PoeticKiss: Yeah, according to www.azlyrics.com, where I got the lyrics to that song, it was a bonus song.

UnangelicHalo: This chapter will be dedicated to the guy we love to love!

Again, the hormones have taken over. Honestly, I have no control over them...Lemon in this chapter, you know the drill. If you don't want to read, then start scrolling when you reach and stop when you reach

Suze's POV:

Ok, so after months of planning, my seventeenth birthday is about to start. And I'm not looking forward to it at all.

See, any other girl would be estatic that her family had gone through the trouble to rent a hall for her friends to party in on the big day. Any other girl would be thrilled beyond belief that her parents had agreed to letting all of them stay overnight in a huge hotel suite- her boyfriend included. Any other girl would be happy to finally be able to go see movies rated R without having to bring along a parent to buy the tickets.

But I am not any other girl. I'm Suze Simon, and I unfortunately, was not looking forward to my birthday. Namely because I'd been dealing with a particularly annoying ghost for the last two weeks. We'd tried everything to get this guy- Michael O'Harris, died during the gold rush- to move on, and nothing worked. I was about to throw in the towel, especially considering he'd decided it was his place to lecture Jesse and I about staying in the same room, when not married. Since this guy kicked it a year before Jesse did, he had a point, but it was still all I could do not to exorcise him. Instead, we turned him over to Father Dom.

But back to my party. My mother had rented this medium-sized hall in the basement of the Carmel Hotel downtown. It's the same one the school rents for prom for the seniors, with a bar (only soda available for my party though.) and good sized dance floor. Without my knowledge, mom had sent out invites to most of the junior class of the Mission. I didn't really care though, because mom and Andy had also shelled out money for a hotel suite for CeeCee, Adam, Jesse, and me for after my party. That was the coolest part.

So why couldn't I work up real enthusiasm? I was faking happiness for my mom's sake- I didn't want her to think I was ungrateful or something, because I wasn't. Ungrateful, I mean. I was fairly estatic about it. If I could just get certain demons off my mind.

For the last few months, I'd wake up in the middle of the night, sometimes for no reason, and sometimes to go to the bathroom, or something. And when I'd wake up...well, sometimes, out of the corner of my eye, I'd see Paul sitting on my window seat. I'd scream, quietly, and then he'd disappear. Sometimes Jesse would wake up, and he'd hold me and say it's just a nightmare. I'd go back to sleep, trying to believe it really was a nightmare, but knowing that it wasn't.

"Susannah, are you ever coming out of that changing room?" Jesse asked. We were at this really fancy dress shop at the mall, and had been for several hours. I'd gone to find a dress for my party, on my mother's orders, and CeeCee, Jesse, and Adam had come with me. Cee was supposed to be finding a dress too, but claimed she already found one.

"No." I said simply. I was trying on this black corset top with a skirt. The skirt was floor length, satin, except for the velvet roses going up the side. The corset top was sort of slutty, because it tied up the middle and revealed a little of my breasts, but I almost didn't care. It wasn't because of the dress I wasn't coming out. It was because I didn't want to show that much of me to the people out in the waiting area. I was having a "fat" day, where I felt very self-conscious about everything.

"Querida..." Jesse said, in this soft, gentle voice. Usually that voice will make me do anything, but not today. "Don't you 'querida' me, Jesse. I'm putting on my regular clothes, and I'm coming out. I'll wear a dress I already have." I said, turning away from the door to grab my jeans.

I was suddenly aware of a sharp intake of breath. I turned to the door to see what happened to see that Jesse had reached over the door, unlocked the stall, and had opened the door to show everyone my ugliness.

"JESSE!" I screeched. "You're not getting any for a week!" I threatened.

"Suze, you look..." CeeCee trailed off. The look on her face said I looked great. Adam's jaw had dropped and he looked like a truck had run him over. Jesse just stared at me.

"Someone finish CeeCee's thought, please?" I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

Jesse sopped staring long enough to kiss me. "So you like it then?" I said when he'd relinquished my lips.

"Yes." Jesse said, kissing me again.

I looked at CeeCee and Adam. They both nodded until it looked like their heads would fall off. I grinned. "Ok...I'll buy it." I pushed Jesse out of the changing room so I could put my normal clothes back on. I went out to pay for the skirt, trying to ignore the looks Adam and Jesse kept tossing me. Until Jesse threw his arms around my waist, and Adam got smacked by CeeCee for staring at my chest region.

"So, where to?" I asked, as we walked out to my car. CeeCee and I were each lugging a bag, and the guys had their own bags with tuxes in them. We stowed everything into the trunk of my car- Adam's would never hold all four of us, plus all of our stuff- and then started the drive to everyone's house. When it was just Jesse and me, I pulled into the driveway and turned off the engine, and then asked him. "Jesse, are you sure I looked OK in that dress?"

"Querida, words cannot begin to describe how beautiful you looked in that dress." Jesse said, leaning in and kissing me again. I sighed, and brought everything into the house.

Time seemed to slow down as I awaited for Friday night. Everyone- the girls, anyway- kept coming up to me at school and asking what they should wear. It got extremely annoying, especially when added to the fact that Jesse was being...weird.

Remember, he said he had something planned for me that night. I figured it had something to do with that, but no one would give me a hint! CeeCee had to know something, namely because she kept sighing wistfully every time Jesse and I were together.

So, when Friday finally rolled around, after waiting what seemed like an eternity, I surprised myself and was actually pretty stoked. I mean, Suze Simon the violent mediator, had made it to seventeen. seventeen. One year away from eighteen. After my many trips to the hospital, this had to be some kind of miracle. The big guy (or girl, depending on if you believe that movie Dogma) upstairs must really be smiling down on me.

I raced home from school that day, and ran up to my room. I took a long hot shower, trying to soothe all my worries away and succeeding. I got out, dried off, and threw on old clothes so I could do my hair and make-up without ruining the dress. I brushed out the tangles in my hair, and then rubbed in leave-in conditioner while it dried. Gina, my best friend from Brooklyn, swears by this stuff, so I'll swear by it too. For tonight, anyways.

I planned on as little make-up as possible. A bit of mascara, dab on some lip gloss, maybe a little blush for my cheeks. Nothing big, because I didn't want to clog my face with that stuff. I tore off my old clothes after I was done, and carefully put on my dress. The skirt swept the floor by about three inches until I put on my two inch black heels. Then it just barely touched the floor.

I laced up my corset top, still in shock that mom hadn't deemed it slutty. She had actually liked my top, and said that it only showed from certain angles, so it was no big deal. Then I threw together my overnight bag for the afterparty. Hehe, I like saying that. It sounds like I'm going to some high-class premiere or something.

"Susie, Jesse, are you guys ready? The limo's here!" Mom yelled. She, Andy, David, Brad, and Jake were going in their individual cars, but Andy had rented a limo for me, Jesse, Adam, and CeeCee.

"Coming!" I yelled. Jesse appeared in my doorway, looking absolutely yummy in his Armani tux. "Querida, you look beautiful." Then he started rambling on in Spanish, which I'm going to assume was more compliments.

I smiled and said, "You look amazing too, Jesse." We linked hands and started down the stairs.

"Oh, look at my baby!" Mom cried. You could see tears starting to form in her eyes. Mom's definitly one of those emotional moms. She stopped crying long enough to take a million pictures of us before Andy shoved us into the limo. I was grateful- the flash on mom's camera was starting to make me see spots. We got in and moved all the way over, me giggling slightly as Jesse's hand accidently grazed my thigh.

It seemed like in no time at all we were there, at the hotel, starting my party. The DJ tried to ignore my band list and played a lot of pop from the 90's until I heard he was going to play Backstreet Boys. I couldn't take that.

"Who do you think you are?" The DJ demanded as I took over the controls.

"Well, I think...NO, I KNOW I'm the birthday girl, and for once I'm going to be a bit selfish about the music." I said, sort of into the mike, but not really caring. I cut off "Quit Playin' Games With My Heart" and put on Switchfoot's "Meant To Live." Cheers erupted from the people who also had issues with the music, and they all started dancing.

Kelly Prescott and Debbie Mancuso were not among those who cheered though. They tried to come over and yell at me for changing the music, which in their opinion was classic love, but Jake and Brad came over and saved me. I so owe them a good Christmas and birthday present.

Then the DJ played Savage Garden's "Crash And Burn" and CeeCee and Adam started dancing, taking their lead from Jesse and me. I rested my hands around Jesse's neck, and his were on my waist, holding me and protecting me. We twirled around the dancefloor, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw a twinkle of blue lights. When we twirled in that direction again, I saw my dad standing there, smiling. I smiled back.

Dad stayed there for a few minutes, watching and silently giving me his blessing, before dematerializing. I was very aware of everyone watching us, and for a minute, I'd have sworn I was in heaven. The song ended, and Jesse and I stopped dancing while everyone cheered. I felt my face flush, but I didn't care. Even Kelly and Debbie couldn't ruin this moment.

Midnight came way to early, and everyone started to leave. The last people were gone around 12:30, after wishing me Happy Birthday again. Finally, all that was left was CeeCee, Adam, Jesse and me. We made our way up to the suite mom had gotten us, CeeCee and I still in our finery. She had this gorgeous violet dress the exact same shade as her eyes. It was princess-y, but not over the top princess-y, and looked fabulous on her.

"Querida...before you change, can I talk to you? En privado?" Jesse asked, taking my hand. His sultry voice told me it was whatever he'd been acting weird about so I replied, "Sure. What's up?" He led me out to the balcony attached to our suite. We were overlooking most of downtown Carmel, and the view was breathtaking.

"Susannah, you know I love you, right?" Jesse asked. He seemed very nervous, as if he wasn't sure how I'd react to him saying that.

"Yes. Jesse, you know I love you, right?" Jesse nodded, and didn't seem quite as nervous.

"Susannah...Mi querida...." Suddenly, Jesse sighed, and pulled a box out of his pocket.

I gasped as he hit his knees.

"Susannah Simon, will you marry me?"

Jesse's POV:

"Susannah Simon, will you marry me?" I asked, hitting the ground on one knee. For a moment, I couldn't breathe, awaiting her answer.

"Yes!" Susannah gasped. I looked up at her, and saw she had tears running down her face. I got up and placed the ring on her left hand. Susannah looked at it in awe before kissing me.

I held Susannah for a moment, treasuring this perfect time in our lives. I kissed her with the fire of a thousand suns before we retreated back inside.

"Suze, what's with the pod-people grin?" Adam asked. Her 'pod-people' grin only enhanced as she looked at me.

"Ah! You did it!" CeeCee exclaimed. I had asked CeeCee how she thought Susannah would reply if I asked her, hypothetically speaking. But CeeCee figured out I wasn't being hypothetical, and told me to go for it. She ran over and grabbed Susannah's hand, examining the ring. "Oh, it's gorgeous!" CeeCee exclaimed again.

"What is that?" Adam asked, getting up from his chair and coming over. He saw and said, "Whoa, you're engaged?!"

"Um, yeah." Susannah said.

"Cool." Adam said. I guess that was his way of giving his blessing. At least it wasn't as intimidating as Susannah's parents had been, or even Jake's. They had all given me this big long lecture on how Susannah was still a child, and not ready for this sort of thing, and then finally buckled, giving me their blessing.

"So, do you guys, wanna like, be alone or something?" Adam asked. "Cuz me and Cee, we can totally crash out here for awhile, if you guys wanna."

Susannah looked at me, and I looked back. The suite we were in had one big room, with two smaller bedrooms off to the side. "Nah...not right now, anyways." Susannah said. "But new room assignments."

Suze's POV:

"So, do you guys, wanna like, be alone or something?" Adam asked. "Cuz me and Cee, we can totally crash out here for awhile, if you guys wanna."

I looked at Jesse, trying to read his thoughts. He had this look that said whatever I decided was fine. "Nah...Not right now, anyways." I said. But there was no way in hell I was rooming with Cee when I could be rooming with my fiance. CeeCee's great, and I'd rather share with her than almost anyone. "But new room assignments." I finished.

I kissed Jesse again and said, "I'm going to go change." CeeCee followed me and we started to change.

"Aren't you psyched?" CeeCee gushed. "I mean, you're engaged! Ah, this is so cool!"

I smiled so hard I thought my cheeks were going to crack. "I know! It's so awesome." I collapsed onto the bed. I didn't want to change out of my dress. "I feel pretty." I sighed, sounding like Kelly or Debbie or someone. "Actually, it's more than awesome. It's fantastic, it's thrilling, it's...it's..." I trailed off, trying to find the word.

"Awesome?" CeeCee supplied as she walked into the bathroom to change.

I nodded. I held up my hand with the ring on it. It caught in the light, casting prisms of light over the room. "You think my mom's gonna flip?" I asked.

"Nah." Cee called. "Jesse did this really old-fashioned thing. He asked them for their blessing."

Oh yeah. I thought. That actually makes sense, since that's what they did in 1850. "That's so sweet." I said.

"So, you don't mind being in a hotel room with Adam, right?" I called, sitting up off the bed. CeeCee came out with a toothbrush in her mouth and gave me this look that clearly said, "Absolutely not."

I laughed. Then there was a knock on the door. "Susannah, are you done changing?" Jesse asked. I opened the door. Jesse looked at me, all confused. "I thought you were changing?" he asked.

"I feel too pretty to take off my dress." I said, as Jesse came into the room. CeeCee finished her bathroom stuff and left us alone, shutting the door behind her, wearing this silly grin.

"What are you going to do, sleep in it?" Jesse asked me, wrapping his arms around me. One of his hands traveled a little south, but I didn't mind.



"I was planning on sleeping naked, but you know..." I said in a voice that would get my message across to Jesse. It did, if the way he started kissing me was any indication. I smiled against his lips, loving the way he was loving me. Jesse picked me up and carried me to the bed, laying me flat on my back before leaning down and kissing me again. His fingers undid the lacing on my corset top, and I sat up to toss the top onto a chair on the other side of the room. I took off Jesse's shirt, as he'd already taken off the jacket, and flung it over in the general direction of my top. I slid out of my skirt and panties, and helped Jesse take off his pants and boxers.

I felt his hardness against my thigh as Jesse continued to kiss my neck, moving lower and lower with a trail of kisses. I gasped as Jesse flicked his tongue over my hardened nipples, sending little bolts of electricity over my body. He moved lower, keeping his deep brown eyes locked on my emerald ones. He dipped his tongue into my navel and I moaned. Jesse started to blow on me, kissing my inner thighs and then running his tongue over me. I gasped in pleasure and felt my whole body arch upwards. Trembling, I fell back down against the hotel's bed, moaning Jesse's name.

Jesse kept up until I was close to exploding. Then he came up and met my lips with his, shoving a finger in me. "Oh God..." I moaned against his lips. "Oh God!"

I broke this kiss and straddled Jesse's stomach, kissing his neck and running my hands down his muscular arms. I slid down his body, kissing his stomach and bringing my lips to his engorged manhood. It felt like steel wrapped up in a velvet blanket. I kissed the tip of it gently, feeling him get harder. "Querida..." Jesse groaned. I looked up at him devilishly, and kissed him again. I ran my tongue over the tip of his head, and felt Jesse tense up. He put his hands on my shoulders to steady my balance, and partially pushed me further onto him. I started making swallowing motions as I took all of him. I felt Jesse give off a little bit, so I swallowed it and then got off of him.

"Jesse, I'm sick of foreplay." I said in a sultry voice as I straddled his stomach. "Are you?"

"Ah, querida..." Jesse said, pulling me off of him and climbing on top of me. "You're in for a wild ride..." Jesse entered me, slightly at first, then harder as he began thrusting with wild abandon. I grabbed a fistful of the sheets in both of my hands and screamed as I thrust into him. I really hoped these rooms were soundproof!

I closed my eyes, very aware of this euphoric feeling flowing through my body. My head was swimming, and this time was better than all the other times Jesse and I were intimate. I'm not sure why, but I felt closer to him than I'd ever felt. I screamed again as my body gave way to intense waves of pleasure.

Adam's POV:

CeeCee came running out of the room she and Suze were no longer sharing with this grin on her face. "I take it the lovebirds are getting started a little early?" I asked as she sat down on the big couch next to me.

"Yeah." Cee said. "It's so cute. They are like, the perfect couple."

"Whoa, is Spider Web actually getting emotional?" I asked. CeeCee does not get emotional. She blushed and said, "So what if I am?"

I grinned. We could hear moans coming from Suze and Jesse's room, and I grabbed the remote and turned up the volume on the movie that was on. "Wow, so that's what getting engaged does to someone's sex life." I commented. "Should of gotten engaged years ago."

Cee groaned and shook her head. I heard Suze scream. "Jesus, is he killin' her in there?" I asked grumpily.

"Adam, you sound jealous." CeeCee commented. I was about to deny it, but then I heard Suze scream again. I would have burst in there, if she hadn't sounded like she was being given the best gift in her entire life.

"Fine. Maybe I am." CeeCee looked like I'd smacked her or something. I didn't get that, but whatever. "Cee, do you think...I mean, do you think this engagement with them is gonna work?"

"Yes, I do." CeeCee said firmly. "Get over it, McTavish. She ain't diggin' you like you're diggin' her."

I stared at CeeCee. That just wasn't something I expected to hear out of CeeCee's mouth. We both shut up and watched the movie.

Suze's POV:

For a long time after, my heart kept pounding. I lay still, Jesse's hand running up and down my stomach, my own running over his chest. Jesse let his hand rest over my heart and he laughed. "Querida, why is your heart pounding so? Are you afraid?"

I grinned and twisted my body so I was curled up with my head resting next to Jesse's chest. "No. I'm not afraid. It's pounding because that was amazing." I was at a loss for words, it was as if my speech capabilities had been shut off. I grabbed Jesse's chin and pulled his face to mine. I kissed him deeply, with more passion than I thought I had in me. I was worn out.

But after a few minutes of restful kissing, Jesse and I were renewed. And it started all over again...



The early morning sunlight shone through the big windows of our hotel room. My eyes flickered open against the bright light, and for a moment I couldn't remember where I was. Then I smiled as realization hit me.

I was in my hotel room with Jesse.

Jesse had proposed. I said yes.

Then we had the most amazing sex ever.

I sighed, deeply contented, and snuggled closer to Jesse's firm chest. He stirred and smiled at me, then wrapped his muscular arms around me again. I fell back to sleep almost immediately. And almost immediately wished I hadn't.

I was in...The shadowland? "What the hell am I doing here?" I grumbled, trying not to trip over the fog. I was very aware of the fact that I was naked, which had to mean that either I shifted here by mistake, or someone shifted me here.

"Suze, so glad you could drop in." Of course Paul would do this. I was more pissed off by the fact that I was naked this time.

"Paul, what the F do you think you're doing, bringing me here?" I screamed. "Send me home! NOW!" So I can put on clothes and kick your ass, I silently added.

"Now, Suze, why would I do that?" Paul said, taking slow, definite steps towards me. A sick, perverted grin appeared on his face as he saw my lack of clothing. "You're already so prepared for what I've got planned."

"You bastard! If you think for one minute that I'm going to willingly sleep with you, then you're are definitly thinking with the wrong head. NOW SEND ME-" Only I didn't get to finish my little speech because the dickhead decided to smother my lips with his.

I fought him every step of the way, from biting his tongue to kicking him in the groin. Unfortunately for me, he retaliated by shoving me against a door and pinning me there with his lower body. I screamed for help and tried to fight off Paul's hands from my ass. I bit his tongue again, and that seemed to get his attention.

"Shit, Suze!" Paul yelled as he broke off. "If you like it rough, then we'll get to that."

"Oh no we won't!" I screamed. Then I tried to shift home, and it didn't work. Paul must have blocked my ability or something.

"Dammit, LET ME GO HOME!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed in his face. Paul grabbed my wrist and flung me against another door. He backhanded me, and I fell into the door. I smacked him back, or attempted to anyway. Paul pinned my wrists to my sides and said, "Watch that temper, Suze. You don't want something bad to happen, now do you?" His breath tickled my cheek as he said that.

"Dammit, Paul. I'm not going to say it again." I said through gritted teeth. "NOW LET ME GO HOME!"

"Not until I'm ready for you to go home." Paul said. Damn him. He'd be ready for me to go home after he was done screwing me. Well, Lord knows I'm not going to make it easy for him.

I shivered, partially from Paul being so close to me, and partially because it was really cold up there, in the shadowland. Paul's sick grin widened as he pushed himself further against me and ran his hands up over my hips, towards my breasts...

I shivered more.

And then, I couldn't help it. I started to cry.

This is not the way I'm supposed to go down! I'm not supposed to die in the shadowland at Paul Slater's hands. I'm supposed to go down in some really cool way, like after I save someone's life or something. Oh yeah, and not for a really long time. I was seventeen, engaged, and for the first time in a long time, things were actually going OK.

So yeah. I started crying. Paul didn't even care, not that I expected him to. He just kept kissing me, sometimes kissing my tears away. I didn't kiss him back, but I didn't struggle either. I just stood there, against the door, shivering as Paul's lips kissed me anywhere and everywhere.

"See, Suze," Paul said between kisses. "I'm going to keep you here until you agree to be mine again. And if that takes forever, then it takes forever. We'll be comatose until you agree to be mine."

Like hell I will! I thought. See, my fighting spirit is still in me. I will fight him. He has to sleep up here, right? Or that Russell Crowe looking guy will be along. Right? Right?

Two days later, I'd been violated roughly twenty times by Paul and not a single person had been by. No gatekeeper, no lost souls coming up, no other shifters. No one.

How the hell was I going to get out of this one?