SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY. If it helps this chapter is about 14,000 words? It's like two chapters in one- don't hate me! xo's


Chapter Twenty-Two: Back to Us

Jane's POV

I was a little nervous to see everyone again as I walked towards the bonfire. It looked like every single one of Seth's friends were there, and some people that I didn't even know. The feeling shocked me, but I immediately felt embarrassed, like there was about to be too much attention on me. I was never a fan of a lot of people knowing my business, and I always really felt like relationship trials and tribulations should be kept private; now, though, I knew that everyone knew, and I couldn't help but feel a little bit ashamed. I pulled Seth's arm down from around my shoulders and then latched our fingers tightly together, pressing myself tightly to his side.

Seth squeezed my hand. "You can't believe how much I missed you," He whispered into my hair.

Oh, wow. My heart felt like it just plummeted into my stomach, but not in a bad way, not at all. Seth had this way of making me feel like the most important person in the entire world, and the way he whispered sweet things to me made me want things that a good girl like myself really shouldn't want.

I rested my cheek against the side of his arm and took a deep breath. Seth smelled so good; I wondered how I had stayed away from him for so long.

"You nervous?" He asked me then, just as sweet as his first question.

I nodded my head; there was really no denying it, and Seth could read me like a book.

"Don't be, baby," He brushed his fingers against my own and then gently kissed the top of my head.

Wow, I blushed. Seth couldn't seem to take his hands off of me, and his use of sweet pet-names was making my head spin and thighs tighten.

"Don't worry," Embry cut in before Seth could say anything else. Him and Lena were walking so close; I hadn't realized that he had even heard that. "We only sacrifice half of the new people."

"Embry!" Lena smacked his chest, laughing and rolling her eyes.

I laughed. "Those are terrible odds," I played along.

"What's terrible?" Leah Clearwater suddenly obstructed my view from the rest of the people sitting around the fire.

"Leah!" I smiled, followed by a blush at my much too high enthusiasm. Although I knew that it was unlikely that anyone here held my brief departure from their group against me, I worried that Seth's sister now thought less of me, like I wasn't good enough to him. "Hi," I said quieter now, more nervously.

"Hi," She laughed, pulling me in for a tight embrace. I let out a sigh; thankfully, that didn't seem to be the case at all. "I'm glad you're back. My brother was a fucking wreck without you."

"Leah," Seth warned under his breath.

I frowned up at him.

"I wasn't that bad," Seth's eyes softened at me.

"Oh he was," Leah's eyes widened. "Trust me."

"Alright, alright," Seth went to pull me away, but behind him, I noticed her mouth, I'll tell you later. My heart internally plummeted. Even though I knew that Leah was only joking, and trying to lighten the mood, I hated the thought of Seth being miserable due to me.

Seth leaned down to whisper in my ear. "It wasn't that bad, babe," He repeated. "Just in a slight Jane-missing coma. Totally normal."

I giggled, unable to help myself. "Okay," I whispered, but I still wasn't buying it. We had a lot to talk about; the thought made me a little nervous, but I took a deep breath, forcing myself to just stay in the moment, because here, right now, was everything. Nothing could get better than this. The only thing that I needed to focus on was how incredible Seth's hand felt and how excited I was that we were back together.

"Hey, everyone!" Lena's dad's booming voice suddenly sprung through the night air, silencing the group. I cringed; I had a bad feeling about this. "Jane's back!"

Lena's mom gasped. "Jane!" She popped up. "Hi!"

"Hey Jane!" A few people called at once.

"We missed you!" Nessie quipped.

I blushed. "I missed you all, too," I said quietly. It was refreshing and surprisingly warm, this group of people that were all Seth's friends, but had become his family. And how I was being treated right now, made me realize that they had somehow become my family, too. I was suddenly so grateful for what I had spent weeks fearing.

Still, I hadn't evolved that much in the course of a few weeks: I still hated attention. Specifically, being the center of attention made me want to crawl into a small hole and not come out until everyone was gone.

Seth laughed and then pulled me closer to him. "You're okay, Janesie," He assured me.

"Jane?" A soft voice turned me to the side. Standing there was a woman, probably in her sixties, though she was still beautiful. She had long, shiny black hair, the kind of hair that never got ratty, even in old age. She had wrinkles underneath her eyes, but the kind that alerted me that she had spent a lot of her life smiling, and big, hazel eyes that looked pretty familiar.

"I'm Sue Clearwater," She smiled kindly at me, and once I heard that, mixed with her eyes and the way that she smiled, I knew why she looked so familiar. This was Seth's mother.

"Oh," My eyes popped. "Hi," I blushed, my voice small. I had never met Seth's mom before, and I was finally meeting her for the first time after having left her son for a few weeks. I was extremely self-conscious about this; would she judge me for it?

"It's so nice to meet you," She told me sincerely. "Can I give you a hug?"

My lips parted just a little bit. It wasn't like I thought she was going to attack me, but her warmth and acceptance was shocking. "Oh," I said again. Get it together, Jane! "Of course!"

She smiled widely now, and then I pulled away from Seth only for his mother to wrap her arms tightly around me, and squeeze. Her hugs were warm and inviting, and she smelled like good food and flowers. It was such a mother's hug, which seemed odd to think about, but after not having one for so long, it was surprisingly calming.

She pulled away. "I've been wanting to have you over for dinner," She held onto my shoulders as she talked to me. "I couldn't wait to meet the girl that my son can't stop talking about." She squeezed my shoulders. I blushed, peering up at Seth, who at that exact moment looked down at me, his eyes softening just a little bit, in a way that I was sure only I was able to notice.

"I'd like that," I told her. "Well, truthfully, if your cooking is anything like Seth's, I'd love that!"

Mrs. Clearwater laughed. "Oh, it's better! Who do you think taught him everything he knows?"

I chuckled. "My mom taught me how to cook, too. She was, admittingly, much better than me."

"You're a great cook, though, Janesie," Seth wrapped his arm around my torso and squeezed my hip just a teensy bit. It made me blush, the intimate touch right in front of his mother.

"Well great," Mrs. Clearwater smiled warmly. "You can make something for Thanksgiving!"

My voice faltered. "Thanksgiving?" I finally asked.

She nodded her head. "You'll be spending it with us, right?"

"Of course she will!" Leah popped up next to her mom. "I need someone to trash talk Seth with."

"Ugh," I peered nervously up at Seth. It wasn't that I was necessarily worried about spending Thanksgiving with him, but we had just gotten back together. I had no idea if Seth even wanted me there. In fact, I had no idea where we stood at all! Based on his reaction, it felt like we were going back to where we left off, but the invite hadn't come from him himself, so I was worried that it was too much, too fast for him.

"If you want me there?" I questioned quietly.

Seth frowned. "Are you crazy?" He asked sincerely, his voice softening and his lips dropping into a frown. It was obvious that my question annoyed him. "Of course you're coming. If you don't want to than I'll just come over- you're not spending Thanksgiving alone."

I felt an overwhelming warmth flow through me, completely overtaking my veins. It erupted out of me into a smile. I turned back to his mother.

"I'd love to come for Thanksgiving," I told her, honestly. A frozen part of my heart thawed a little bit. Though I never would have admitted it to Seth, or even myself, after my parents, and then after I broke up with my ex, one of the most terrifying and disheartening thoughts I had, was what holidays were going to be like. I couldn't afford to visit my extended family, and even if I wanted to, I wasn't close enough to them for it not to be uncomfortable and awkward. I knew that I would be alone, and that terrified me. I worried so much about Thanksgiving, and especially Christmas, spending it completely and utterly alone. Though she didn't know it, Seth's mom's invitation meant more to me than I could express.

"What would you like me to bring, Mrs. Clearwater?"

"Oh, honey, call me Sue," She immediately corrected. "Whatever you're comfortable making."

"Definitely pie," Seth's eyes were wide. "One time she made me an apple pie. I thought I died and went to heaven- I'm not even exaggerating."

"Yeah, yeah," Leah rolled her eyes, "Jane's the most amazing human in the entire world; we've heard it all before." I blushed. Leah turned her attention to me. "Bring whatever you want, Jane."

I giggled at the banter. "I'll bring pie. How many do we need?"

"Just one should be fine," Sue waved her hand in the air. "It'll just be the four of us plus my husband, Charlie. Later, Charlie's daughter Bella and her husband Edward stop over. They're Nessie's parents, you've met them, right?"

My eyes immediately bulged. "You mean the blood-suckers?" I blurted.

Sue immediately took an intake of breath. Leah's mouth dropped, but there was a hint of humor behind her expression that I could make out. I felt Seth's chest moving as he laughed gently behind me.

"Where'd you hear that name, honey?" Seth asked, his voice gentle, almost like he was talking to a little girl that needed a lesson.

I blushed, suddenly seriously embarrassed. "Lena," I murmured. "Did I say it wrong?" I bit the corner of my lip. There were so many things that Lena told me, I was worried that I completely botched the name.

Seth laughed, but it was mixed with his kind, caring eyes and a squeeze of my hand. "You can just call them vampires, Jane. Blood-suckers is reserved for the people who really hate them, like Sam. He can't seem to get over it."

I blushed. "Oh," I suddenly was very nervous. "Mrs. Clearwater- Sue, I mean, I'm so sorry; I didn't mean to offend your family, I just thought that-,"

"No, no, honey," She reached for my hands. "It's okay! It just surprised me! I haven't heard that in a long time! I know this is all new for you."

I blushed even deeper. "I really am sorry," I tried to show it on my face as I said the words.

"It's okay, Jane," Seth answered for her, his voice sweet. "You have nothing to be sorry about. You can call them whatever you want."

"I don't want to offend them!" I looked up nervously at him.

Seth laughed, his eyes crinkling. "You're worried about offending Vampires, Jane? God, you're so cute."

I blushed. "Seth," I mumbled under my breath, my eyes dropping to my feet. I was super embarrassed with these kind of complements in general, especially in front of his mother and sister.

"I am begging you to keep calling them that," Leah laughed. "It sounds so funny coming out of your mouth. Do you ever even cuss?"

"Well, actually... sometimes," Seth began, his voice teasing and humorous in a way that I would only ever understand.

I blushed ruthlessly, stammering to change the subject before Seth gave away any more information. "I thought that was the correct terminology," I said underneath my breath.

Seth kissed me firmly on the side of the head. "Is saying that you're the most beautiful girl in the world the correct terminology?" He grinned at me.

I blushed. "Stop it."

"Nope," He smiled even bigger. "Never."

"Seriously," Leah's voice was serious. "Stop it. We're all begging you."

"Leah Clearwater!" Seth's mom sighed, turning towards her with a disappointed expression. She turned towards me. "I apologize for my daughter."

I laughed. "Don't. I think it's funny! I always wished I had a sibling."

I wished it was just in my imagination, but I swear both Leah and Sue's face's fell just a little bit.

"Hey, guys!" Lena called in our direction, saving the day yet again; I really needed to buy this girl a gift. "We're about to start!"

Sue wrapped her arm around my shoulders and walked me forward, while Seth remained at my side. "Just do your best to follow along, Jane. I'll answer any questions you may have later."

"Okay," I whispered, still a slight blush on my cheeks. From my verbal flounder earlier, I realized that I had a lot more to learn than I thought.

Seth pulled me by my hand over to where there was an empty fold-up chair around the fire. He sat down and then tugged on my hand.

"Are you okay sitting with me, Jane?" He tilted his head at me, his eyes gentle.

A small smile overtook my face. "Of course I am," I whispered. Seth opened up his legs and I sat in the middle of them, letting my legs go through the sides of the chair and resting my shoulder against Seth's chest.

"Good," He wrapped his arms around me and then pecked my cheek. "Because I don't think I'd be able to sit away from you."

I giggled. "Seth," I whispered. "Be good."

"I'm trying my best, Janesie," He whispered under his breath. "Did you have to wear those jeans?"

I giggled. "They're jeans, Seth."

"Sexy jeans," He tickled my side.

I gasped and pulled his hands away. "Seth! Be quiet!"

"Sorry," He grinned just like a little boy. "Ugh, I missed you, Jane. I'm sorry if I'm overdoing it."

I softened. "You're not overdoing anything," I let myself fall into him. "I missed you too, Seth."

"Yeah?" He rubbed my thigh.

I bit the corner of my lip and then nodded my head.

Seth leaned in to whisper in my ear. "Just listen, okay? I know we have a lot to talk about, but we'll do that later."

I nodded my head and then twisted so that I could rest the back of my head against his chest. Seth wrapped his arms around my abdomen and I placed my hands above his, just as the first person began speaking.

Seth spent the time during the stories whispering explanations into my ear. Things like, "That's the elder counsel," and then explaining who people were, like, "That's Billy Black, Jake's dad." I took in his words as well as all of their words like water, soaking them in. It was a lot, that was for sure, and at many times I felt like I was listening to a different language. I would hear certain words that sounded familiar, like "cold-ones" and "shapeshifters" but the rest I hadn't learned yet.

After the beginning, it got a lot better as far as ease of understanding went. Jake's dad told a story about the first shape-shifters, and the first time that they met a "cold-one", which was very interesting- a little freaky, but very interesting. I was so enamored with it that at one point Seth made me jump by rubbing my arms; I looked down and realized that I had goosebumps.

"Are you okay?" He asked me. "Do you want to go?"

I looked at him like he had lost his mind. "No way!" I replied. His smile was too big to accurately explain.

During the story, I just had to look over at Nessie Cullen; I couldn't help it. Now that I knew that her family were vampires and that she was half, I wondered if she was at all offended by the way that the elders told this story. Mr. Black said it himself when he said, "The cold-one's became our greatest threat to the humans that we protected, and they have remained our enemies to this day." Vampires and shape-shifters were natural enemies; it was weird for me to see Jake and Nessie together now, knowing what they were. I reminded myself to ask Seth about that later. To my surprise, though, Nessie's face remained impassive, happy even, as she sat next to Jacob on a long log on the ground. A slight pang hit my chest as I wondered where the kids were tonight; I missed them more than I thought possible.

By the end, I was more confused than ever, but I couldn't deny the hum of electricity and excitement that was flowing through me due to the stories that I had just heard. Not that I really questioned it after seeing it, but sitting around with everyone and listening to the tribe's stories made me feel a weird type of giddy excitement at the fact that my life was actually like a real-life supernatural romance right now.

Sue concluded the "meeting," which followed with a round of applause from everyone, and then loud murmuring among everyone after that.

I turned to Seth. "Wow," I murmured, not able to keep the smile off of my face.

Seth appeared a little nervous. "A good wow?"

I thought about it for a moment. "I think so," I whispered honestly.

Seth nodded his head understandingly. He reached out and stroked down my cheek with the tip of his finger. God, that heat. I wasn't sure how I had survived without it even for a single day. Thoughtlessly, my eyes dropped to his lips. They were even redder in this darkness; the shadow underneath showed how plump, too, but I already knew that.

"Should I take you home now?" He asked, his voice merely a whisper.

I gulped. I watched his Adam's apple bob; that was so sexy. "Probably," I mouthed back.

His fingers fell to my collarbone. He traced the skin there delicately as I tried to figure out how to breathe again. It was otherworldly, because there were people all around us, with loud conversations that couldn't be ignored, but the thing was, everything suddenly became background noise. There was merely a faint buzzing in my ears, the presence of everyone's eyes forgotten, as I closed my eyes. The only thing that I could think about in the entire world was how incredible Seth's fingers felt as he stroked up and down my collarbone.

Finally, I opened my eyes. Seth stopped.

"Please don't take me home," I practically whined.


Seth's POV

The drive home was very indicative of where we were at, at the present. We talked about everything except for things that actually mattered, and that seemed to be where our relationship was, too. We were, I hoped, dating again, but we hadn't talked about what that really meant yet. So, we were playing it safe, with loaded silence followed with light conversation about nothing at all.

When we got back to my apartment, I realized that we hadn't really said anything, and that more importantly, Jane hadn't really said anything. Sure, she had said that she missed me. She had kissed me and sat on my lap and given me every inclination that we were back on, but this was Jane I was talking about, she wasn't necessarily the best communicator in the world.

I opened the front door for her, and tried not to be a pig as she stepped inside, keeping my eyes locked on the back of her head.

I shut the door behind us. Jane stopped where she was. I tensed in the doorway, not really knowing what to do or say. There was so much I needed to tell her, but I couldn't stop my eyes from noticing the way her shoulders rose and then fell, up and down, in a constant, sexy rhythm. She turned slowly, her eyes wide and cheeks flushed. I could tell that she was nervous from the way that she bit the corner of her lip.

"Jane," I whispered.

Her eyelashes flickered, and then she met my gaze with her own. She took a steadying breath, and then rolled her lips together.

"It looks the same," She finally whispered.

I slowly nodded my head, taking a hesitant step closer. Jane gulped for a moment, and then her lips parted. My face fell; I opened my mouth to tell her not to be nervous, before I slammed it shut again. What if Jane wasn't nervous at all? What if she was scared of me now? I had no idea what Jane was thinking, so I had absolutely no idea what to say.

"It hasn't been that long, Jane," I decided on the reply, making my voice gentle.

Finally, she let out a loud gush of air, placing the back of her hand on her forehead. "Jesus, I'm sorry Seth," She moaned. "I'm being so weird. I don't mean to be this weird. I'm just kind of nervous and weirded out because I'm not sure what to say here and I just,"

"Jane," I chuckled, choosing to close the distance between us. I took her shoulders between my hands and held onto her there. I waited until she rolled her neck up, and for her eyes to meet mine. "You're not being weird. You're fine."

"I know," She murmured, a frown suddenly filling her beautiful features. I hated seeing her frown, or unhappy or hurt in any way. "I just hate talking about things in general; you know this, and now we really have some serious things to talk about and I guess I'm just kind of nervous."

"It's okay, Janesie," I told her gently, running my palm from the top of her hair down to the bottom. "We'll talk in a totally non-scary way. Promise."

She giggled. "Thanks, Seth."

"Yeah," I laughed and then lightly pressed my lips into her cheek. I wrapped my arms loosely around her back and then clasped them right where the dimples were above her butt; I knew those dimples all too well. "I'll lead the conversation too, just to take the pressure off of you. We both know that when you feel pressure to bare your soul to me it causes a lot of anxiety, and without being drunk, I don't know if you could get there."

Jane laughed freely now, and it made me smile, seeing her beautiful smile like that as her eyes lit up. "So kind of you," She murmured, suddenly running her hands up my stomach until she rested them on my chest. "Not wanting to get me drunk and take advantage of me, and all."

I tried to pretend like that didn't have as much effect on me as it obviously did by clearing my throat, but I could tell from her face that she noticed. The thing about us was, although we weren't together for a few weeks, we knew each other so well at this point. There was no hiding anything.

"Should we not touch each other?" Jane asked sweetly, though she made no inclination to pull her hands away. Was she teasing me? From the way that the corner of her lip pulled up and her eyebrow cocked I wanted to say that she knew exactly what she was doing, but the innocent look in her eye and sweet tone told me other things. God, Jane was an unreal human being. She was everything all packaged up with a beautiful bow and curly hair. She was sexy and funny and sassy and strong all while being vulnerable and gentle and innocent.

"Probably a good idea," I figured out how to work my mouth to whisper back.

"Most likely," She whispered, though her eyes weren't on my eyes anymore. They were, in fact, a little bit lower.

"We probably wouldn't be able to get very far like this," I told her honestly.

"No?" She breathed, closing her eyes, and tilting her face up to meet mine.

I pressed my lips into her sweet, soft ones, and immediately my body electrified with innate need for her. It was a given, really. I couldn't say no to Jane and those perfect lips, especially when she was touching me. Jane whimpered against my lips, and suddenly I couldn't help myself anymore. My restraint fell off of me like a heavy sheet. I grabbed her face in my hands and pulled her closer, allowing my lips to completely mold into hers like they were meant to. It was a feeling of such intense sweet relief, that it completely consumed me.

Jane's tiny, perfect hands gripped my tee-shirt, and I let my hands roam the perfect contours of her back. God, did I so want her to be naked right now. I could just imagine feeling up the outlines of her perfectly curved thighs and delicate spine. Everything about Jane was like a perfectly sculped work of art.

Thankfully, Jane seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"Take my clothes off," She breathed, pulling her head back to practically beg at me.

I froze. "Jane," I managed to get out. "Are you sure, babe?"

Jane frowned in confusion. "Yeah, Seth. I would say I'm pretty sure."

"You're not... scared?" I just barely whispered that last part. The truth, as brutal as it was, still was that Jane had been tricked into sleeping with a man that had disguised himself like me. Only, he wasn't a man; he was a monster. Jane still hadn't talked about it, but I would be lying if I said that I didn't spend most nights up, imaging him hurting her. The thought of her thinking that I would ever harm her or force myself on her made me nauseous.

"Shut up," Jane demanded, which sort of shocked me, because it was commanding and strong, not usually how Jane spoke. Before I could respond, she crushed her lips to mine, and the rest was history.

I didn't mean to, but suddenly there was the sound of fabric tearing, and my hands were able to roam the bare skin of Jane's back, tugging at the band of her bra, wanting that off too. Needing that off. Right now. This instant.

Jane gasped at the intensity, but then, she quickly pulled away to push up my shirt. I pulled it overtop of my head, throwing it across the room so fast I barely even noticed where it went, before I gripped the back of her neck in my hand and pushed her back, back, back, up against the wall. Only, in my haste, once it was all too late, I realized that I hadn't pushed her up against a wall at all, but instead... a door.

Jane stumbled a little as I accidentally pushed her into the bathroom. I quickly caught her around the waist, pulling her up to a standing and then lifting her to set her down on the counter. God, I had got to get those jeans off of her; Jane's legs were like crack. I couldn't get enough. They were thin and shiny but also thick enough to be able to squeeze and bring out sweet sounds of pleasure from her sinful lips when I did so. The thought immediately made me hard.

Jane giggled, but I was a man possessed. I had done nothing but spend hours and hours over the last few weeks imaging being inside of her. Imagining the sounds she would make, and the way that her body would curve around me. I couldn't hold myself back. But, I forced myself to. This was all about Jane, this wasn't at all about me.

A small growl slipped between my lips at the severe restraint that was forcing my muscles to relax and not go for what they really wanted. I dipped my lips to her collarbone and gently sucked on her skin there. God, she tasted amazing, and her collarbones did not disappoint.

"Oh, Seth," Jane moaned, all inhibition having left her at this point. She ran her fingers through my hair and then whimpered as I ran my own up her sides. "Can we take a shower?" She asked, her voice sweet.

I moaned and buried my face into her neck, pulling her in for a hug. "God, Janesie," I mumbled. "I'll never say no to that, do you hear me?"

"Mmm," She answered in response, wrapping her arms around my neck and pressing her face into my chest. I lifted her thighs up in the air and then wrapped them around my torso, walking us into the shower. I turned the shower on but made sure to turn so that the water hit my back while it was heating up. I held on tightly to her to keep her warm; I never wanted her to be cold ever again. I would spend my life making sure she was warm.

Jane, she took this opportunity to pull her face away from my skin, and then pulled one of her hands away to be able to touch me. At first I wasn't sure what she was doing, but once I realized, I fucking melted for this sweet girl. Jane spent the minutes oh so gently brushing her fingertips against every inch of the skin on my face. I watched her as she worked, admiring the way that her red, plush lips parted, and her eyes squinted together in concentration as she gently traced her fingertips along the contours of my jaw, my nose, the outlines of my lips and eyes, along my hairline and across my cupid's bow. She

"You're so perfect, Seth," She finally whispered, meeting her sweet, emotion-filled watery eyes with mine. "You're everything."

My face fell. "God Jane," I just barely murmured, reaching for her cheeks. "I love you so much, you know that?"

Jane's face fell, and then the tears that I knew she was hiding in there began spilling down her face.

"Awe babe," I couldn't help my pain from seeping into my voice, the sound of the pounding water nearly drowning it out. I hated to see Jane cry; I know I'd told her before, but seriously, it was like a little girl, all quivering lower lip and giant, glassy eyes.

"I have a question," She asked with that trembling lower lip.

"What is it, honey?" I lifted my hand to gently play with the ends of her hair.

She bit the center of her lip; it bounced once she let go of it. "Were you with any girls while I was gone?"

My hand froze. My entire body froze. "What?" I finally blurted.

She seemed to completely fall apart after that. "Can you just... tell me?" She managed to get out through tears.

"Jane," My voice actually cracked. I couldn't believe she was asking me this. I struggled to figure out what to say. "N- no. No!"

She flinched a little bit at my intensity, but this was something that I had to seriously get across.

"Jane," I attempted to soften my voice. "I would never do that to you."

"Yeah, I know," She cried softly. "But, it's just that we weren't really together and you wouldn't have been doing anything super wrong so I just thought that I had to ask and,"

"Jane Macalister," I frowned at her. "Just because you were figuring some things out away from me doesn't mean that I wasn't just as committed to you as I had been before."

Jane let out a sigh and then angrily swiped at her eyes. "I know. I don't even understand why I asked."

"Hey, hey," I grabbed her wrist before she could roughly scrape at her eyes again, and instead gently brushed my thumbs against her cheeks to wipe up what was left of her tears. "Jane, you're continuously hard on yourself, babe. You need to stop. I just wish you could see me how I see you."

Jane dropped her face into my chest and I just held her tightly there as she got out what she needed to.

"Shh," I kissed the side of her head. "It's okay," I told her softly as I stroked her hair.

"Yeah I know," She whimpered. "I just agree with you. I hope that someday I can see myself how you see me. I think I deserve that."

Now this, this was like music to my ears. I clasped my hand tightly around the back of her neck. "There you go," I coaxed her.

"You know," She turned her face to rest her cheek against my shoulder. "That's what I realized, that I have a fear of being happy because I have this fear of it being taken away at any second."

"Yeah?" I kissed her temple.

"Yeah," She sniffled. "I'm sorry I left. It was totally an excuse to leave. As soon as something wasn't perfect I ran."

"Jane," I moaned. "Again, you're too hard on yourself. You had an extremely normal reaction to something very... abnormal."

"Fine," Jane let out a long sigh before picking her head up. Her eyes were still glassy, but thankfully she wasn't actively crying anymore. "Maybe my reaction to finding out my boyfriend was a werewolf and that he imprinted on me wasn't totally psychotic."

"There you go," I gently laughed at her.

Jane's lips hesitantly pulled up at the corners. I could see the wheels turning in her head as she gently gnawed on the bottom corner of her lip, contemplating whether to say something or not. I gave her the time she needed; now, she'd never believe me, but patience was never really once of my specialties, but with her, it just came naturally. Jane was so soft-spoken. She was intelligent as hell and sensitive, too, but I felt that because she was so quiet, people overlooked her a lot of the time; I never wanted to make her feel that way.

"So," She began after a moment, her eyes dropping to my collar. "About that..."

I let out a long, deep breath. "About that," I repeated, immediately realizing where this conversation was headed. I pulled her up, tighter against my chest, and then lowered both of us to the tile floor of the shower. I rested Jane in my lap and then pushed myself up against the wall.

Jane's mouth parted. "Seth!" She laughed, giggling up at the water that splashed against her. "We're in the shower," She whispered, placing her hands on my shoulders.

I smiled at her. "I know that."

Jane bit the corner of his lip. "Does your future water bill know that?"

"Screw bills, Jane," I sighed. "What do you want to talk about?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Oo! I have an option? Well, than, absolutely nothing would be perfect!"

I couldn't help but laugh. "Jane," I began.

Jane giggled. "I'm kidding," She snuggled in closer to my chest, followed by a quick frown. Before I could ask her what had bothered her, she reached back and unclasped her bra, letting it fall to the floor of the shower, just before pressing her chest tightly into mine. "Much better," She smiled shyly now.

I suppressed a groan. "Words, Jane," I finally managed to get out. We were going to get absolutely nowhere if I allowed my attraction to her Godly body control what I did.

Jane let out a long breath. "Right. Words." She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth a few times as she thought. "Well," She began uneasily. "I guess... I'm just wondering some things."

"What kinds of things?" I asked her gently, reaching out to brush some stray hair behind her ear.

Jane pressed her lips together in thought. "I guess I'm just wondering what the truth is, you know? I understand that because you had to keep this from me, there are probably a lot of things that you couldn't tell me. There were probably a lot of things that you made up."

I honestly pondered that for a moment. "Not really, Jane," I answered uneasily. "I tried not to ever really lie to you."

Jane rolled her beautiful, deep brown eyes. "Come on, Seth," She sighed. She looked at me expectantly, but all I could do was sit there, honestly puzzled, wondering what the heck she wanted from me.

"Ugh, Lena told me you're like 40."

I couldn't help my eyes bulging from that one. Wow, Lena really must have clued her in. "Not quite, Jane," I mumbled.

"But... close?" She whispered, her voice merely loud enough for me to hear over the water crashing against us.

"Yes," I slowly nodded my head. "Does that bother you?"

Jane squirmed around uneasily in my lap, an answer in itself. "Well, the thing is, if you're that old, I find it really hard to believe that you've only ever had one girlfriend before." Her voice was small, but her eyes were piercing. I could tell that regardless of whether she intended for it to be or not, this was a test. I needed to be completely transparent with her from now on, and right now was the start of that.

"I didn't lie to you, Jane," I told her seriously.

Jane's lips parted. "Seth," She began uneasily.

"I only slept with three girls before you. Two were relationships and the other was a one-night stand. Made me feel so awful; I never wanted to do that again. And then once I realized that imprinting was more common than everyone thought, I just couldn't understand why I wouldn't wait for that one, you know? I didn't want to sleep around just because I could."

Jane pulled back a little bit to stare at me with a slightly weirded out expression. "That's really... mature," She finally mumbled. "Are you sure you're a guy?"

A laugh fell from my lips. "Last time I checked," I winked at her.

Jane blushed before my very eyes. God, she was so sexy. She didn't even try, and she just was. She nervously placed some hair behind her ear before lifting her gaze to meet mine again.

"But," She suddenly seemed skeptical again. "That girl we met in the restaurant. You said that was your ex from high school."

"I never said that," I shook my head.

Jane's mouth dropped. "Yes you did!" Immediately, tears were forming in the corners of her eyes. "I'm not lying!"

I stifled a laugh as I pressed my thumb underneath both of her eyes. It was utterly adorable that any emotion, whether it be pride or frustration, made her tear up. I much preferred it to her crying from being sad.

"Honey," I tried not to smile. "I'm not calling you a liar. I'm just saying that I never specified which ex she was. The thing is, Jane, you really have to understand that I tried as hard as I could to be as transparent with you as I possible could. Yes, she was one of my ex's, which consist of two girls, the one from high school would be a lot older than her. She's my ex from college, a few years ago."

"Oh," Her mouth dropped into a frown. "Well that's annoyingly recent."

I shook my head at her. "Means nothing to me."

"So you're expecting me to believe that for twenty years you've dated a total of two girls?" She narrowed her eyes at me. "That seems unlikely."

"Dated?" I widened my eyes at her. "No, Jane. I've got on a lot of dates. A lot of second dates, too. But I wasn't exclusive with them. And I didn't sleep with them."

"Well why not?"

"I already told you," I laughed.

"You legitimately stayed celibate because you were waiting for me?" Her voice seemed incredulous.

"It sounded more romantic in my own head," I had to admit.

Jane pursed her lips. "Really?"

"Would you prefer if I had slept around?" I laughed.

"Well, no," Jane chuckled. "That's just hard to believe. I don't think any other guys exist like you, Seth."

I rested my head against the wall to smile at her. "You're right. I guess I had to be made this way to deserve you, Jane. Do you not think I'm cool anymore?"

Jane burst out laughing. "I hate to break it to you, but I never thought you were cool, Seth. I'm sorry."

"That's totally fine," I grinned at her. "Neither of us are cool. Two very uncool, attractive people. I like it."

She giggled. "A perfect match!"

"A perfect match," I murmured back with a small nod to my head.

Jane laughed to herself for a moment because taking a soft, deep breath. She bit the center of her lip know, my tell that she was thinking of her next question.

"So, I have another question," She pursed her lips and looked up at the ceiling to think. Well that was freaking adorable.

"Yes, Jane?" I tried not to smile at her; I didn't want her to think I was making fun of her; in fact, it was quite the contrary.

"So Lena said that this was a 'shapeshifting' gene that runs in your family- am I saying that right?"

I couldn't help but beam with pride. "Yes!" I encouraged her. "In our tribe."

"Right," She slowly nodded her head. "So, was your dad a werewolf?"

"No," I tried to put a smile on my face, but still, it was never easy talking about my dad, no matter how many years passed. "It didn't happen for so long, skipped so many generations, that our ancestors thought that the gene had gone a long time ago. It was kind of a shock for everyone when we all started phasing. And that was because of-,"

"Vampires," She finished for me.

I raised an eyebrow at her, honestly impressed. "Yes, Jane. You know a lot more than you think you do."

"Really?" She mused, "Because I feel like I know nothing."

I chuckled. "I think you're just a little bit in shock, babe."

"So that vampire that pretended to be you. Lena said he had a... talent," She struggled to find the right word. "Is this true?"

I deflated. "True, but a talent is not the right way of looking at it," I whispered. I hated talking about this, even though I knew that we had to. We couldn't just not broach the subject; the fact is, however you wanted to look at it, Jane was raped. Whether she knew what was happening or not, whether she thought it was me or thought that it wasn't, whether she was scared or feeling good; I called it what it was. If she hadn't been deceived, it wouldn't have been her own free will, so I couldn't pretend like it just didn't happen.

"So," Jane's voice grew small. "Is he...,"

"Dead?" I finished for her.

Jane nodded.

"Yes," I let out a breath. "But vampires technically aren't alive anyway."

Jane nodded her head. "Why me?" She finally asked the question.

I closed my eyes, mentally composing myself; if I hadn't asked myself that same question every minute for the last few weeks.

"I'm not sure," I admitted. "He was responsible for a lot of murders in state, though. The Cullen's and the pack, we had been monitoring the situation for a while now, and we only put it together once Lena got back to Jake's house and said that I was with you when I obviously wasn't. It made sense; he was hiding in plain sight. He didn't have to be sneaky because he could make himself look like loved ones, or boyfriends. I think he just used that as a way to get women to sleep with him, and then he would... yeah."

Jane gulped. "I didn't know it wasn't you," She finally said. "I swear it wasn't... it wasn't- I can see in your eyes what you thought it was and it wasn't that. I promise."

I bit the inside of my cheek so hard I tasted blood. "It still doesn't change what happened, Jane," I told her gently.

"But it does," She argued, her eyes pleading with me to understand. "I've been spending the last two weeks trying to convince myself that I should feel violated in some way, and to an extent I do. Now that I know it wasn't you, I hate what happened, but the fact is, I thought it was you, Seth. I was enjoying myself."

"Jane," I shook my head, fighting back tears. "It doesn't matter if you enjoyed yourself of not. That's not the point. Whether you did or didn't, this isn't on you. You were the victim in this. It never should have happened. I never should have left you alone."

"In your defense," She held up her hand, "I did go psycho and convince myself that you were cheating on me."

I sighed. "About that, could you explain that more? Because that is, actually, insane."

Jane chuckled sadly. "After church, I heard you on the phone. I'm not sure who you were talking to, but you were saying how you just had to tell me and that you couldn't keep lying to me. You said 'about us.' It honestly sounded like you were cheating on me. I was so upset, and then I broke down to Lena and she immediately knew what was going on, and that you were talking about the wolf secret and nothing else, and she told me that she knew the secret, and it wasn't what I thought.

Then you showed up, and I was so relieved I just jumped on you... or rather, him, and it just continued from there."

I winced. "So you did... I mean, I didn't make it in time before-,"

"We had sex," Jane whispered oh so quietly. "If that's what you're wondering. And no, it wasn't scary. It looked like you and felt like you and I thought it was you. Only, colder. I didn't much prefer that."

Jane wrapped her arms tightly around my neck and pulled herself close to me.

I sighed and began roaming my hands along the smooth skin of her back. I felt up her shoulders, her neck, her lower back and spine. I couldn't get enough of her.

"The water's getting cold," She murmured after a long while.

"Do you want to get out?" I asked her, immediately hating the thought of her cold; I never really noticed with my natural temperature.

"No," She pushed herself tighter against me. "It feels really good, actually. The water's cold but you're really hot," I felt her chuckle. "In more ways than one."

"Are you flirting with me, Janesie?" I murmured into her ear.

Jane giggled. "Yes. Is it successful flirting?"

"Yes," I answered definitively. "But, I consider you looking at me successful flirting; if you really want an answer, you might want to ask an unbiased party."

"So, question," She pulled back to look me in the eye. "This imprinting thing; this would never happen, but let's say I was a complete 'b' and decided to cheat on you," I raised my eyebrow; that was not a fun thought. "Would you just be, like, okay with it? Would you leave me? Would you not have a choice? Would you not care?"

"Oh jeeze, Jane," I took a steadying breath. "Of course I would care. I think that might kill me. To answer your question, no. I wouldn't just be okay with it. The way the imprint works, is it literally is like fate being like, 'that's the one.' That's not saying that people don't screw up. That's not saying that you're perfect, or I am, but the thing is, the universe wouldn't give us a soulmate if they were a complete jack-ass. At least, that hasn't happened yet. If it did, I'm not sure how that would be handled. All of the girls who have been imprinted on are loving, loyal women. They love their guys as much as it is reciprocated."

Jane's warm smile melted my heart. "That makes me happy," She began. "That you don't think that because I can't imprint I couldn't possibly love you as much."

"I don't think that, Jane," I brushed the side of her cheek with my thumb. "I know that you do."

"I've got a curveball for you," She challenged.

"Give me your best shot," I laughed.

"Baby imprinting."

I cringed.

"Super creepy," She began, "But when explained a tad bit less creepy. Still creepy. I honestly hesitate to even believe this because it's so weird, but Lena told me that this is literally what happened with her and Embry, and it seriously is the only actual explanation for the time frame of their relationship. So, I guess my question is, how the hell are the parents okay with this situation? How is that even explained? If someone did that to my kid, I would kill them, and then I'd leave the state!"

My eyes widened. "I'm glad we're in agreeance on that," I admitted. "Let's just pray that we never have girls." It sounded insane, but it was almost like a "hold your breath" moment when one of the pack members had a baby girl and the non-imprinted pack members were meeting her. After Jacob, Quil and Embry, it was a little too common to not be nerve-wracking.

"You want kids with me?" Jane's eyes widened, her lips pulling up into a wide smile, completely deterred from our conversation by that very accidental slip.

"Ugh," I rubbed my jaw. I guess there was no use trying to take it back now. "Preferably, yeah."

Jane smiled. "I want kids with you, too."

I grinned. "Really?"

She nodded. "Yes. I kind of want a lot of kids," Jane blushed. "Like five or six."

"Sounds good to me," I told her. Just the thought of getting Jane pregnant and seeing her adorable stomach and bright eyes and incredible body change with the life of our own baby made me giddy. "Honestly, Jane. I'd be happy with one kid or twenty from you. Whatever you want."

Jane frowned. That was not the reaction I was expecting. "Not one kid," She demanded.

"That's fine too," I held up my hands. "It's your decision."

"I want to have the first kid and then one right after. Like immediately after. Screw that six-week wait time."

I raised my eyebrows at her. "I mean, if you insist, Jane," I struggled to work my mouth.

"Or twins," She thought out loud. "Twins would be fun."

"That would be fun," I chuckled. "We haven't had twins in the family, yet. Maybe we'll be the ones to break that."

"As long as there's two I'm happy," Jane sighed.

"Why's that, babe?" I asked, honestly just curious. Jane seemed really against being an only child, even though she was one herself.

"Well," Her voice suddenly got small. "Because, if something happened to us, it would be all alone." Jane frowned in a way that made my heart shatter into a million pieces.

I closed my eyes and then pulled her tightly against me. "Fuck that, Jane," I actually cussed to get my point across. "We'll adopt if that's what it takes for you to feel better. Plus, it's different. One, nothing is ever happening to either of us, got it? And two, the pack would never let our child be alone. Do you know how fast Lena would adopt that thing? Granted, the thought freaks me out considering Lena is a bit nuts, but still."

Jane laughed openly against my chest. I smiled into her shoulder as I skimmed my fingertips up and down her spine.

"Nothing to worry about," I kissed the side of her head.

"I know," She whispered. "But I'm serious about the two kid thing. I won't have kids unless you promise me that."

"I promise," I squeezed her sides.

"Eee!" Jane squealed and popped up. "Do not tickle me!" She pointed her finger at me.

I shot back, surprised. I hadn't even meant to do that. "Or what?" I couldn't help but tease her. "No babies then at all?"

Jane fought a smile. "That's absolutely correct. Don't you forget it."

"All this baby talk. You interested? Because seriously, I'd have a baby with you right now, Jane Macalister."

Jane gasped. "Seth! No! We are not married."

I shrugged. "So?"

"Seth," She chuckled. "I'm a good Christian girl." She thought about it for a moment. "So don't pressure me because the thought is kind of tempting."

I couldn't control my laughter anymore. "You just say the word, baby."

"Why don't I try to get through school first," She took a long, winded breath. "That's proving to be harder than I anticipated."

I frowned at that. "Why is that?" I asked. Jane had always been an incredibly diligent student; what could she have had to possibly worry about?

Jane sighed. "It's just a lot. Over our break, I had a second to myself and I just realized how overwhelmed I was. Working as much as I do and then trying to balance you and school. I think I've been spreading myself too thin. I don't think I can keep going at this pace. You know, I always used to love school, but it's felt more like a chore than it should, especially in the lab. I love the lab, and I just haven't had the time to spend in there like I would like."

I actually tried to suppress how much I enjoyed hearing this. It was about time.

"I completely agree with you," I admitted. "I've thought that for a while, actually."

Jane popped her lower lip. "I know. So I think I need to call and take half a course load next semester. I hate doing it, but I know I have to."

"Wait, what?" I popped up.

Jane shot back, surprised by my reaction. "Yeah," She began uneasily, eyeing me nervously. "I mean, it's the only option."

"Quitting school?" I raised an eyebrow at her. "No, that's not your only option, Jane. In fact, that's not even an option at all.

"I'm not quitting!" Her expression became slightly annoyed. "I'm cutting back. I'll finish, it's just going to take me longer."

"You shouldn't cut back on school, Jane. School is more important than work."

"Well I agree with you but if I can't pay for said school without working, than I would have to argue that work is the more important of the two."

"This is about money?" My mouth dropped. "Jane, don't even start. Let me help you."

"Don't even go there, Seth," She pulled away.

"No," I reached for her wrists to hold her to me. "You can't quit school just because of money. You can take a loan, either from me or from the bank. People do it all the time."

"Loans are hell to pay back, Seth," She argued with me with a sigh. "You think I want to do this? I don't have a choice."

"That's not true," I shook my head. "I am offering you a choice right now."

"I'm not taking your money, Seth."

"That's fine. You don't have to take anything! When you graduate and become a super rich neuroscientist, you can pay me back every penny. I'll just turn around and spend it all on a fantastic getaway with you, but if it makes you feel better."

"Seth," She struggled. "You're very convincing, and funny, too, but I'm serious. I don't want your money."

"It's money, Jane," I argued. "Who cares?"

"I do!" Jane shot back. "You're not my sugar-daddy, okay? I can't just have you paying for college for me."

"I'd loan you the money, Jane," I tried to not let my frustrations show.

"I'd rather get it from the bank than from you."

"I thought that you said that bank loans were hell, which they are, by the way."

"Seth!" Jane moaned, rolling her neck. "I'm not trying to be rude, but do you even have that kind of money? You've got your own school to pay for! And living expenses and a super high water bill for this month!" I stifled a laugh. "I can't bleed you dry."

"Oh please," I nearly rolled my eyes before I thought better of it. "Jane, I've been saving every penny I've been making for the last twenty years. I've got more money than you'd think, and I live a very simple life. I'm not even taking a full course load right now."

"See! You're not even going full-time right now because it's too much with school!" Jane argued. I flinched; she had a good point. "Why can't I just do the same thing?"

I mused this around in my brain for a good while before finally coming to a conclusion. "Alright," I sighed and patted her thigh. "Here's the deal. The reason for me taking so long to get my engineering degree, by the way, is because when you don't age, stuff gets boring. I figured, 'what's the rush?' but that's besides the point. If you accept my loan, I'll go back full-time with you."

Jane's mouth dropped. "How much money do you have?" She suddenly exclaimed.

I laughed. "Enough, Janesie," I kissed her forehead. "Deal?"

Her mouth dropped and eyebrows rose. "I feel like I just got played."

I chuckled. "The only thing is that you might have to help me. I'm not as smart at you."

"I'm not smart," She rolled her eyes. "I'm just a dork. I genuinely enjoy learning."

I slowly nodded my head at her. "Did I say a little help? A meant a lot."

Jane giggled. "Ugh, Seth," She bit the corner of her lip uneasily and then pressed her perfect, delicate hands against my chest. "Are you sure? Please tell me the truth. I don't want to be a burden on you. This is asking for a lot."

"Your school is not a lot, Jane," I kissed the side of her head. "Please don't stop going to school. It will make me so upset, knowing that it's just about money when I could solve that easily."

Jane took a moment, but then, I finally heard her sigh, the fight coming out of her with her breath. "Alright," She pulled away from me. "But I'm paying you back every scent!"

I grinned. "Done."

"With interest!" She squeaked.

"I'll take a different kind of interest than the money sort," I wrapped my arms around her waist and then suddenly spun her around, resting her back against the cool, tile floor and lifting myself ontop of her.

"Oo!" Jane gasped. "Cold!"

I immediately lowered myself to press my chest against hers and lifted her arms to wrap around my neck. I laced my hand behind her back to help her up and kissed her shoulder as many times as I could.

"Better?" I asked.

"Mmm, I think it could get even better," Her voice was sinful.

I gulped. "Are you sure you're ready?" I asked her.

Jane pulled away. She rested her back against the floor again and looked up at me. She looked so vulnerable. I wanted Jane so badly in these moments, because in these moments, it was so obvious that she left every square inch of her guard down. She let me into her soul. It was beautiful in there. Dark and filled with a lot of past pain, but her resilience and hope was astonishing. It was stunning. Her light was unimaginable.

"As long as I can look at you. I know who you are," She whispered. "I know exactly who you are, Seth, and I'm not scared anymore." Her hand trailed from my neck down my chest and then stopped directly overtop of my heart. An ache settled there, but not a bad one. I just loved her so much, it hurt me.

I shifted above her, and immediately the sparkle of a diamond caught my eye. I found her chain where it had fallen down the side of her, and then pick it up. I turned the ring over in my hand. Part of it was burned, dark and destroyed, but the diamond was still there, beautiful as ever. It shined brilliantly, and I couldn't help but see a parallel between her mother's ring and Jane herself. Jane was like this, she had been broken; more tragic things had happened to her in a year than the worst person deserved over a lifetime, and those scars were still there for her. They would always be there. But beneath that, Jane's soul was beautiful. And overtop of that, she was beautiful.

I couldn't help myself. I lifted the ring and the chain up, both signals of our equal pain around her delicate, beautiful neck, and then I kissed it.

Jane's lips pulled up at the corners. "You saved me, you know that?" She whispered. "You're my life-boat."

I scrunched my forehead in concentration as I tried to decipher her words. "What do you mean, Janesie?"

A small smile filled her exquisite lips. "You're my life-boat," She repeated, her voice simple and sweet, like she was telling me about the weather.

"I don't understand," I whispered.

She giggled. "That's okay," Jane leaned into me, wrapping her arms around my neck. Her eyes dipped to my lips as she shook her head. "You don't have to."

I gulped. "Are you ready to really make up?" I asked her, my voice low.

Jane shook. "Please."


Jane's POV

Seth's hands were heavenly torture as he began stroking them up and down my skin. He started on the sides, skimming them overtop of my butt and then raising them all the way to my shoulders. By the time he began moving them to places that I really wanted him to go, I swore I was shaking.

With anyone else I would have been embarrassed with my obvious desire that had practically overcome me and was now manifesting itself physically. But this was Seth. He made me so comfortable, and he made me feel so good, that I never had to be embarrassed about him. I could tell him anything, and he wouldn't look at me any differently. God, I was so grateful for him in my life; he was the best thing to ever happen to me, and he treated me like an absolute queen.

"Oh, Jane," He moaned, pulling me from my thoughts with some evidence proving what I had just been thinking. He gently stroked his hands up and down my chest, brushing his fingers up and down my nipples, and I immediately hardened for him, a small moan slipping between my lips.

"This body," I heard him murmur. "I missed it so much. God, you're so perfect, Jane. Do you realize how perfect you are?"

"Mm, Seth," I whimpered, raising my hips in the air, practically begging for him.

"Oh," His interest was immediately peaked, that much I could tell. "Perfect," He smiled gently down at me. "I couldn't think of a better way to make up."

Seth kissed my nipples, one and then the other, and then began a trail of kisses down the center of me. He passed my belly button and then my hip bones and then he was mere inches from the spot that was aching for him. The heat there was undeniable, but still, I had to stop him.

"No, Seth," I squirmed underneath him.

He immediately pulled up. "No?" He asked, his eyes wide.

"Well, not no," I blushed. "Not no at all. Yes, but not that. I want you."

Seth shot me an odd look. "I'm right here, Jane. You don't want me to do that?"

I slowly shook my head.

Seth dropped down on top of me, careful not to press too much of his weight into me, and then began drawing imaginative shapes into my skin. I tried to take deep breaths, but that was unimaginably sexy; I couldn't take much more of it without jumping his bones.

"Can I ask why that is?" He whispered, his lips hot against my skin as he began placing light kisses along the skin of my stomach.

I couldn't help but moan.

Seth laughed against my skin. I shook.

"I can tell that you want it," Seth spoke, lifting his eyes to watch me.

"Yes," I practically whined.

"Than why don't you want me to go down on you?" Seth asked, his voice sweet.

I moaned to myself. That was so sexy, but still, I knew my reasoning, and I wasn't interested in budging.

"I just want you," I told him shyly.

Seth sighed. "You can tell me anything, Janesie," He brushed his fingertip in a parallel line back and forth and back and forth and back and forth along my lower stomach, and I shook with the intense pressure that was creating between my legs. "Come on," He kissed me right there, only a few inches above my sweet spot.

I moaned. "Because I can't cum that way," I whispered, my boice higher than I would have wished. I hated showing Seth my insecurities, even though I knew he knew that they were there; they weren't attractive by any means, but I had lost control of myself right now. Before I would have thought this as dangerous, but I was trying to have a better outlook. Instead of this being terrifying, dangerous territory, I looked at it as honest. I loved Seth, and I had nothing to hide from him. I wanted him to see the real me, all of me.

Only, while I was waiting for his annoyance or further questioning, Seth suddenly began laughing. He dipped his face to my lower abdomen and then laughed against it, shaking against my stomach that was already hardened for him.

My mouth dropped. "Why are you laughing at me?" I pouted.

Seth picked his head up. "I'm not laughing at you," He chuckled, kissing my stomach. "I just know that's not going to be a problem, baby."

I sighed. "It is. I can't."

"Okay, Jane," Seth chuckled, sliding his hands underneath of my ass and pulling me closer.

I gasped, desire overtaking me, but nerves there as well. Seth obvious wasn't listening to me, and this in particular, was a serious point of contention between my ex and I. I could never cum when he did this for me. It wasn't that he wasn't good at it, either. One of the girls he cheated with made sure that I knew that. I merely winced at the terrible memory.

Honestly, I didn't even care about that anymore. After Seth, I practically forgot about my ex. Seth was a real man. He was the greatest man I'd ever met. My ex couldn't hold a candle to him. Only, that was the point. This was Seth. I didn't want to disappoint him, and if my ex's reaction was any indication, he wasn't going to be happy when he wasn't able to make me finish.

"Seth," I began uneasily.

"Shh, Jane," He blew hot air against my center. I gasped and arched my back up in the air. "Just relax," He instructed me, his voice gentle.

"Seth," I moaned.

He took his fingers and hooked them underneath of the thin fabric of my panties, swiftly pulling them overtop of my thighs, skimming them across my knees, and then finally tossing them on the floor.

Seth pressed my thighs open, and immediately I blushed. It was bright in here, and Seth was seeing me closer and clearer than he ever had before. Thankfully, I don't think that I disappointed from the growl that escaped from Seth's throat.

"But-," I gasped. Actually, I gasped, and then the rest of my breath caught in my throat, holding there, and then dissipating. I momentarily forgot how to breathe.

Holy fuck.

Seth worked his tongue in an unimaginable way. It was quick but soft at the same time. Soft and light and barely a feather against my clit, but it was just fucking right. It made every nerve ending in my entire body suddenly become electrically charged. They went shooting through my neurons at an accelerated pace. I was completely filled with electricity.

"Fuck, Seth," I gasped, barely even able to say those words.

He raised his hands, skimming them along my sides as he went, until he gently cupped them overtop of my breasts.

"Seth," I whimpered, entwining my fingers with his.

Suddenly, he moved his tongue in the opposite direction, side to side. I gasped and let out a loud moan. I couldn't control myself. I knew I was being loud, but this was otherworldy. I had no idea that something could feel this amazing. I could literally feel myself getting closer and closer to my peak with every second. It was incredible.

"Seth," I gasped again, tightly clutching his fingers in my grasp. "Fuck."

He moaned against me and then suddenly lifted his hands and began stroking the backs of his pinkies against my nipples.

I gasped in a breath and held it there. I was on the edge, dangling, about to explode.

Suddenly, Seth pulled away. His hands, his mouth, his everything.

I gasped. "Seth!" I cried out, my center pulsating for him and my body aching with need for him.

"Shhh," He chastly kissed the insides of my thighs.

"But Seth," I moaned, my voice high.

"I know," He smiled against my skin. "So, what's this about not being able to finish?"

I moaned.

He began again without warning, and hell was I not ready for him.

Immediately, I cried out, and with every passing second I felt myself growing closer and closer to my peak. I gasped when I was close, and then grabbed a fistful of his hair.

"Yes, yes!" I exclaimed, right on the edge.

Seth pulled away.

"Seth!" I whined. "Why are you stopping? Don't stop!"

"Oh, Jane," Seth gently kissed the tops of my thighs now, stoking the skin there after the heat from his lips left. "You're not going to tell me that you can't come and then just have a normal orgasm. Imagine how incredible it's going to be when I bring you there and then prolonge it."

I gasped. "Seth! No! Please?"

"Shh," He whispered against my clit, followed by an audible gasp from my lips, before he picked up right where he left off. He did the exact same thing as before, working his tongue in a ridiculously expert way, bringing me to the edge of a freaking cliff, and then pulled away right before I was about to free-fall.

"Seth!" I practically growled.

"You want to cum, Jane?" He asked me, his eyes intense, and voice sexy as hell.

"Yes!" I demanded. "Stop it."

"I love seeing you like this," He mumbled into my skin.

"You're fucking evil," I moaned.

Seth laughed. "Evil, Jane?"

"Mm, keep going," I begged, closing my eyes and surrendering to him at this point.

Seth slipped his hands underneath of my ass and then pulled me closer, then, he attacked with relish.

"Holy fuck!" I gasped up, my back arching and limbs tightening, and entire body freezing.

"Please. Don't. Stop," I begged, but my voice was barely comprehensible.

He pulled away.

My entire body shook. When he held himself above me, my thighs were quivering uncontrollably.

"I can't wait any longer," I nearly cried. "Stop teasing me."

"Fuck, you're so sexy," He mumbled, dropping down on his forearms and finally giving me what I need.

He didn't pull away this time once I got to the edge of that damn clif, and I exploded in an earth-shattering orgasm that made me cry out his name and shake at an unprecedented way. My mouth hung open as I rode out the endless waves.

It was the most incredible orgasm I had ever had in my entire life.

It was on another level. When all that pent up desire and frustration finally came out, it fucking exploded out of me.

I shook for longer than I thought necessary, and Seth wouldn't stop licking me until I fell limp against the shower floor.

Finally, my entire body went slack, and Seth pulled himself overtop of me.

"I don't think cumming is a problem for you anymore, sweetheart," He whispered into my ear before kissing my cheek.

"Holy shit," I mumbled back in response. "Just... holy shit."

Seth chuckled. "You ready to get out now, baby?"

My mouth dropped. I opened my eyes only to narrow them at him. "Are you crazy? Get inside of me right now, Seth Clearwater."

His eyes widened at my demand, and then, we made up for a second time. And then a third.


Seth's POV

After the shower, Jane was lighter and happier, and that wasn't just from the three orgasms I gave her; I could tell.

She had bright, rosy cheeks, a wide grin on her face, and adorable, curly wet hair that was making me imagine giving her three more. It was like a weight had been lifted off of her; there weren't any secrets between either of us, and it was affecting her in more ways than I think she could tell.

I swatted her with my towel on the way to my closet to grab her a tee-shirt. Jane jumped out of the way with a giggle, her towel falling down for just a second, but long enough for me to catch a glimpse of what was underneath. God, I could stare at Jane's body all day. I couldn't get enough.

Jane followed me into my small closet that was only big enough for one person, and then rested against the doorframe. "Your mom seems really nice," She told me as I handed her a tee-shirt.

"Yeah," I smiled. "She liked you, I could tell. I think she already liked you before she even met you after she saw how happy you make me."

She blushed. "Could you not say that after we just got out of the shower together? It sounds super dirty!"

"Oh but you like dirty, Janesie," I winked at her. "Remember?"

"Seth!" Heat immediately rose to her cheeks. "Actually, no. I have no idea what you're talking about?"

"Really?" I decided to tease her. "Not even the second time? What about the third? You've got to remember that one."

"Oh my God!" She turned to slip her tee-shirt on and then laughed to herself. "You're bad."

"Only for you, my little Janesie Macalister."

"What kind of pie do you want for Thanksgiving?" She asked, going back into the bathroom. "I'll make apple, but do you want anything else."

"Pumpkin, chocolate, and cherry."

"Wow," Jane cocked an eyebrow at me. "You don't ask for much, do you?"

I couldn't help but laugh. "Listen, baby," I crossed my arms at her. "You're a fantastic cook. I promise you, that for the rest of our lives, when you ask me if I want you to make something for me, I will always take you up on that, without fail."

Jane rolled her eyes. "Do you have a hairbrush."

"I don't think so," I told her honestly. Instead, I went over to her, and I used my hands to gently start pulling them through her difficult curls.

"Ugh, my hair," She mumbled to herself. "That won't work. I might as well just put it in a braid."

"I love your hair," I disagreed with her, kissing her gently on the cheek before continuing what I was doing before.

"I do not," She stated firmly.

"Yeah, I know you don't," I laughed and then wrapped my arms around her stomach, beginning to rock her back and forth gently as we stared at each other in the mirror. "Why is that?"

She shrugged. "When I was in high school, I used to literally get into fights with my mom about dying my hair blonde."

My eyes widened. "Blonde?" I asked, not able to help imagining Jane's beautiful, perfect dark hair that matched with her tanned, freckled skin, a shade of trashy, bleached blonde.

"Yeah," She chuckled. "That was my mom's reaction, too. I really wanted it. I thought it was sexy. My hair is pretty, it's not sexy."

"I would have to disagree," I told her.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" She laughed.

I smiled back at her, and then finally rested my chin against her shoulder. "Ugh, Jane. This is so nice. No more secrets. I feel like I'm finally really seeing you, and you can see me."

Jane took a steadying breath before biting the center of my lip. That was practically Jane code for she had something to tell me. Without thinking, I turned her towards me and pressed her up against the cabinets.

"Tell me," I told her.

Jane's eyes widened as her lips parted. "Tell you what?"

I brushed the hair out of her eyes. "Whatever it is you're nervous to say."

Jane rolled her adorable, brown eyes. "I don't like this. You know me too well. I can't get anything past you."

"That's a good thing," I laughed at her obvious distaste.

Jane sighed. "Do we really have to talk about this?" She suddenly pouted, sticking out her lower lip to beg me. "I'm tired, Seth. I promise I'll tell you about it. It's just a long story. You already know the jist of it."

"Of what?" I asked, confused.

Jane moaned. "Of Julliard, Seth."

"Oh," I raised my eyebrows and then nodded my head, understanding seeping in. "Yes, Julliard." I had realized from Jane's prior slip that there was a story there, but I hadn't gotten the details just yet.

"Can I ask you something else?"

"I'd prefer if you didn't," She mumbled.

"Are you playing again?"

Jane's breath caught in her throat. She nervously ran her chain between her fingers before turning back around so that her back was to me. Only, I could see her face through the mirror. It was a mask of worry and pain. It broke my heart.

"I don't want to talk about it," She whispered, her voice so small.

"Jane." I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her so tightly against my chest I was half wondering if she could still breathe. "Look at me," I whispered to her, gently coaking her until she finally lifted her eyes to meet mine.

Finally, she lifted her head. Her eyes were wet with tears and her lower lip was trembling.

"I don't think I can anymore, Seth."

"Can what, Jane?" I asked, utterly confused.

"Play," She whispered, her voice so soft I could barely hear her.


I hope this made up for the long wait! Please follow, favorite, and review to let me know your thoughts! I'll update soon!