It's been a week since Jacob came barreling into my apartment telling me that the vampires are back. A week of only working at the clinic in La Push. A week of missing my apartment, but loving sleeping next to Jake in his childhood home. Even if it means being down the hall from Billy.
I have somehow managed to resist snapping at Sam and Billy for the decisions they made 10 years ago. Tonight will be a true test of my patience and my forgiveness, Jacob has invited me to the tribe bonfire. We'll be going with Billy and I'm sure Sam will be there with Emily and the rest of the pack.
Jake, Billy and I pile into Billy's old blue pickup truck. I clutch tightly to Jake as we get closer. Maybe if we hadn't gone our separate ways so many years ago I wouldn't be nervous to attend a tribe event. Hell, I'd probably be planning them with the other women in the tribe and looking forward to spending time with everyone.
Jake's hand is squeezed tightly between mine as we walk up to the fire. Everyone turns at looks at us. I'm not used to being the center of attention but being the newcomer it was bound to happen. The reservation is a pretty tight knit community, it's not often that someone new comes to live here. If all goes well, tonight Jacob will ask the elders permission for me to live on the reservation permanently.
Once everyone has gone back to their conversations, Jake and I settle into an empty spot by the fire. When Emily rings the dinner bell the pack members are the first to jump up. Apparently feeding wolves is a big job. Emily jokingly chastises them for getting plates before the elders, women and children, but no one is worried about going hungry due to a lack of food so she lets it slide.
I slide into a picnic table next to Embry and his girlfriend and two people I've never met. My other option is sitting with Billy, but he seems engrossed in conversation with Sue. I quickly learn that Julia is no longer Embry's girlfriend, she's his finceè. We girl talk for a while, I hear all about the wedding plans and how the proposal went down. I've never made friends easily but Julia is nice and easy to talk to. I'm so absorbed in our conversation that I don't notice that Jake never sat down next to me. When I look up he's talking to Sam by the fire.
They look tense. I can see Jake getting upset, from an outsider's perspective you might not be able to see the emotions bubbling within him, but I can. They slowly make their way from the fire to the edge of the woods. A moment late Jake is gone, then Sam. The uneasy feeling that haunted me right after we imprinted is back.
"Bella, are you okay?" Julia asks, putting a hand on my shoulder.
"Oh umm yeah I'm fine… It's just that Jake and Sam just phased"
"You're feeling the pull aren't you" she asks.
"Yeah how'd you know?"
"Embry imprinted on me after he phased. I get it too when he's out of sight and I don't know where he's going. It gets better, but I will always be there"
"Thank you, it's nice to know that someone else knows how I'm feeling"
Julia and I go back to our food, but my eyes never leave the tree line. I search for him in the woods, looking for any movement that prove he's back. Several minutes later he appears in human form at the edge of the woods. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.
Without a word, Jake joins me at the picnic table with a heaping pile of food. He presses a soft kiss to the top of my head before digging into his plate. Within no time the pack is hooting and hollering, it feels just like old times. I can't help but smile, even though I'm sad I missed so many years.
After we have all eaten and the pack has had thirds we clear the tables and make our way to the fire. Billy starts to tell old tribe legends, some I remember, some I don't. When he starts to talk about the wolves Jake wraps a protective arm around me. We snuggle together by the warmth of the fire. When Billy stops talking, Jake clears his throat.
"Family, friends, members of the tribe. Some of you may have already meet the newest Doctor to make La Push her home, not only is she an incredibly compassionate provider, as of last week she is also my imprint. I would like to formally introduce all of you to Dr. Isabella Swan." Jake says, with pride in his voice.
The tribe welcomes me warmly, but there is still the fear that I won't be able to live on the reservation. I have temporary housing at the Black's but I don't want to live with Billy forever. I see all of the elder's gather around Billy, and I can only assume that they are discussing my future on the res.
"Bella, the Quileute people have lived on this land for generations. Forgive us for being wary of outsiders. Yet, your service to our community and your newfound relationship with Jacob has given us reason to pause before placing judgment. As a tribe we would like to offer you temporary residence here on the reservation. Your status will become permanent when one of two things happen, you either marry into the tribe or become the primary physician at the clinic. If neither of these qualifications have been met within the year we will review your residency here." Billy announces to me and the tribe.
Did Billy just suggest that I… well Jake and I get married?! For a moment I wish that Jake could hear my thoughts.
As the fire begins to die down the tribe begins to dissipate, a few pile into cars, some walk down the road and several of the pack members disappear into the woods. Billy and I climb into the truck while Jake puts Billy's chair in the back.
"Bella, I hope you understand why I had to put limitations on your residency here, if it was up to me you could've moved here as soon as you started at the clinic. You know I've always seen you as a daughter"
"I understand Billy, no need to justify it. I'm an outsider here, I would expect nothing less. I'm just not sure if I'll be able fill your qualifications by years end. Dr. Freedman has offered me a full-time job at the end of my residency, but I still have almost a year to go and well marriage seems far away and that is dependent Jake"
"We will cross that bridge when we get to it, but Bells… if marriage is something you want I don't think it will be as far away as you think" He says patting my hand.
Jake open the old truck door and slides into the seat next to me. Billy turns the key in the ignition and the truck roars to life. The drive home is quiet, my mind is racing with thoughts of marriage, work and Jake. It's not until we're laying in bed that night that I allow my mind to stop.
"What do you think about what Billy said tonight" I ask.
"I'm not surprised that he's going to let you stay but I'm surprised he added stipulations. When will you take over for Dr. Freedman?"
"I finish up my residency next March, and then I'll take over full-time and he'll go down to part-time. Unfortunately that's not for nine months and Billy made it clear that I only have until the end of the year, so six months. Maybe they will be willing to extend it again if Dr. Freedman explains our plan to them."
"That's a good idea" he says kissing the top of my head.
We avoid the topic of marriage although I am certain that it is on both of our minds. I know that it is in our future, I'm him imprint after all, but we're in no rush. I want to make sure we really know each other before we do anything drastic. I'm lost in my mind again we Jake's light snores pull me back to reality, snuggling into him I too fall asleep.
The rain on the Black's metal roof wakes me from my deep slumber. A flash of lightning shoots across the sky and illuminates Jake's bedroom. Seconds later a crack of thunder wakes Jacob, he rolls over to check the clock but it appears the power is out, rooting around for a moment he finds his phone. The screen lights up and reads 1:58am.
Maybe it was the sound of the rain or the streaks of lightning racing across the sky, it could have been the deafening thunder shaking the house, whatever it was something drew us together. One minute we were awoken to the sound of the storm, the next our lips were crashing together and our hands roaming each other bodies.
Tonight I am thankful that I wore just my shirt and panties to bed, Jake is a personal furnace so I have been forgoing pants. His hands leave my skin burning for more. Jake slips my sleep shirt over my head before pulling me up onto him, so that I'm straddling his hips. I can feel him growing hard under me as he teases my breasts. The only thing separating us is his boxers and my lace panties. I grind my hips into him as he pinches my nipples, a loud moan escapes my lips but it's muffled by a rumble of thunder.
I kiss down his chiseled abdomen and remove his boxers before finding my spot on his hips again. His naked erection rubbing against my soaked panties. I grind into him once before he flips us over so that he is on top. His fingers snaking down my body and making their way to the hem of black lace. In a single fluid motion he removes them. Jacob begins kissing up my legs, taking a moment to suck gently at my inner thighs. My body humming with anticipation. After painstaking teasing he takes my clit in his mouth, licking, sucking causing me to moan. When he runs his teeth over my bundle of nerves I lock my fingers in his hair and let out a deafening moan.
"Bells, don't wake Billy" he says with a wink before diving right back in.
It's hard to hold back a scream of passion as he inserts a finger deep in my core. As I can't reach Jake to pleasure him, I begin touching my own breasts, absorbed in the feeling of Jake's mouth and hands. It's a moment before I realize that Jake has stopped and is watching me pull at my nipples.
"Fuck Bella, I love watching you touch yourself" he whispers gravely.
I flash him a seductive look as I slide a hand down between my legs. I start rubbing my clit as he begins pumping his fingers inside me again. His two fingers stretch my tight pussy. I feel him bring a third to my opening and attempt to join it with the others, but the stretch is too much and he can see it in my face.
"Oh shit Bella, and I hurting you?" Jake asks as he stops moving inside of me.
"No it's fine, maybe just go back to two fingers?"
"Mmh how about I go back to tasting you" He says dipping his head and takes my clit in his mouth again.
"Jake, I want you" I moan
He continues to use his mouth on me, ignoring my request.
"Jake! I need you!"
"Bells, not now. I don't want to hurt you"
"You're not going to hurt me, I want you so bad. Can't you feel how wet I am? " I plead
"Bella, you know I want you but I can't."
"Well if we can't have sex then I want my turn at you."
"In that case, why don't you come sit on my face and they we can taste each other" he says with a sexy smirk.
We lay wrapped in each others arms in the glow of our orgasms. As the storm rages on outside. It is clear to both of us that resisting consummating the imprint is getting more and more difficult, but Jake is insistent on waiting for fear of hurting me. No matter how much I beg him and insist that he won't hurt me, even if I'm not sure it's true. I'm not naive enough to think that having relations with Jake is going to be easy, our difference in size is striking.
"Penny for your thoughts" Jake asks, kissing my hair.
"Just thinking about us"
"Us or Us" he says with a wink
"Well… Us" I say, blushing.
"Mmmh care to share? Thinking about round two"
"Well I'm not, not dreaming about round two, but I guess I'm thinking about taking our physical relationship to the next step" I say, avoiding his eyes.
"Bells, you know I want more than anything to consummate our relationship and the imprint. I'm just so afraid of hurting you."
The look of pain and fear in his eye, make me regret bringing up the topic.
"Jake, I know that any pain being with you may cause will be temporary and it will bring us closer together"
"Bella. As much and I and my wolf want to be with you, the idea of causing you pain far surpases that urge. The imprint makes me protect you at all cost, I couldn't live with myself if I hurt you"
"So this is it? We've imprinted because we're perfect mates and you will never mate with me because it may cause me some pain?"
" I didn't says never, just not yet. I want to make sure you're really ready."
"Jake, I'm ready to be your mate."
"Bella, this isn't about you. I want to be your mate more than anything but I'm afraid. I've never been with someone as a wolf… what if I can't control myself, what if I hurt you with more than just our size difference?"
"Wait.. you haven't been with anyone since phasing?" I ask.
"Umm yeah, I didn't want to get attached to anyone in fear that I would imprint on someone else, and if I'm being really honest you never really left my mind."
"Since we're being honest, I haven't been with anyone in a physical sense since Edward"
Jake's body tenses at the sound of his name.
"And we didn't get very far, that whole him wanting to suck my blood thing kind of made intimacy difficult"
"So umm are you umm..." Jake trails off.
"A virgin?" I interject.
"Umm I guess" he says avoiding my gaze.
"Yeah, I guess I am. It's not really something I think about. I was far to busy in college and medical school to have relationships and hookups hold no appeal for me."
I can't read the look on Jake's face. For a moment fear that he's going to get up and leave runs through my body. What if he wanted me to be more experienced, maybe he'll never want to take me as his mate now. Fear of the unknown courses through my veins.
"There is something I didn't tell you after the imprint, or even earlier in this conversation. For fear of judgment and embarrassment. When I told you I hadn't been with anyone as a wolf I wasn't lying, but the whole truth is I haven't been with anyone"
AN: So Jake and Bella have unconsciously waiting for each other. Will Jake move past his fears and take Bella as his mate? Do I smell vampires?