Chapter 36: Sex and the Soldier

Disclaimer: S. Meyer owns Twilight.

Jacob's POV:

I was having such a good dream—Bella and I were making love—when I woke up to the real thing. Man this was better than a dream, she was actually in my arms, her head nestled on my shoulder, her fingertips lightly stroking my chest. I had fallen asleep obviously. I let out a moan, and apologized to my sweetheart. But I couldn't help it; I almost always fell asleep afterwards. I was a ragdoll; my limbs lying there like limp celery.

Bella moved, lifting herself slightly. I gave her a squeeze and bringing her hand to my lips, left a moist kiss there. I peeked at her through a tiny opening in one of my eyelids. Her mahogany hair was in wild disarray, her cheeks flushed with the afterglow of love. God Almighty, how I loved to wake up beside her. "Heeeloooo, beautiful," instantly tripped off of my tongue. "You hungry?"

She expressed her desire to remain in bed, and truth be told, the feeling was mutual. If I could, I would stay with her under the covers for all of eternity. I think I read in a magazine one time that there was a church somewhere that married a couple not for this life only, but forever after. What a beautiful thought. Maybe I would look into that. Why would I want to travel through the eternities without my Bella at my side? I didn't want to be in heaven if I couldn't be with her—it would seem more like hell.

I told her a stupid joke about making love day in and day out until we wasted away to nothing, but really, was it just a joke? Gazing into those big chocolate eyes, I confessed my love for her one more time and sealed it with a kiss. God, that kiss stirred up the heat in my blood. I ached to have her again right at that moment. We both surrendered our bodies to each other, and tumbled among the twisted sheets. I wished it would never end, but dammit, both our stomachs were rumbling, so we cleaned up and got dressed.

We ate at a Chinese restaurant, and my bride took my fork away. What the hell...? She said I had to eat Chinese food with chopsticks. If I thought tying a bowknot was hard; this was ten times worse. These little wooden stilts would not cooperate with my big fingers. I'd get the food near my mouth when—plop—it would drop back onto the plate. At this rate I'd never get anything into my stomach. I asked for my fork. The little minx wouldn't give it to me. So I decided to play dirty. I told her why I needed my fork, and said it in such a way so that it would embarrass her enough to give it back to me. She was worried that the couple behind us had overheard my remark, but I was cocky, thinking there was no way they could possibly hear me.

When they walked by us, the woman whispered something in Bells's ear. Her blush turned a couple of shades darker. Then to my amazement, the guy with the hearing aid egged me on in the hot pursuit of my bride. Hooh boy, they must be makin' better hearing aids these days. If I was the least bit repentant, I would have matched the red in Bella's cheeks. But, no, who could blame me for wanting the woman I loved so madly. Besides, this was our honeymoon and sex was on the menu.

Anyhow, my ruse actually worked 'cuz, a moment later, the fork was in my hand, scooping up the chow ... mein.

As soon as we hit the cabin, I phoned the manager. It was a dream of mine, and probably a million other guys, to take my woman, while immersed in a pool of water. So, I walked to the office, and talked the man into letting us have the use of the pool for an hour. He was agreeable, knowing full well that we were newlyweds. Just thinking about it, left my body tingling with anticipation.

I had a little convincing to do to get Bella out of the cabin without any clothes on under her wrap though. She was reluctant to go sight unseen to our destination. Had I ever steered her wrong before? That would be a resounding—no!

This was gonna be fun. I couldn't believe Bella had never been skinny dippin' before. But I guess, living as she did in the hot Arizona desert, there probably were very few places to dip her skinny in.

The moon was full, and shone down on the placid water. I turned off all the extraneous lights so that the only illumination came from inside the pool and the shining globe hanging above us amid the stars. The night air was cool, but the water was heated to a comfortable temperature. I guided Bella into the glistening liquid, enveloping her back with my two willing arms. We circled in a dance of love, caressing each other. I held her against my chest, nuzzling and nipping at her neck and throat. When I looked up, there was such tenderness housed in her intense eyes that I was transfixed. How I loved this woman.

I brushed my lips gently with hers, then with more force, as the fire within me burned hotter. "Are you ready," I whispered.

"Always," she murmured in reply.

I pulled her up so that we would be at eye level. She responded by clasping my hips with her long legs. I wanted to get under her skin, to be a part of her. I was insane with my need of her. Why couldn't I stop? Why couldn't I get enough? Leaning her back onto the water, I coaxed her body to respond to mine. We both cried out as our passion for each other peaked in waves of pleasure. This wasn't the first time I heard her cry out my name, but each time she did, my heart leapt in my chest. I drew her up toward me once more, hugging her close. My bride ... my Bella ... my life! Corny or not, it was the honest to god truth.

Rocking her gently, as our heart rates returned to normal, I decided to take her for a swim. Her little arms were looped about my throat as I swam around the perimeter of the pool. I could feel her body pressed upon mine, her head reclining at the nape of my neck. I hoped I could always stay this strong for her; her support in times of trouble.

What a glorious day! I was worn out—but then Bella came at me with the sexiest nightie I'd ever seen in my life! Hooh boy, if only I wasn't so exhausted. I got a good eyeful though, but without sounding like a cad, I asked her to come to bed naked. We didn't get to do that at home, and I just felt the need for my skin to be in contact with hers throughout the night.

Before I drifted off, I wanted to find out if my sweetheart was alarmed by my unflagging desire. In all honesty, it was her fault. She was just so damn scrumptious. I didn't remember being this way with any other girl, so it had to be her. Bella bewitched me, and I dared anyone to break the spell.

Her reply to my concern soothed my soul. She loved me and was thankful that I had awakened her sexuality. I need never worry again that I was pushing myself on her. The thought occurred to me that you couldn't possibly push yourself on someone, if that someone was a more than willing partner, huh . . .

I nibbled on her cute little ears and bombarded her cheek with mini kisses, as we spooned snugly on the mattress. Sleep came easily that night. Man, I musta slept like a rock, 'cuz it seemed like I had just floated off to lala land when the birds were chirpi'g outside the window. Crap, we had to return home today.

Smoothing my hand down her bare arm, I murmured, "Hey, beautiful, rise and shine. I'm hungry. This guy needs fooood!"

Bella wiggled in my arms. "Again? But we ate some food yesterday."

I smiled into her hair and inhaled the fresh scent. "Yeah, I know. It's a real drag, isn't it?"

"Mmmnnn." she whimpered. "Okay, okay. Just give me five more minutes."

I played with her hair as I watched the seconds tick by. The clock on the nightstand showed 6:35. I began blowing into her ear. Her reaction was predictable. She whirled around, and with narrowed eyes, complained, "I'm up already. I'm up. Gee whiz, Jake. I just needed five more—"

I kissed her quiet, and her body relaxed. All at once, she tensed up again. "No fair. You're not going to get away with this. You think just because you're so darn adorable, you can always get your way?"

Smiling smugly, I fired back, "One can only hope."

There was a wisp of stray hair that kept floppin' over her eye. She was blowing puffs of air upwards to keep it at bay. But that didn't delay her tirade one bit. "Gosh, was it too much to ask for five more minutes?"

"I gave you five more." I wiggled five fingers at her.

"But I didn't get to sleep."

"You didn't tell me you wanted to sleep. You just said you wanted five more minutes, and I gave 'em to you."

She tapped me on the shoulder. "You!"

I was distracted by that wisp of hair. I could've brushed it off her forehead for her, but it was too much fun watching her puffing at it every few minutes. "So do you wanna go back to sleep then?"

"Oh forget it—I'm wide awake now." This time she huffed in my direction.

"Good, 'cuz I'm hungry."

She rolled her big brown eyes at me, and thumped back against her pillow.

"Man, you are so cute when you're all flustered." I leaned down and with my thumb, finally moved that lock of hair from her face.

The pillow suddenly came flyin' out from under her, barely missing me. I launched myself on top of her in an instant, pinning her wrists to the mattress. "So, you wanna play rough, huh? Don't mess with a soldier, little girl. I've been trained in hand to hand combat."

She bit into her lip, and all of a sudden arced into me. I let go, yelling, "Foul, foul."

Looking up at me from underneath her lashes, she remarked, "Number one rule of engagement: Never underestimate the strength of your enemy, especially if it's a woman."

Jeez, point taken.

Bella frowned at me. Pushing herself up on both elbows, she conceded, "Why can't I stay mad at you?"

I gloated, "Cuz you love me?"

"Yeah, that must be it." She reached her arms up and placed them around my neck.

We had breakfast at a small café, and lucky for me, I didn't have to use chopsticks. I held up my eating utensil. "Look, Bells," I joked, "a fork!"

"Ha, ha, very funny. When we get home, I'm going to buy two sets of chopsticks and you are going to learn to use them."

I executed a salute and cut. "Yes, maam."

Back at the cabin, we took several pictures and packed up all our belongings. I put the bags out in the RAV, and then Bella asked, "Can we go for a walk? There's still plenty of time before we have to check out."

"Sure, sure. It's pretty as a picture here, isn't it?"

I held her hand as we walked along a trail into the nearby woods. Bella was astounded at how lush everything was. The pines towered over us like giants, and the ferns spread out in a feathery green carpet. There was moss covering the trunks, and mushrooms clinging to fallen branches and others scattered on the ground in some places.

"It smells so fresh and clean." She looked thoughtful for a minute. "Hey, Jake, do you think we could come back to these cabins for our anniversary next year?"

I squeezed her hand affectionately. "Wouldn't you rather go somewhere exotic like Tahiti or the Bahamas?"

"Not really, this place has memories now. Our time together here was beautiful. Thank you."

"For what?"

"For everything—for working so hard, for loving me and Michel, for last night. I hadn't really planned to go on a honeymoon. This was all your doing. And it couldn't have been better."

"I just wish it could have been ... longer. Then again, maybe not—you wore me out, girl."

Bella playfully bumped my shoulder. A twig snapped just then and a black furry creature with a white stripe on its back ambled across our path. Bella jumped in fright, and clung to me.

"What's that you said about the air being fresh and clean? Damn, just what we needed. Don't move too quickly. We'll just back up ... veeeery slowly."

Bella suddenly grabbed my shirt, stopping me. "Look over your shoulder, Jake. There's another one right behind you. Now what?"

"Don't panic, but no sudden moves, okay? They've gotta scamper away sometime."

I had to laugh. I tried not to, but it was such a ridiculous situation. Penned in by a couple of skunks. I'd lived in Washington, all my life, and this was the first time I'd come across a skunk, let alone two. "Hey, Bells, you're right. This place will certainly remain in my memory."

"Shh," she whispered. "They can hear us, can't they?"

"I'm sure they can. Wait ..." I put up an index finger. "I think one of them is wearing a hearing aid." I crossed my eyes and pointed to my ear.

Bella buried her head into my chest, chuckling softly.

We stood clutching each other, as still as statues, holding our breath. I'm sure it was only about three minutes. It seemed sooo much longer, when the first animal continued on his way. Shuffling forward at a snail's pace, we put some distance between us and Pepe Le Pew, then took a detour to avoid him on the way back.

Reluctantly, we turned in the keys, and bought a book of post cards that Bella was gonna paste in a scrapbook for us.

We drove around, ate a leisurely lunch, and headed back to our real lives. The road sign to La Push appeared in our windshield at around three o'clock, and ten minutes later we were at the house. Charlie opened the front door and Michel came pourin' out onto the driveway, running toward us as fast his little legs could carry him, shouting, "Daddy, Mommy!"

I crouched down as he jumped into my arms. I was home.