A/N: lemony goodness ahead! Along with some massive sap. lol. Hopefully you guys will enjoy it.
sorry it's a day late, but if I'm honest I'm lucky to be posting this at all. I had a baby shower to attend yesterday and that the main reason I didn't post because by the time I got home I wasn't feeling it. But on top of that I scratched my cornea somehow the night before and all my eye was doing was watering and feeling as if something was in it. It's still doing it today but not as badly. Now you're probably wondering why that matters. I am legally blind in my right eye thanks to an accident when I was a kid. So when things happen to the left it screws up my whole day. Lol. I will try to update the Pintrest page today as well but if starts bothering me too much I'll be stopping and closing my eyes for a bit. Link to the Pintrest page is in my profile and it caught up all the way to last chapter! Yay me! :)
Disclaimers: I don't own Twilight, I also don't own the song mentioned. For anyone whose ever been to Seattle or lives there I'm sure you know the Woodland Park Zoo and it's exhibits. I tried to get it right, hope I did it justice.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Bella
Today was perfect but I can't help but wonder if Edward is going to ruin it. I'll just have to wait and see I guess. Jasper is right though. I can't let Edward continue to get to me. I have to stop freaking out every time he leaves me something. I have to have faith that Jasper will protect me no matter what. I've been tempted to read a few of the notes, just to see if I could get a better idea of what's going through his mind or see if he might have even possibly slipped his plans in there somehow, but I already know what he's thinking.
I don't need to be a mind reader to know he's jealous and deluded,by that and the thirst for my blood, into thinking he still loves me. As far as the plans go though, if he's smart enough to keep Alice from seeing his plans, then he's not dumb enough to tell me what they are. No matter what he thinks he feels for me he can't be delusional enough to think I feel the same. No, he won't tell me what he's planning for fear I'll tell Jasper and his plans will be thwarted. I'm afraid we won't know until he puts them into action. I just hope it won't be too late.
I know that Jasper will protect me, I do, but I can't help but feel in the back of my mind a sense of apprehension. Like something will happen that neither of us can prevent. Jasper is only one man after all and once my death has been faked and we leave Forks, we leave the pack behind. None of them will be joining us on the trip to Colorado, it's not fair to ask them to leave the tribe unprotected. Even if it's just one of them. So we will be leaving them behind.
He's going to have to hunt at some point. After all he'll be helping me with the pain of transformation for three days, this of course caused a huge argument but in the end he won because I knew once I was unconscious he'd do it regardless. So he'll have to hunt the night before we get to Peter and Charlotte's to ensure he's at top strength.
So anything can happen at that time. I just can't stop the feeling and it's starting to get to me. However, today is for fun so I push that feeling aside for now and enjoy the feel of my mans arms around me, his lips nuzzling my neck. I'm starting to feel the heat pool in my belly again and I know he can too. Especially when he stands, carrying me with him.
"I'm going to get Bella to bed. She's getting tired. I'll see you all later."
"Goodnight everyone; and thanks so much for today. I really needed it." They all nod their heads and say goodnight.
"Your welcome Bells. Oh! Before I forget, Shannon told me to tell you hi. She's sorry she couldn't make it today but her parents had already planned a trip to Seattle."
"Thanks Jake, if you see her before I do tell her I said hi back and I hope she had a good trip." He nods and Jasper proceeds to carry me to my truck. We drive to his house, both silent with the anticipation of what's to come.
Jasper
I could feel Bella's arousal as strongly as my own and I needed to get her out of there before I ravished her right there in front of everyone.
Pulling up to the house I waste no time getting her inside, each of us clawing at the others clothes as I carry her up the stairs. By the time we reach my room we're both down to just our pants and underwear, which I make swift work of removing.
I toss her on the bed, at which she giggles and moves to the middle and lays back onto the pillows. Damn but she's glorious. Her pale skin visible to me even in the dark. Oh how her body would look by candle light. The light from the flame flickering off her skin, casting a rosy hue across it. Highlighting the red in her hair. Yes, that's what I need. I light the few candles I never removed from when I proposed. The soft light dancing along her skin. Just as I predicted.
The sight makes me harder and I quickly join her on the bed, covering her body with mine. I kiss her, taking her lips in a passionate kiss full of love and lust and she wraps her arms around my neck and threads her fingers into my hair, tugging the strands, just enough to arouse me further.
Our tongues dance together and I taste every recess of her mouth. Reveling in the feel of her body beneath mine. Breaking the kiss I move to her neck, placing soft open mouthed kisses followed swiftly by the tip of my tongue which causes her to shiver in delight. I nip, kiss and lick my way down her body all the way to her toes and back up her inner thighs to her apex. Wasting no time I dive into her hot core, her hands fisting into my hair while she moans loudly. I lick her clit with the flat of my tongue, over and over and she lifts her hips and begins to grind her pussy against my face.
I push my index and middle finger into her soaking passage and thrust them in and out while continuing to lick her clit. It doesn't take long until she's picked up the pace of her grinding and I know she's chasing her orgasm. After a few more seconds her breaths are coming in pants and she's arching her back as she begins to cum, moaning my name.
If she thinks I'm done though, she has another thing coming, at least that's what she'll be doing- cumming. I continue licking her clit, which is now extremely swollen and tender, and she starts keening loudly.
"Jasper no, I can't, not again. Please." I don't answer, just wrap my arms around her legs to keep her from closing her thighs and continue to just gently lick all around her pussy, until she relaxes and just accepts her fate.
As her fingers never left my hair, she tightens her hold, jerking the strands and causing me to moan into her folds, the vibrations sending her over the edge and into her second orgasm. I continue to lick her gently as she rides it out, before kissing and licking my way back up her body. When I reach her breasts I lick all around her areola, never touching and watch as her nipple becomes hard. I then take it in my mouth and suckle gently as her arms wrap around my head.
I lift my head, lifting her arms with it, and do the same to her other breast. She's moaning softly and when she lifts her hips up against mine I know she's ready. Moving my hand down I take my cock, which is so hard it's almost painful, and position it at her entrance. I thrust in slowly, filling her by inches until I'm sheathed to the hilt. I move my mouth from her breast and take hers in a searing kiss as I begin to thrust slowly.
I move languidly, never altering from the slow pace and after a moment her hips begin to move in rhythm with mine, another and she's wrapping her legs around my waist and locking her ankles together in the small of my back making me go deeper with each thrust. Even with the slow pace I can feel myself building, her walls contracting and I know we're both close. Breaking the kiss I lay my forehead against hers and look into her eyes, picking up my pace just slightly I push us both to and over the edge into an orgasm so intense I can almost see stars. Her eyes drift shut, neck arches and her mouth opens on a silent scream as her pussy walls grip my dick like a vice.
My head falls to the crook of her neck and her arms grip me tightly as she rides out the strongest of the three climaxes.
Finally her grip on me loosens and I roll off of her onto the bed beside her. Her limbs drop to the bed and I can tell she's exhausted, covered in a light sheen of sweat, her skin flushed she looks beautiful.
Bella
Oh. My. God! Three amazing climaxes and I am exhausted! I can't move. Not even to look at him. In my peripheral vision I watch and listen as he chuckles lightly and rolls over onto his side to face me, propping his head up on his elbow, a delighted smile on his face. Smug bastard. Must be nice to never really get tired. Finally, after a few moments, I can move again and turn my head to face him.
"You're an ass."
"Now darlin', is that anyway to talk to the man who just gave you multiple orgasms?"
"No, but chuckling and looking all smug makes you an ass." Grinning at him I roll over and move until I'm snuggled into his side, resting my head on his chest and close my eyes. I need a shower but I'm too tired to move right now. I feel him lay his head down and his arms wrap around me. His cold skin feeling great against my still flushed and heated body.
It's not long until I feel myself drift off to sleep.
I wake up to the sounds of a guitar. Looking beside me I see Jasper is no longer in the bed beside me. Following the sound, the sheet from the bed wrapped around me, I find myself downstairs in the living room.
He's sitting on a stool he pulled over from the breakfast bar, in front of the windows that face the river behind the house. The soft light of the moon dancing on his naked torso. He's wearing a pair of sleep pants now and an expression on his face I can't quite read. It's not sad just... contemplative maybe. Like he's deep in thought. An acoustic guitar is sitting across his thigh as he strums the cords to one of my favorite songs by The Fray. Be Still. This song is actually the perfect song for him and I, every lyric something I would tell him. As he gets to the place where someone would sing the lyrics, I decide to sing them. I'm not the greatest singer, but I'm not bad.
Be still and know that I'm with you
Be still and know that I am here
Be still and know that I'm with you
Be still, be still, and know
He looks over at me then, his eyes meeting mine, surprise lighting them- but is this because I can sing or because he was so lost in thought he didn't hear me. I continue the song as he continues to strum, never having broken chord.
When darkness comes upon you
And covers you with fear and shame
Be still and know that I'm with you
And I will say your name
I move towards him slowly, our eyes never leaving the others. This part of the song remind me of that day in his clearing, when I nearly lost him in his memories of his time with that bitch Maria.
If terror falls upon your bed
And sleep no longer comes
Remember all the words I said
Be still, be still, and know
He sings this part, his voice deep and melodic. I'm almost to him now. I can see the soft almost smile that graces his face as he sings. The love shining in his eyes. The next passage we sing together, our voices mixing just like our souls.
And when you go through the valley
And the shadow comes down from the hill
If morning never comes to be
Be still, be still, be still
Please hear what I'm saying my love, I'll be by your side through all the ups and downs. Just as I know you will be for me. We continue the ending of the song together.
If you forget the way to go
And lose where you came from
If no one is standing beside you be still and know I am
Be still and know that I'm with you
Be still and know I am
As the song fades, our singing, his strumming, I stop in front of him, my hands wrapped around the sheet to keep it from falling from my body. We gaze at each other, not speaking, until he finally sits the guitar down on the stand he must have got it from. He then stands and wraps his arms around me, picks me up bridal style and carries me back up the stairs and to his room. Once there we proceed to show each other just how much we love the other, in a slow sensuous joining that leaves me in a state of euphoria. After which I fall back into a dreamless, contented sleep.
Jasper
After Bella falls back asleep I lay there and think about what I just discovered with our impromptu duet. I didn't know she could sing. It's just one more thing to add to the list of things I've discovered about her these last few months. Things that may never have come out if she had stayed with Edward, assuming she did because inevitably we would have had to realize we were mates, right?
I've learned that she's incredibly loyal, strong and independent. As well as extremely stubborn, loving and generous. She's also apt to forgiveness. She doesn't like to hold a grudge. I know this because she forgave Victoria not long after we killed her. Her reasoning was because Victoria loved her mate the way Bella loves me and if someone were to kill me she would more than likely do the same as Victoria. The pack of course thought she was daft, me? I thought it was very kind. I could see where she was coming from, I mean I killed Victoria to protect Bella after all; and I'd do it again and again.
Another thing I noticed about Bella? She's brave. So damn brave. Here she is, facing a path that will lead her totally into the unknown. She's willing to blindly follow me. Leave all that's known and comfortable behind. She's probably one of the bravest people I've ever met and I love her all the more for it. I can't wait to see what all we will face together, for the rest of eternity.
About five hours later, all of which I just laid with Bella in my arms- my eyes closed and taking deep breaths of her scent- the sun begins to rise. Thankfully I have the day with her today as well. I don't have to get her home until around ten p.m., when Charlie will be getting off his shift. So I plan on taking her to Seattle. We'll be spending the day at the zoo and then I'll take her to an early dinner at the Space Needle. By the time all is said and done I should have her back just in time to beat Charlie.
I hate to do it, but if we want to get to the zoo at opening time, I'll have to get her up and getting ready. I can do it as gently as possible though so I start skimming my hand up and down her side, kissing her neck as I do so.
"Bella. Darlin'. It's time to get up. I have plans for today and it requires an early start. Come on darlin'." She begins to stir, stretching her body like a cat and turns to face me opening her eyes just a little.
"It's too early. Do we really need to get ready so soon? Where are we going that requires such an early start?"
"Sorry darlin' but it's necessary. I'm taking you to the zoo in Seattle today, well it's actually out by Bellevue, and as they open at nine thirty we really need to get up and get ready. It's three hours to get to the Woodland Park Zoo, at least the route I'm taking is. We'll be taking the ferry too, so that should be fun. If you're good I'll let you sleep in the truck on the way." I tell her with a chuckle.
She just groans and rolls over to the side of the bed, she's still delightfully naked and I get a wonderful view of her body as she stands and heads to the bathroom to shower. I quickly follow. We should shower together after all, to conserve water. Yeah that's it, conserve water. It's the best Eco friendly thing I've done so far today.
Bella
We get to zoo at about nine twenty. Ten minutes before they open. As it's a Monday the zoo isn't really packed, mostly it's just families with kids where the parents managed to get the day off. We park in what's known as the 'otter lot', apparently they have several parking lots all named this way- flamingo lot, penguin lot, etcetera- and walk up to the west entrance and Jasper purchases our tickets. I have to admit I'm excited, I've only been to one other zoo and I can't remember it because I was just a little kid when mom took me.
"Ready to go darlin'? Here's a map, which way would you like to go first?" I study the map he hands me and decide I'd like to end with the Northern Trail exhibits so I suggest we start with the penguins.
We walk around the many different exhibits, just taking our time. After the penguins we head to the Tropical Rainforest where we find things like the gorillas, lemurs and my personal favorite, the jaguar. After that it's the Temperate Forest where we find red pandas, the conservation aviary and to Jasper's delight, Bug World. Gross. Within this section there is also the farm animals where we could pet and interact with different animals, like bunnies and goats and things like that. Jasper tells me I'll see some of these animals at Peter and Charlotte's place because Peter enjoys raising farm animals like he did when he was growing up.
After the forests, we enter the plains. The African Savanna where we of course find zebras and ostriches. Giraffes, which we feed. Hippos and lions, among other things. I asked him if he was hungry when we came upon the lions to which he of course was not amused. It gave me a great laugh though, which landed me a trip over his shoulder and a swat to the butt. After that fun I had to use the bathroom so we stopped at the Thai Village. They really go all out with these fun names and things. I've really enjoyed the keeper talks we've encountered throughout.
After my quick break we head to look at the Komodo Dragon and the Meerkats. Every time I see the meerkats I think of Timon from The Lion King. They're so cute! Next we backtrack to the entrance to the first half of the Tropical Asia exhibits. Here we find tapirs, pythons and orangutans. Then the Raptor Programs with the many birds of prey they house. The owls are my favorite. He suggests I get some lunch, since I only had a banana and a swig of oj before we left this morning, at the Pacific Blue Chowder House. They provide a delicious selection of local seafood and such. Getting a bowl of chowder and a glass of lemonade we sit and discuss what we've seen so far.
It's then I realize, I haven't gotten anything from Edward. At least not yesterday or this morning. Which I find weird. I push it to the back of my mind though. I want to enjoy today with Jasper, not think of the jerk trying to split us up. After I'm done eating we head to the other part of the Tropical Asia exhibits where we find the tigers. I love tigers, they're so beautiful. There's also something called a sloth bear, which I found fascinating, especially after watching it suction it's food out of some items provided by a keeper.
After that it's the Australasia exhibits. Here we find the snow leopard, the wallaby and the aviary where we can feed the birds. They surprisingly come straight to Jasper. You would figure knowing he was a predator much stronger than they that they would avoid him but no, they are landing on his shoulders, sitting on his hand after the seed sticks he's holding, one even lands on his head which makes me laugh my ass off.
We finally head to the last group of exhibits, the Northern Trail. Here we find my absolute favorite, the wolf. It has nothing to do with Jake and the others either. I just love the way they look and the way their howls sound, mournful and soulful. If that makes sense. There are also brown bears, which Emmett would love, and elk. As well as the river otter which is so fun watching while they play with each other. Clowns of the water is what they are.
We are finally done with all the exhibits so we start towards the exit, but before we make it I see the carousel. Oh yes! We are so getting on it!
"Jasper my love my darling, will you ride the carousel with me?!" I'm practically bouncing up and down causing him to laugh at me.
"Sure darlin'. Come on." We both pick different colored horses right next to each other. He pulls his phone from his pocket and we lean together and he snaps a picture, something he's been doing all day stating he wants to keep these memories in picture form. Just in case he needs to show them to me after I wake from my change. I know I may forget some things and so I'm glad he's doing this, even though I hate having my picture taken.
After the carousel we stop at the zoo store on the way out and he buys me a t-shirt, a necklace of a howling wolf and a stuffed extremely soft snow leopard. Today has been perfect so far and I can't help but fall in love with this man so much more. Unfortunately it's ruined when we get to the truck. There on the windshield, held down by the wiper is a note. When Jasper opens it we read it together.
I hope you enjoyed your day at the zoo. I particularly enjoyed watching you laugh and smile Bella, but I wish it were me that caused it. Soon though my darling, soon.
All my love,
Edward
Jasper
That son of a bitch! We were having a good day and he had to ruin it! I can feel Bella's demeanor change immediately, where she was feeling happiness and contentment now she's feeling anger and fear. However she quickly shakes it off, did I mention she's brave?
"He's not worth losing the joy and fun of today. I'm not going to let him ruin it. Throw that away cowboy and let's head to wherever you planned to take me for dinner." And with that she heads to the passenger seat and climbs in. I toss the note and climb in next to her, turning the truck on and I head towards Aurora Avenue to head into the city and the Space Needle's rotating restaurant.
I figure this will be her last opportunity to visit it and she would enjoy the view. We park and head up, her excitement a palpable thing as she gushes about how much she's wanted to do this and she can't wait to see Seattle from over six hundred feet in the air. We sit and she eats while we talk, enjoying the view as the restaurant rotates, and the tension starts to go away completely. Thankfully she took my advice yesterday and has decided not to let that prick get to her.
As we walk back out to the truck I tense. I can sense another vampire nearby. I scent the wind only to stop and chuckle.
"What is it Jasper?" I only need to say one word.
"Alice."