Chapter 24 has arrived. Some of you may not be happy with this chapter saying that their relationship is progressing too fast now. Well, as Bella will point out in the chapter, their relationship isn't normal. Not to mention that I wanted to step away from the sexuality for a moment to get into touch with Jake's sensuality, if that makes any sense. But don't worry, there's steam in this one, too. By the way, I am in love with this chapter. Like, all the way around.

Disclaimer here.

Please Enjoy!

RPOV

The day passed by quickly. Luckily Rachel knew what she wanted once Aunt Alice had led her in the right direction, so it was shop after shop after shop. The six of us came out of every store loaded with at least five bags.

But something was seriously wrong with Shelby. When we'd been in the last store of the day, I'd caught her sad smiles as she'd watched me and my family. We were about to leave when I was about to ask her what was wrong, but Aunt Alice had gotten that look on her face that told me that she was having a vision. Two seconds later, she'd pulled Shelby away from me and lowered her voice. There was a lot of head shaking and nodding from Shelby.

I'd tried to listen in but Mom had stepped into my line of sight. "Renesmee, that's rude," she'd said as she sorted through the blouses in front of us.

"You can hear them," I said.

She'd picked one up and held it to me. "I'm tuning them out, as should you. If they want to tell us what's going on then they will. You need to trust Shelby."

I'd glanced at them again and decided that Mom was right. Picking up my own choice, I'd continued shopping, no longer stretching my hearing. When they'd come back over, I'd hooked my arm through Shelby's and smiled.

"You ok?"

Her smile had been on the happier side of sad. "Yeah, I'm starting to think that I will be."

I'd given her a look, but she'd just smiled.

Now, we were almost home and there was still plenty of time before dinner for Aunt Alice to start on our dresses. Aunt Alice had insisted on making Rachel's dress, too. At first, Rachel was hesitant but once my aunt showed her a quick complete sketch of her vision, Rachel was ecstatic.

Aunt Alice wanted to work on my dress first since Jake was going to be down at the rez. We hadn't stayed out as long as we'd originally planned because she'd wanted to get started. And Jacob and I were rarely apart. Rachel didn't want the guys to see us girls in our dresses until the wedding. She wanted the emotions to be there for everyone.

As soon as we got there, Aunt Alice ordered me to go upstairs and strip to my underwear. We'd bought me specific underwear for the wedding, and I had to put it on so that she could fit the dress perfectly to it.

I was currently standing in my room, standing in my new black push up bra and silk black underwear and looking at my phone as I waited for Aunt Alice to gather her dress making supplies. Jacob hadn't texted me all day. That usually happened when he was in the shop. Working on cars helped calm him down and be able to think.

There was a knock on my door and then a bunch of red silk came into the room followed by Aunt Alice. She scrutinized me for a moment before nodding.

"I like it."

Shelby, who had come in behind Alice, stared at me. "Oh my god! Your boobs are like giant water balloons." While I blushed, she turned to Aunt Alice. "Are you sure they won't fall out of that dress? Or make Jake pass out standing next to Paul? I really hope he won't be feeling any sexual urges that day or Rachel won't end up being the main event."

Alice threw the red silk and black lace on the bed. She then pulled out some sewing pins from her purse. "That's the point. I'm experimenting."

"For what? The quickest way to give Jake a kickstand?"

Aunt Alice nearly spit out the sewing pins she'd put between her lips to hold them. I got it a second later and my blush deepened considerably as my stomach tightened.

Every time we'd looked at lingerie for Rachel or underwear for me and Shelby, I'd thought of Jacob last night on the bed. I remembered the way his body had felt on top of and under mine. The feeling of sitting over his hips. His skin had tasted smoky and salty. His lips had felt a lot like the silk that was currently being thrown over my body.

But what had caught me off guard had been the way my body had reacted at the thoughts. I knew that after our make-out sessions or any time I did something to turn Jake on, he needed to "take a shower", but ever since two days ago when our steaminess began, the tight feelings had dissipated for me when it had ended. But not today. Today my stomach stayed tight, and the heat had traveled down to the space between my legs where it was also tight and achy.

That was all brought back now with Shelby's comments. Luckily, my thoughts were cut off from Dad. But Uncle Jasper could be a problem. No matter what I did or how I moved that tightness and heat just wouldn't go away, and the only word I could come up with for it was frustration. And it got worse every time I thought of Jacob.

So I decided to go back to the conversation for now. The only problem was that it wasn't going to help me any.

"No," Aunt Alice said. "Though that is a good point. I'm trying to find the style that Jake likes the most on her. People don't realize that the right clothes can keep the relationship nice and steamy."

Shelby shrugged. "Or no clothes at all."

Aunt Alice shook her head. "No. It's all in the reveal, what's hidden, and how it's accentuated. I just have to find out what on her makes him wild."

I raised my hand.

"Yes?"

Rachel walked through the door with even more red silk as Aunt Alice began cutting and sticking needles here and there.

"Um, I already know the answer to that?"

Aunt Alice stood straight and put her hands on her hips. "And why haven't you told me?" She shook her head. "Nevermind. Tell me now."

I blushed as I placed my hands on my hips. "My hips. It used to be my waist before he was, uh, allowed to touch. But now my hips. And, um, well, uh…" I put my hands up beside my breasts as if I were going to push them together. I didn't have to do that because the bra was doing it for me.

Shelby nodded solemnly. "Your water balloons," she said with a straight face.

Rachel burst out laughing. "I totally missed this conversation, didn't I?"

Shelby grinned at her. "Your brother."

Rachel's face immediately matched Shelby's solemn expression and she nodded. "Ah, yes. Jacob has become a breast and ass man. I always thought he would be."

I stayed silent, my blush speaking for me.

"Yes," came a voice from the doorway. "Which is why I always knew his infatuation with me wouldn't last. I didn't have anything he could grab onto."

Mom, my mother, was standing there grinning with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Mom!"

She shrugged. "What? It's true. I always wondered where you got those curves. Apparently, they came from Edward's biological mother's side of the family."

"Is Dad downstairs?"

She nodded, still grinning.

"Are you trying to get Jake on the chopping block?" I demanded, still blushing.

That grin turned wicked. "Why? Has he been doing some grabbing that we should be aware of?"

Ok, my whole body was achy and tight, and now blushing. What had gotten into my mother? She and Dad had been so easygoing with Jacob since we got back from the cabin that it was kind of scary. Their overprotectiveness had completely vanished. Strangely, they were letting us be. It was nice, but I was waiting for the other shoe to drop soon.

If I didn't stop blushing, it was going to end up permanent. They all laughed, even my mom. I liked it this way. I was an equal among all the women. Even Shelby was treated as a mature adult. We were all women here who were talking about their men. The men that we loved.

Finally, I loosened up a bit as we all started sharing stories and blushes. They were all curious how Jacob and I fared in the cabin the other night. Shelby had again demanded to know about our kisses right down to the placement of ours hands. I tried to recall as much as I could. They all sighed dreamily when I was done. No doubt, they were all thinking of their own tender moments with their men.

About an hour later, Aunt Alice and Rachel helped me out of the start of my dress when we heard the boys downstairs. They were loud and obnoxious, but this time it was useful. Aunt Alice slipped off the very high heels that I'd had to put on so that she could get the length right. I was seriously going to have to practice walking in them before the wedding.

They left me to change back into my normal underwear and my sundress. Jacob was just about to make his way up the stairs when I was halfway down. He smiled up at me and held his hand out. He'd tried to scrub the oil from his hands and arms but he really needed a shower from being under car hoods all day. I took his hand anyway. I'd gladly suffer the oil and grease just to be next to him. The feeling in my body burned hotter, but the tightness loosened a notch when I'd taken his hand. I could breathe better now.

"Hey, where were you? I was just coming to find you," he said, wrapping his arms around my waist and carrying me down the rest of the stairs. Being pressed to his body sent chills through mine.

"Sorry. I was getting dressed."

He raised his eyebrows at me in question.

"Aunt Alice is making the bridesmaids' dresses. Mine was up first," I explained as he set me on my feet. I tried not to let my blush show. Yeah, I was used to loving and lusting after Jacob, but what I was feeling was a whole new ballgame. I wasn't quite sure if it was the right time for this particular level.

He placed a kiss on my lips. "Can I see?"

"Do you want Aunt Alice to flick you again?" I asked, looking at his neck. There was still a dark mark from earlier.

He grimaced and shook his head. "I'll wait for the wedding."

I patted his chest. "That's a wise choice, Mr. Black."

Jacob grinned and pulled me in to his body. "Did you have a good time today, Miss Cullen?"

I resisted the urge to shiver and met his eyes with a smile. "I did. It was exactly what I needed. Thank you. And our first date was amazing. Did you get a lot done in the shop?"

He nodded. "I actually managed to get quite a lot done today. It was nice to be the only one in my head for a while…if you know what I mean," he whispered suggestively.

It made me giggle. "Oh, yeah. I'm happy I have my own mental block."

"Really, now?" he asked, his voice deepening.

Nodding, I went up on the tip of my toes and placed a kiss on the corner of his mouth. His hands tightened on my waist and moved down to my hips. I smiled to myself.

Digging my nails into his bare shoulders and dragging them down his muscular arms, I whispered, "Why don't you go get a shower? The girls and I will fix dinner for you boys."

He licked his lips, his eyes darkening. "Mmm, sounds good to me."

I had absolutely no idea what the hell had gotten into all of us today, but Jacob and I were so comfortable with our sexuality in this moment that it felt like the world had caught fire. I loved the heat in his eyes as he bent to kiss me. This kiss wasn't gentle. It was demanding. His lips, tongue, and teeth called to the heat inside me as his hands tightened on my hips even more. My body was cheering because it felt that if things continued, the heat and tension would be eased. But we couldn't go that far. Not yet.

When a growl started to grow in his chest is when I decided that the heat needed to chill while we were still in the house with my parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. I pressed a hand against his chest, pushing him back. We pressed our foreheads together, breathing hard.

"Sorry," he whispered.

I shook my head as much as I could with it pressed to his. "Don't be. I didn't push you away because I was uncomfortable with it. I did it because of where we are."

He chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right." Leaning up, he pressed his lips to my forehead. "Let me go get a shower."

"That might be a good idea."

We kissed one more time and then he was gone up the stairs. I was suddenly shivering from the lack of warmth emanating from him. The place between my legs was pounding though and the tightness was still in my stomach.

"Nessie? Come on. We got a meal to cook." Shelby was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, looking at me with a knowing look. She nodded her head toward the kitchen and held her arm out to me.

I took it as she led me to the food.

Twenty minutes later, Jacob walked into the kitchen to find me and Shelby covered in mashed potatoes and Aunt Alice powdered in flour. We were laughing so hard that none of us could breathe.

"What the hell happened in here?" he demanded. He made his way carefully into the kitchen. "You're supposed to be making dinner to eat, not to wear it."

Aunt Alice held up two spoons. One had mashed potatoes on it, the other flour. "Ok. Since you want to complain, which would you like to wear?"

He held up his hands in surrender and backed out of the kitchen. Esme came in behind him, followed by Mom.

"Why don't you girls go clean up? Bella and I will finish dinner."

Shelby shook her head. "No, we'll clean up and finish."

Esme smiled gently. "It's ok, dear. We don't mind. It's nice to see you girls have so much fun after all the drama." She jerked her chin to the door. "Go clean up. We'll finish this up. It's almost done anyway."

I kissed her cheek, trying not to get any food on her. "Thanks, Grandma. Next time we won't make such a mess."

"Nonsense. It gives me something to do."

Her turning to the kitchen was her way of dismissing us. We laughed our way up the stairs. To my surprise, Jacob followed. There was a serious look on his face as if he were contemplating something.

When I got to my room, he closed the door behind himself and sat himself on the bed.

"Jake? I gotta take a shower."

He nodded. "I know."

I gave him a look. "So, you're just gonna sit in here?"

He nodded again absently.

"Ooook?" I shook my head and went for my closet. I picked my pajamas for the night and then came out to stop at my jewelry box to place my hair clip in its place.

A surprised squeak came out of me when I felt Jacob's hands on my shoulders, fingers rubbing the muscles there. The sundress had thin straps and his hands were big so they covered a lot of skin. A moment later, I felt his lips just below my left ear press a soft kiss into my skin. I shivered with pleasure.

"Grab your robe," he whispered.

"What?" I asked through the fog of lust my brain had sunk into the moment he'd touched me.

"Your robe. Grab it."

Confused, I reached over to my closet door and unhooked the white fluffy robe that Shelby had bought me freshman year. The moment it was close enough, he took it from my hands and threw it on the bed. His hands gripped the top of my arms and pulled me backward. I felt him hit the bed and he sat down, tugging me between his knees. He took my long hair in his hands and moved it over my right shoulder.

"Jake, what-?"

"Shh," he said. "Just let me do this. Please."

I hadn't realized that my shoulders had been tense until I relaxed into his hands. But it came back the moment his fingers started pulling down the zipper to my dress.

"Jacob-," I said, my hands going to my back.

He gripped my wrists gently. "Nessie, do you trust me?"

My answer was automatic. "Of course, but-,"

"Then trust me now," he said softly as he pressed a kiss to my bare shoulder. I felt something wet dart over my skin. It took me a moment to realize that it was his tongue and I was covered in food. He was probably licking some potatoes off my skin.

Swallowing hard, I nodded and wiggled my wrists so he'd let them go. A moment later, his fingers were back to my zipper, gently pulling it down. My heart was hammering in my throat and it was hard to breathe. I could feel goosebumps crawl up my skin as it was revealed to him. I knew he was done with the zipper when he reached up to pull the straps down from my shoulders. I looked over my shoulder at him as he slid them down my arms and off my fingers, my lip between my teeth. His eyes met mine while those gentle hands went to my hips to shimmy the dress down my legs.

"Step out," he said.

It was at that moment that I realized he was telling me where he wanted me. He was taking control of the situation, of the fire between us. Just like in my dream. I blushed and faced forward again.

I stepped out of the puddle of the dress, standing before him in only my underwear. My back was still to him. I couldn't really bear to face him, unless he turned me around. But he didn't. Instead, I felt his hands go to the bra strap across my back.

"Hold it in place."

I gasped as my hands went to my breasts to hold the cups there. I felt the tension of the strap loosen. The straps at my shoulders fell loose to my elbows. I was way too shocked at his actions to be embarrassed or even blush. Was this really happening? What happened to the shy man who didn't want to do more than kiss and grip my hips? What had he been thinking about in that garage, under all those hoods?

When his hands reached for the straps at my arms, I clutched the bra to me.

"Jacob, I-,"

I couldn't finish when I felt his lips in the middle of my back. Just one kiss and my knees nearly gave out. The heat that I'd felt before hadn't been anything like this. He hadn't done anything to make me uncomfortable yet, and I guess that was what made me uncomfortable. I was ok with this. I liked this. With that realization, I knew that I wanted us to do this again. I wanted us to do this when we could actually finish it. Jacob wouldn't take this where it was bound to go because he was a gentleman. Not to mention that it wasn't the right time. We both knew that.

So I let my arms fall down to my sides so he could slide the bra off. The cool air rushed over my newly bared skin and I felt myself tighten, harden. The bra hadn't hit the floor. I guessed that he'd laid it on the bed with the dress. His hands came to rest on my hips. The feel of his fingers against me there made me shiver violently. His thumbs pressed into the indentions of my lower back, just over my butt. Those long fingers met up at my belly button. The only thing left was my underwear. But he wouldn't…would he?

No, he wouldn't. He didn't. He pressed one more kiss to my back, and then I felt the fluff of the robe at one of my hands. He slipped it up to my shoulders where he left it for me to pull across my body and tie closed.

When I turned around, his eyes were gentle and dark. I gave him a questioning look. I had no idea what had brought that up with him. But I'd liked it.

"Go take your shower. I'll wait downstairs."

There was no way that I could just leave him after that with just a smile. So, I put my hands to his face and brought down my mental block. I replayed the last five minutes for him from my point of view. The way my body had heated up and tightened. My heart hammering in my chest. My breath catching. The way his lips and fingers had felt on my skin. The command in his voice making my blood boil in a good way. How much I really wanted to do that again.

At the tail end of it, I pressed my lips to his. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he whispered. "Thank you. For trusting me."

I leaned back to meet his eyes. They were still dark, just a shade off of black. "I will always trust you. With every single part of me."

I kissed him again and went to take my shower.

JPOV

The moment the door closed behind her, I collapsed back on the bed.

Wow did not even begin to cover what just happened between us. Now that the moment had passed, I wondered where the hell that bravery had come from. To touch her like that, to undress her. But all I could think about was what she'd shown me. She'd liked it. She'd liked me taking control. She'd liked my hands on her, my lips on her skin.

When I slapped my hands down beside me, I felt the straps of her light blue bra. Feeling brave again, I lifted the thing up to my nose and inhaled. It smelled like her. That sweet tanginess that I'd come to recognize as her was also mixed with a little sweat.

I sighed. Man, she wanted to do that again…when our time came. There was no way I could deny her that because I agreed. I definitely wouldn't mind doing that again. She'd seemed more comfortable with me calling the shots. And that was because she trusted me to do the right thing with her.

Two days ago and yesterday, I had been nervous about wanting her. But today, when I was under the hood and my hands were working without my mind, I'd realized that Seth had it right. My thoughts before I'd left here had been on the money. Seth was being the man in Shelby's life. Not the boy. And when I'd told Nessie that I had been in a teenage mentality, I should have kept it present tense.

Nessie had been right. We were comfortable with each. No, we'd never seen each other naked, except maybe in her dreams, but we'd been pressed up against each other so many times that there were no illusions about what was under our clothes. No illusions about the possibilities.

I was done being the boy. I was the man now. No more being shy with her. No more being skittish around Bella and Edward, or anybody else. Because I'd also been thinking about earlier when Billy had rolled in on us making out in his room. The way she'd pulled away from me in embarrassment. And then the way she'd calmed down when I had gone back to her as if nothing had happened. I'd realized that she was taking her queues from me. I was supposed to have been the adult before her. She was still learning. When I was comfortable, so was she.

So, I'd decided to experiment tonight. And it was amazing. I was calm, she was calm. She trusted me. The entire time she could have said no, and I would have stopped. I'd have zipped the dress back up, kissed her, apologized, and walked out of the room. But that didn't happen.

As it was, I knew I needed to get out of here before her shower was up. Before I left, I grabbed the dress and her bra, and took them with me. When I met Alice in the living room, I handed them to her.

"Will you get these cleaned up? Please?"

She took them gently from my hands with a smile. "Of course." She started to walk away, but then turned around. "I'm sorry for flicking you so hard."

I shrugged. "I'll get over it. Not to mention that I'm gonna be around for a long time. I might as well get used to annoying you and you retaliating."

Her grin was bright and shiny. "Nessie couldn't have picked a better man."

"Thanks, Shortie."

"Dinner's on the table."

"I'll wait for her."

She shook her head. "You know she won't want you to."

I sighed. She was right. If Nessie found out that I'd waited for her to eat, she'd get angry with me, telling me that I wasn't being nice to my poor stomach. So, I followed Alice into the dining room. Paul had come up here to eat with us and Rachel. Seth and Shelby were sitting next to each other hand in hand. To my surprise, Emily and Sam had come up as well. But my surprise was short lived. Alice must have called them to talk about wedding stuff.

"Her dress and bra, Jacob?" I heard from behind me.

Damn. I was hoping I'd at least get a meal before Edward ripped into me. I turned to him with my defense on my tongue. But I didn't need it. There was a smirk on his face, but a warning in his eyes.

"Be careful with her, Jacob."

I nodded. "I know, Edward. You know damn well nothing would have happened tonight. And you know that I didn't see anything. I know what her body is telling her, but I needed to know that she trusted me with her before anymore groping happened."

He nodded. "Looking at the situation, I can say that it could have escalated rather quickly." He sighed. "As much as I've tried to fight this, I have to give her up. And give you my blessing."

My breathing stopped. "What are you saying?"

He held up his hands. "I'm throwing in the white towel. She's yours. I'm going to step back and let you two progress the way you want to."

That surprise from just a moment ago? Yeah, that was back. All I could do was stare at him for a few heartbeats. "Why now?"

He smiled and tapped his temple. "You're the man now, Jacob. The man that I can trust with my daughter."

Bella appeared magically beside him, her hands around his waist and head on his shoulder. "The man that we can trust." She sighed. "She can't grow if we suffocate her with rules and restrictions."

I watched them both suspiciously. "What the hell is going on?"

Bella smiled at Edward. "I watched Renesmee today as she blushed and talked about the two of you. She's a woman in love. All along we've been treating her as a normal teenager. But today, I came to the realization that she's not normal." She looked back at me. "Do you remember how we talked about how not normal I was, am?" When I nodded, she continued. "Everybody's been saying and thinking what I refused to believe, because I wanted my daughter to be normal. But she's not. Our world is so different. And you'd think that I'd start thinking that it, we, were normal after all this time, but my mind just kept going back to human pace. I just wanted my daughter to be a normal kid and then have something extraordinary happen to her the way it did to me. Now?" She smiled to herself. "I know that the something extraordinary was her love for you maturing into what it should be."

"Jake?" Nessie's voice said behind me before I could think of something to say to Bella.

I turned to find her on the stairs. She was in her pajamas and wringing her hair in a towel.

"Hey. That was a fast shower," I said taking a step toward her. Pausing, I turned to nod at Bella and Edward, who nodded back. There. We'd acknowledged our talk. They'd said what they needed to say and I'd heard them. I finished walking to her and instinctively put my hands on her hips.

She threw the towel over her shoulder, and then put her arms on my shoulders. "I was hungry. And speaking of, why aren't you eating? I know you must be starving."

I kissed her nose. "I'm fine. I was just talking to the 'rents."

She glanced around me to them, and then back to me. "And what were you talking about?"

"How parents can be blind even if they went through the same things," Bella said.

Nessie raised an eyebrow at me in question.

I shrugged. "Everybody has lost their minds today."

"Clearly."

She grinned at me, kissed me, and put her hand to my face. I didn't know she was going to show me something so I was pleasantly surprised when she showed me our scene from earlier again. She'd thought more about it while she was in the shower. This time, she showed me all of it starting the moment I'd touched her. She replayed everything, but it also felt like she was holding something back, something she didn't want me to see or know. Why would she show me something that she'd loved so much, was surprised that she'd loved so much, and still hide something from me?

But I hid my frown. This had been a perfect day, and I wasn't going to ruin it by making her uncomfortable. If she didn't want me to see it that meant that it was something that would embarrass her. I didn't want that right now.

A throat cleared behind us. "You know that just because we've agreed to let your relationship blossom that doesn't mean that we, I, want to see these things."

Bella laughed. Nessie blushed and immediately pulled away from me.

Further ruining the moment, my stomach growled so loudly that it could have been mistaken for a wolf. Nessie laughed and patted my stomach.

"Come on. Let's go stuff ourselves so we can complain about it later."

When she started leading me back to the dining room, Edward said, "We're going hunting. We won't be back until tomorrow." He gave me a look before taking Bella's hand and taking off out the front door.

Nessie hugged an arm around my waist. "What was that all about?"

I wrapped an arm around her waist and squeezed, leaning over to kiss her hair. "You're an adult. They're finally thinking of us that way. As a legit couple."

Her lip was between her teeth. "Hmmm. I guess that's good. But that was a fast transition from overprotective to teasing us."

I shrugged. "You know vampires, always have to be fast."

We both laughed as we made our way to the dining room to eat with our friends.

RPOV

Jacob had eaten his entire plate plus half of mine. After the other girls and I had cleared the table, Esme had insisted that she clean the dishes. We all felt bad but she'd been persistent. So we all had sat back down and started talking about the wedding and Emily's soon-to-be baby bump. The woman was positively glowing. They couldn't decide if they wanted to find out the sex or be surprised. We'd all voted on being surprised.

A while later, everybody had gone home. Jake and I were currently curled up in my bed listening to Seth and Shelby make out next door. Jacob rolled his eyes but smiled.

I laughed against his chest. "I'm happy for them."

"Me, too. Shelby seems happy."

"Of course she does. He is the first great thing that's happened to her."

Usually he slept with some sort of shirt on, but tonight, I'd tugged it off before we got comfy so that I could curl into his warmth, against his skin. I did make sure to keep my hands locked around his waist so that they wouldn't roam.

He squeezed my shoulders. "Actually, you are. If it weren't for meeting you, she'd still be in that house. She may have never met Seth."

Hmm. I'd never really thought of it that way. He was right. Sighing contentedly, I snuggled into his side.

"So, I said nonchalantly, "what was earlier about?"

"What do you mean?"

"Come on, Jake. What happened today in here with my dress and…" I blushed. "Well, what happened?"

He sighed. Before I knew what was happening, he swooped in and scooped me up. I squeaked as he sat me down over his legs, just above his knees. One of his hands rested on my hip while the other played in the ends of my hair.

"I'm tired, Nessie."

The tone is his voice had me stroking his face, neck, and chest. "Tired of what?"

"Treating us like we're love-struck, fumbling, and idiotic teenagers. We're not. We're adults who love each other and who want each other. Are we ready to…make love? Probably not. But who's ever really ready for something like that? But we're still in the discovery stage, getting used to the fact that we're now allowed to touch and caress and," he leaned forward to press a kiss to my neck, "kiss when we want."

My head automatically went back so that he could have better access. And that totally proved his point.

Suddenly, his hands gripped my hips and he flipped us so that I was beneath him. His face was shoved into my neck and hair. Those lips ran up the column of my neck all the way to the spot under my ear and back down to nuzzle the large t-shirt so he could reach my collar bone. My hands smoothed up his arms, over his shoulders, and up into his hair. I pushed his head toward me, pressed those lips into my skin.

After a moment, though, he pulled back and I let him. He supported his weight on his forearms, making the muscles stand out beautifully and powerfully as his hands stroked my face.

"I want to treat you the way a man treats his woman. The other day, at the cabin, I'd had the thought that I needed to grow up and accept responsibilities in my life. I needed to become the man in other aspects of my life first. But at the garage today, I realized that I was wrong. I needed to be the man here, with you, before I could accept any other role." He shook his head. "I'd had it all backwards. But I figured it out. Becoming your man first was always supposed to be my foundation. I had to grow to be a man from there because you have been my priority since the day I imprinted on you."

I ran my fingers over his temples and into his hair, making his chest rumble. "You needed to start with me."

"Exactly." Him stroking my hair brought forth my own version of a purr. He growled appreciatively.

I swallowed hard. "So what does that mean for us?"

His lips caressed mine. "It means that, if you're game, we could pick up where we left off last night. It means that you're dad isn't in the house tonight. We could do some more exploring, if you want."

I was stunned. I knew that he'd already explained things but I couldn't help but ask, "What brought all this on?"

He sighed again and shifted above me. His hips rested on top of mine but not heavily. He was keeping himself in check.

"Nessie, all this time you've been leading me, but it shouldn't have been that way. I should have been the adult first, helping you to transition into that stage. Instead, you've grown up. You know what you want. It's my turn to be able to say that. Besides, I know that Bella and Edward were cozy long before they got married."

"Really?" This was news to me.

He nodded, grinning. "Oh yeah. Bella was terrified of marriage, but it was Edward's idea not to dance between the sheets until they'd gotten married. I think that was his leverage for her to say yes in the first place."

Grinning back, I nodded, filing away that information. "That's good to know." I gripped his neck and pulled him down to me. "Now, come here, my man."

We crashed into each other at the same time. Our mouths were hungry for each other, our tongues sliding into each other's mouth. My mutinous hands roamed his shoulders, arms, and chest, nails digging into his skin. One of his hands reached down to grip my hip. Now I could do what I'd been wanting to do. I flipped us and, without thinking about it, I lifted the oversize shirt over my head. I had on another one of those ribbed tanks. Jacob's eyes darkened considerably and I could tell that he wasn't thinking about his actions either as he lifted his torso up off the bed to press his lips to my skin.

Again I tilted my head back as he moved across my exposed skin. The tops of my breasts felt like fire when he ghosted over them, rolling his eyes up to meet mine, asking for permission.

Swallowing my hesitancy, I nodded, gripping the back of his neck. He pressed his lips first over the top of my left breast, closer to my heart, before moving over the right side. He went as low as the shirt would allow and quickly darted his tongue out to taste my skin.

That was too much for me. The frustration, the heat, came roaring up out of its hiding place in my body. To distract him, I moved my hips forward to brush against the front of his. That was a wrong move. He hissed and his hands tightened considerably on my hips. His hips thrust up into mine and we stayed like that for a moment, our pants the only things separating us.

After a moment, he sat back. "Enough, enough," he gasped out.

I eased my body back but pressed my forehead to his, nodding. "Sorry," I whispered, my voice just as ragged as his.

He kissed my forehead and then pressed his back to mine. "Don't be. That was amazing. It's still just not the right time."

After we calmed down a little, he gently moved me off his lap telling me that he needed to use the bathroom. Uh-huh. I knew what he was going in there to do.

Five minutes later, he came back. He looked a thousand times more relaxed. I envied him. He moved onto the bed to lie beside me. I'd snuggled down into the blankets trying to calm my restless body. It was working until he pressed his body against me. Even through the covers, my body could somehow feel his as if we were skin to skin and I heated back up. The good thing was that the tightness had loosened

Jacob tightened his arm around my waist as he slid in behind me. His lips kissed my hair. "I love you, Nessie."

Looking over my shoulder, I watched him as he watched me. And it hit me that we were free. I smiled at him and pressed a kiss to his lips. Letting my block down, I thought about it so that he could hear it with me. We were free to be a couple, free to grow together as a couple. That's what his conversation with my parents had been about. They were going to start treating us the way that they'd wanted to be treated when they'd first started dating and knowing they'd be together the rest of their lives. They were leaving us to write our own story now. They didn't know us the way that we knew each other. Their time of watering our relationship seed was over. It was up to us to grow it and love it to get it to bloom. And that's what we were doing.

He grinned at me as I closed my mind back up. "I like the sound of free," he whispered and kissed my lips softly.

"Me, too," I whispered back against his lips.

Smiling, I fell asleep surrounded by the warmth of my man, still frustrated, but with the knowledge that we were free to decide when that frustration would finally come to an end.

What say you? Yes? No? Please review. I really do love to hear what you guys have to say. xoxoxoxoxo