Wolf Boy

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

A/N-thank you for the kind reviews!

Part Forty-Three

Jacob stood under the spray of the shower, wincing, letting the hot water pound into his shoulders and back. Damn, his whole body ached. He needed to get rid of all these aches and pains before he saw Bella. She was like a damn mind reader when it came to his moods. He didn't want her worrying more than she already was.

He dried and changed quickly and headed to Forks to meet her at school. She was usually in the library waiting for him when he was running late. He hastened by the school buildings until he reached the library door. He pushed on it but it didn't open. He looked at it confused and tried it again, but it was locked. What the hell? He squinted through the door, but even the lights were off. Why the hell would the library be locked? She always waited there when he wasn't in the parking lot as soon as school ended. It was a safe place, she was normally surrounded by other students, studying.

Jacob pushed away the flutters of panic that was beginning to build in his chest. There was probably a rational explanation of why the library was closed so early. Perhaps the librarian was off sick, or had to leave early. He sighed and headed back toward the parking lot. Maybe she was waiting for him there after all, and in his haste, he had just missed her. He reached it and scanned the area, his eyes narrowing when he found no sign of Bella.

Frustrated, he yanked his cell out of his back pocket, intending to call her and give her another serve for not letting him know what the hell was going on. Bella knew better than this. She had promised him faithfully to always keep in touch, this was a tense time, she knew that. After finally persuading Riley to help them lure Victoria to a pre-arranged location, they were all on tenterhooks waiting for him to get back to them. Jacob knew that Riley had to tread carefully and pick the right moment to lay the trap. Victoria was becoming increasingly unpredictable and was suspicious of everyone and everything since her latest plans had been such disasters.

But when Jacob looked at his phone, he realised that the screen was blank. The battery must have died. He nearly crushed it he was so annoyed. "Dammit!" He cussed. That explained why he wasn't getting any text messages from Bella. He tried to calm down and think about what to do. If Bella wasn't in the parking lot, or in the library, where else would she have gone if she couldn't get in touch with him. "Angela's!" Of course, that was the only other safe place.

With that thought in mind Jacob changed direction and bolted for the Weber's house.

As soon as Angela opened the door and revealed that Bella was indeed with her, Jacob nearly collapsed with gratitude at her feet. He smiled broadly at Angela, before stepping past her and scooping a shocked Bella up into his arms. "Thank god!" He said into her hair. "My phone died. I'm sorry."

Bella hugged him back. She could feel his heart hammering in his chest and could only guess at how stressed he was feeling. She didn't bring it up in front of Angela, though. With everything going on there hadn't been a right time for Embry to have his little talk with his girlfriend. So, right now, Angela was in the dark about everything.

"Are you alright?" Angela asked in concern when she noticed the tightness around his eyes.

"I'm fine." Jacob assured Angela as he pressed his lips back onto Bella's before pulling away again.

"Okay." Angela shrugged. "Well, come in, Jake. Embry's here."

Jacob threw his arm around Bella's shoulders and followed Angela into the lounge, where he found Embry, busy bantering with Angela's younger brothers over who got the biggest roller and who was going to paint in the edges. Embry had volunteered to paint the Webers lounge in order to impress Angela's parents. Eventually he managed to persuade the boys that using the smaller brushes was a more important skill then using the roller.

"Your dad will be so impressed." He told them. "If you do a good enough job, he might give you a reward."

"Money!" The two boys exclaimed in glee as they began to fight each other for the smaller brushes.

Angela rolled her eyes and began to expertly referee her rambunctious younger siblings. While she was busy doing this, Embry greeted Jacob with the usual man-hug, handshake thing they did.

"You're just in time to help me shift the furniture, dude." Embry laughed as he gestured around the room.

Jacob groaned quietly in annoyance as Bella gave him a shove in the direction of the heavy bookcase. Bella stayed with Angela as the boy's argument over who got what brush intensified. She envied her friend's patience with her brothers; she didn't think she would remain so calm and collected in the same circumstances. Thank god her soon to be brother, Colin, was such a sweetheart. Bella watched as Jacob moved the larger pieces of furniture with Embry's help. They looked like they were engaging in small talk, but Bella could tell by their low voices and serious expressions that it was really pack business.

They spent the rest of the afternoon into evening painting the Webers lounge. Angela's brothers did a sloppy job of painting in the corners, so they were soon sent off to play upstairs with a promise that they would be rewarded anyway. Bella watched Jacob discreetly as he painted alongside his best friend, she was glad to see him relax a bit. Doing something so ordinary seemed to have a calming effect, easing his tension away for a few hours.

"This has been fun." Angela declared as she brought in some snacks for Embry and Jacob. She rubbed at a bit of paint on her nose, which caused Embry to laugh at her. She smiled at him cutely and he kissed her cheek, making her blush.

Jacob and Bella exchanged a happy smile. It was heart-warming watching Embry and Angela together, they were just too adorable. By the time the painting was finished, they all seemed on a paint fume high. Angela was ecstatic when it was finally done, and afterwards they all sat down to watch a baseball game that was being televised. Angela's precocious brothers re-joined them at this point and the two girls were forced into refereeing them again as they began to fight over who was winning.

It was a Friday, and Bella couldn't wait for the weekend to start. It had been hard for her and Jacob to spend any time together, alone. His house was always so full of people, and so was Connie's. Bella's moving to the res had given the pack another place to go to fill their stomach's other than Emily's. They all knew what an amazing cook Bella was and took full advantage of her culinary skills as they turned up at all hours, expecting to be fed at a minute's notice. Jacob soon got fed up with this, but as it was Connie's house, he couldn't turf his brothers out. So, he worked on Colin instead, persuading him to clear the others out so he could spend some quality time with his girl.

Bella prepared Jacob a special meal. Jacob had been spent long hours patrolling all week and she felt he deserved to be pampered, so she was going to do exactly that. Colin had kept to his word and warned the others they needed to steer clear of his house this weekend. He didn't give a specific reason why to honour Jacob and Bella's privacy. He just mumbled something about Charlie and Connie wanting some time to themselves so they could indulge in a little romance. This was enough to even put Quil off his free lunch, so Jacob and Bella were good to go.

After eating the sumptuous meal that she had made, Bella spent the next hour working out all the knots in Jacob's muscles, massaging him into a state of bliss. To finish the night of pampering off, she ran a hot bath, adding some luxuriant bubble bath until the water was foaming. Jacob climbed inside, smiling when Bella joined him, her slim body contouring to his as the bubbles soothed away the last of his stress.

"This is perfect, Bells." Jacob kissed her on the mouth, letting his lips linger on hers for a while. "Thank you."

"You deserve it." Bella smiled into the kiss, before burying her face in the crook of his neck as she traced her fingers across his chest and abs slowly, making her mouth water. Jeez, he was so gorgeous! Should she be lusting after him so much? She had been fighting the urge to jump his bones for days. The pampering session hadn't just been for his benefit.

She shifted and straddled him, pressing her body against his as she kissed him lightly on the lips. He looked so beautiful as he looked at her with a tender expression, he was just so freaking perfect. One muscled arm wrapped around her, pulling her closer to his body. Bella smiled and kissed him again. He moaned quietly and kissed her back softly.

Jacob's hand moved up and tangled in the back of her hair. "I am so glad that Charlie and Connie are working late tonight." He mumbled huskily as Bella kissed down his neck.

She grinned against his skin. "I know."

Jacob laughed as he tickled his fingers down her back, causing her to shiver in delight. She pulled back and smiled at him seductively. "Maybe we should take this to the bedroom?" She suggested coquettishly.

Jacob grinned and stood up in the bath, lifting Bella up with him as easily as if she was a small child. His sudden movement made her squeal in surprise as water sloshed over the sides of the bath. "Jacob!" She scolded him, hitting him lightly on the chest. "You better clear up this mess!"

"Later." He smirked. "I have other, more enjoyable things to do first. You think you can be quiet?"

Bella bit down on her lip and wrapped her legs around his waist; she nodded, giggling. "Yeah. I bet you can't make me scream."

Jacob laughed. "I'll take that bet." He crashed his lips onto hers, and Bella felt her heart skip a beat, she was so excited she could barely breathe. She knew she'd lose the bet; she always lost Jacob's bets.

A/N-a bit of calm before the storm I feel. Thanks for reading!