Chapter 26

Though I wanted nothing more than to just go home, it wasn't that simple. We had to stay near the few small towns where Caius had been injecting the humans for Jasper's sake. He felt horrible about it, though it was not his fault at all. There were, in fact, several vampires who had to stay close thanks to Caius. Carlisle had a theory that the natural thinning of the toxic in the humans would work to wean the addicted vampires off of it. I prayed he was right.

Jasper and I rented a house in one of the towns, near the hospital. The rest of the family rented a large farmhouse just outside of town. They didn't have to, but they wanted to stay close.

The day we moved in, the whole family was packed into the little two-bedroom house. It felt good for all of us to be together again. Rosalie and Esme had done a wonderful job decorating and furnishing the house. All I did was mention that I wasn't very good at it and that we'd be ready to move out by the time I got done, and they flew into action. They had it done in a day.

Crazy women.

Jasper and I eventually sat on the couch together as everyone mingled. I cuddled into his side, and he angled his body toward me, wrapped his arms around me, and buried his face in my neck.

"Perhaps we should go and let these two get settled in," Edward suggested, picking up Jasper's thoughts.

Both of us longed to just be alone for a while, for once with no worries, no impending doom to fret over. I felt Jasper's relief at Edward's words.

I detangled myself from Jasper's arms and stood to see them off. Emmett gave one last wave as they pulled out of the drive, and I watched as the taillights disappeared.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I closed the door and turned around only to be pushed back against the door. Jasper stood before me, his palms pressed to the door on either side of my shoulders.

"I need you," he declared with deep conviction.

The full force of his emotions hit me, and I gasped, overwhelmed. Though lust was the most prevalent emotion, it was mixed with a profound feeling of love and need. My knees went weak and he caught me, pulling me into his chest and capturing my lips in a kiss that took my breath away. As soon as I found my footing, he began to walk backwards toward the bedroom, not breaking the kiss and each of us shedding clothes along the way. Once we reached the bedroom door he scooped me up and carried me, bridal style, to the bed.

Jasper POV

A war raged inside me as I lay my beauty down on the bed.

One part of me- the raw, animalistic side- wanted nothing more than to take her, hard and rough, claim her as my own...and I knew she wouldn't object. But the other part of me- the side that ruled my heart and soul- wouldn't have it. She deserved more. She deserved to be cherished and worshiped.

"Are you okay, Jasper?" she asked, drawing my attention from my internal struggle.

"Never better," I murmured as I climbed onto the bed and pressed my lips to hers.

She moaned softly into my mouth when I deepened the kiss, my hand roaming down her side and grasping her hip. A growl rumbled in my chest as her fingers wound into my hair, her nails grazing my scalp.

Easy, Jasper, I told myself.

I shifted so that my body hovered over hers, my knees on either side of her thighs. I took her wrists in my hands and held them to the bed, knowing if she kept touching me the way she was, this would be over much quicker than I had planned. She whimpered at being restrained, and I couldn't help but chuckle as I placed wet, open-mouthed kisses along her jaw and down her neck.

"Jasper!" she cried, her back arching off the bed as I took her nipple in my mouth, flicking my tongue over it.

A small smile played at the corner of my lips. I remembered the time I had promised to make her scream, but we were interrupted. She gasped, apparently reading my mind and feeling my smile against her skin.

"Don't you-" Before she could say anything more, I opened the floodgate on my lust, eliciting a deep moan from the angel beneath me.

Close, but I wanted more.

I licked a trail from her breast to her hip, and then growled as I bit the skin at the juncture of her hip and thigh.

"Oh God! Jasper...Please!" she screamed, her body writhing, seeking more contact.

Much better.

Using my legs to part hers, I settled between them, pressing only the tip of my member into her entrance.

"Tell me you want me, Ember," I whispered against her lips.

"Uuunngghhh," she moaned. "I want you, Jasper...Now!"

As the last word passed her lips I thrust my hips forward, groaning as I filled her. I finally released her wrists, needing to feel her hands on my skin and needing to feel her skin on my hands. We were lost in a haze of lust, love, and a host of other emotions as our bodies moved together, our moans and pants filling the air around us. I felt her body tense then tremble, my name falling from her lips as her orgasm claimed her.

I kissed her sweetly as she came down from her high, and then rolled to my back, putting her on top of me. She looked down at me with hooded, lust-filled eyes as she sat up, moaning as the new position gave me deeper access. Watching her breasts bounce as she moved, had me quickly approaching my release, and I gripped her hips in my hands, thrusting my hips up as I pulled her down into me. I knew she was getting close again as well by the sounds she was making.

"Ooohh, Ember," I growled, my grip on her hips tightening. "Come with me, darlin'."

I felt her walls clench around me and that was all it took to push me over the edge, moaning her name over and over as my body shuddered. She collapsed on top of me, and I wrapped my arms around her, rolling us to our sides. We lay there, wrapped tightly in each others arms as we caught our breath.

"I love you, Ember," I whispered once my breathing had evened out.

"I love you, too, Jasper," she answered, tilting her head up to press her lips to mine.