

I returned the kiss eagerly, wanting him as much as he seemed to want me. The interval of talking and eating had done nothing but make me desire him more. My arms coiled around him, pulling him toward me – but he resisted.

He held himself away so he could drop down to my breasts. He looked into my eyes as his mouth closed over my nipple. Oh my God, how did he do that? He could get me wet with just a look. I couldn't move my eyes away as his tongue worked over my erect bud. He seemed to be staring into my soul.

With a burning need, I lifted my hips into his stomach, urging him to make love to me. I wanted him inside me, filling me. "Come on, Jacob, please. Don't make me wait any more," I begged, focusing on his jet black eyes.

They narrowed infinitesimally and he pulled back slightly, so his lips weren't on my nipple but his tongue remained. Still he held my gaze. "Please?" I whispered to him.

With a final flick of his tongue, he left my breast. His face was suddenly directly in front of mine. His lips went to my ear, and he whispered, "I want to marry you, Bella Swan." As he said it, he slid his rigid shaft inside me in one thrust. "I want you to be my wife. I want to be with you forever." He looked into my eyes, pushing into me slowly, gently. "I want it. Now. Don't make me wait any more." He'd stolen the words I'd just used. It was so sweet and tender that tears formed in the corners of my eyes. "Please, baby," he whispered.

His lovemaking was slow, languid, unhurried. Like we had all night. Like he wanted to enjoy every second. Like he could wait…all…night – for an answer from me.

He bit his bottom lip as he continued his unhurried thrusting. No, I wasn't answering him now. It was ridiculous to even consider getting married already – we were children! I met his bucking hips, rolling up to him with every lunge. I wasn't going to let him make me answer him now. I wouldn't be coerced into answering a question like that. But his dark eyes pleaded with me. He kept watching and thrusting, waiting for something. I couldn't answer him though.

"You know we're getting married," he breathed. "I love you. You and I, we're bound forever, baby. It's really a question of…," he thrust into me again. "When."

I watched him. He was serious about this. Charlie's idea of keeping us apart had completely backfired. It had made Jake want to be married – something I was sure Charlie didn't want.

Yes, Jake was much more mature than anyone I knew who was his age. Yes, I was a legal adult. We could actually get married. It wasn't completely absurd. We would be married someday anyway. We knew it, we both wanted it, neither of us wanted anyone else. Why should we wait?

Well, for the reasons I'd listed before. Society. The social firestorm that would come down on us if we suddenly announced that we were getting married would be ridiculous. School. Jake had two more years of high school left. He couldn't be married and go to high school! And our parents. If Jake thought the rant we'd heard when they thought I was pregnant was bad, wait until they heard we were getting married! Charlie probably would go for his gun. There was no way they'd let us do that.

I focused on his face and he looked back at me, his expression so hopeful it was heartbreaking. He really meant it. He wanted me to tell him I'd marry him. I had no problem telling him yes. I just didn't want him to think I meant we could get married next week!

"Jake, I'll marry you," I panted. "I'll be your wife. And I'll do it as soon as I can. But I don't know how soon that will be."

"Just say yes, Bells. Say yes to me." He continued to buck into me gently, deliberately. And I couldn't. I just couldn't hold it back from him.

"Yes, Jacob. Yes. I'll marry you," I said. I closed my eyes and felt him kiss me, felt him making love to me, felt his heartbeat. I think I even felt a tear fall onto my face. But I don't know for sure, because at that point, Jacob began violently driving into me over and over until I was nothing more than a mass of jelly beneath him as he unleashed an orgasm that I simply couldn't control. I cried out, clutching handfuls of his hair as I pulled his lips to mine.

When I had finished my climax, he pulled away from my mouth. "Bella," he whispered. "Look at me."

I opened my eyes to see him gazing at me lovingly, his expression smoldering. "This sounds so corny, but you've…honey, you just made me the happiest man in the world." I watched his face, his eyes half-open and his teeth embedded in his lower lip as he thrust once more, hard, and exploded inside me with a long moan. He kept his eyes open the entire time, his features consumed with love. It was almost a religious experience. Almost like he was making love not to my body, but to my soul.

Afterwards, we lay in each other's arms, our breathing slowing. He seemed…stunned was the only word I could think of as he turned to me. "Did you mean it? Or was that just you, caught up in the moment?"

I flipped over so I was on my belly and rested my chin on his burly chest, looking down into his face. "Do you really think I would have promised something like that just because I was caught up in the moment?" I asked him.

His hand played across my back. "I'm afraid to believe it, Bells. Is it true? Are we engaged?"

I held up both hands, turning the backs of them to him. "See a ring? 'Cause I don't," I joked.

He reached under the futon and pulled his sweat pants out. "No?" he said, burying his hand in the pocket. He pulled out a tiny box.

No…no. I couldn't believe it. There was no way. He couldn't possibly have gotten me a ring. My eyes were as round as nickels as I looked from the box to his face. "Jake?" I breathed.

Smugly, he opened the box. I was dazed by the beauty of the ring inside. It was shiny silver, with a peppercorn-sized round diamond in the center. The diamond was surrounded by swirled carvings with tiny clear blue stones inlaid in the design. "You…where did you get this?" I asked when I could speak.

"I stole it," he said, then his face broke into a smile. "I'm kidding! Where do you think I got it? I got it at the jewelry store. Do you like it?"

"Jake, I love it," I breathed. "But it's too much! Where did you get the money for this?"

"Don't worry about it," he said dismissively. "Try it on."

He slid it on to my left ring finger. It was breathtakingly beautiful. "Jake, are you serious about me wearing this? Like, all the time?"

He looked up at me, his eyes wide with astonishment. "Why, don't you want to?" he asked.

I cupped his face in both hands and kissed his surprised lips. "Oh my God, Jake, of course I do! But…is it okay? Like if Charlie or Billy sees?"

He was quiet for a second. "Billy knows. And Charlie…will know pretty soon," he said.

"What?" I cried.

"Well, I have to ask him," he said, as if it were obvious.

"So he can kill you?" I squeaked.

"He won't kill me, Bells. He'll be glad that I'm going to make an honest woman of you," Jacob grinned.

I slapped my hand down on his chest. "Hey! I'm honest. And he is going to kill you. You're sixteen. I'm eighteen. You can't ask him for my hand!"

"I can and I will. Baby, when you know, you know. And I know. And you know. So that's it - that's all we need. Charlie'll understand."

I sighed, turning in his arms and resting the back of my head on his chest, staring at the ring in adoration. "I hope you're right," I said, "because I'm not taking this thing off. Ever."

An hour or two later, I blinked awake, warm and safe wrapped in Jake's arms. A gray light pushed under the door of the shed, signaling that it was almost dawn and that Jake and I needed to get back to Forks. "Jake," I whispered.

"I'm up." He tucked his chin into his chest and smiled down at me. "I think it has to be a crime – how cute you are when you're asleep."

I snuggled into him. "God, I love you, Jacob Black," I sighed, staring at the ring as my hand rested on his stomach.

He kissed the top of my head in response. "We gotta get back before Chief Charlie wakes up," he said.

"Okay," I said, pushing myself up on my elbows and reaching for my clothes which had fallen to the floor. It was then that we heard the car pull up right next to the shed.

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