Merry Christmas, dear readers! Thank you once again for all the reviews, follows, favorites and support of my little fic here. I love those emails more than real mail (which is saying something.)

Many of you answered Jasper's question with YES (duh, what else would you do, are you brain dead, etc.). So as a little Christmas/ whatever-it-is-that-you-choose-to-observe present, I am giving you chapter thirteen!

The song for this chapter is Kissed You (Goodnight) originally performed by Gloriana. The version I am using is by Tiffany Alvord.

Disclaimer: Tomorrow I will open presents and finally own SOMETHING… but not rights to Twilight.

Chapter Thirteen: Kissed You (Goodnight)

BPOV:

I couldn't sit still.

The closer we got to home, the more I felt like I had a herd of stampeding rhinos in my stomach. My heart was skipping erratically and I was sure my face was now permanently a bright, cherry red. My hands fidgeted nervously in my lap. Today had been wonderful, even better than I had thought possible. Falling asleep on the Ferris wheel had been an embarrassing fumble in an otherwise perfect day, but Jasper didn't seem to mind. Now, as we drove in silence –except for the drum corps my heart was obviously imitating –I was wracked with uncertainty. Did I kiss him goodnight? Would he still stay in bed with me tonight? Was he expecting a kiss? Was I reading too much into it?

I looked down as I felt his cold hand slide over mine. My eyes met his and he smiled as my hands stilled under his touch and my heart sped up. He slid his fingers between mine, his thumb rubbing comforting circles on mine.

"You okay," he asked quietly. I grabbed the hand holding mine and squeezed it firmly.

"Yeah," I said with false bravado. "Sorry, I guess I must still be half asleep."

"I told you I was boring," he teased. I laughed a little too shrilly and stopped myself before I began to bray like a donkey.

"You are far from boring," I said. "I think it's because I feel so comfortable around you." He chuckled.

"Your heart would argue otherwise at the moment," he said softly, his eyes smoldering as they met mine. I gulped and he chuckled lowly. My stomach tightened.

"Well, I'm sure if you had a heartbeat, I'd be making yours race too," I murmured. I turned a brighter shade of red as he began laugh softly. "What I mean is that, you just get me excited." Really? Was that any better? Why not just say 'Oh hello, Jasper, you make my girly bits all nice and tingly when you smile and when you touch me, the only think I can think of is all the ways to get your clothes off of you so that I can jump you'. Yeah, that would go over really well. My mind suddenly conjured the image of Jasper standing in the bathroom doorway in nothing but a towel wrapped loosely over his hips, a bead of water trickling down his abs and under the towel. Suddenly, the car was a little too hot.

"Really," he murmured quietly, his eyes sparkling with amusement. I just nodded, unable to form a coherent thought with the image of his towel wrapped body in the forefront of my thoughts. He turned up the drive to the cabin and my trepidation increased. We were getting closer and closer to the house, to the moment when I had to decide what to do. What if he didn't even want to kiss? He was from the Civil War and the dating customs back then were a lot stricter. Like no kissing until you were engaged. But I wanted to kiss him. But I didn't want to appear to forward or push him into anything he would regret or didn't want to do.

My brain was starting to hurt.

Jasper parked the car and helped me out, holding my hand as he led me up the porch to the front door. Once inside, I hung up my jacket and he led me to my bedroom door. He stopped outside, almost like you would at someone's front door.

"Today was wonderful," he said, holding both of my hands in his against his chest.

"It was. I'm glad we went." I was too terrified of messing the entire day up to come up with anything wittier to say. His eyes searched mine but whatever he saw there made him smile slightly.

He leaned forward and I closed my eyes. I felt his lips brush softly against my forehead…

And he stepped back. I opened my eyes in confusion but he was already starting to walk towards the den.

"I'll let you get ready for bed then. Goodnight, Bella," he said, placing a kiss to my palm.

"Oh. Right. Goodnight," I said uncertainly. He walked away and I entered my room slowly, closing the door behind me. I leaned against the wood and frowned at my room, suddenly a lot less comforting or welcome without Jasper in it. I began my nightly routine, moving through the motions while my thoughts were focused on interpreting why he hadn't kissed me. Did he not want to? Did he think I didn't want to? As I brushed my teeth, I stared at myself in the mirror. With my flushed cheeks and bright eyes, I looked healthy and alive and kind of beautiful. I was suddenly filled with a strange, empowering confidence. I spit the toothpaste into the sink, rinsed my mouth out and marched out of the bathroom. I yanked open my bedroom door and walked down the hall to the den where Jasper had a fire going. While the days were getting warmer, the nights were still plenty cool in the mountains.

Jasper was standing in front of the fire, staring into the burning depths. He didn't turn as I walked resolutely up behind him, my courage waning slightly with uncertainty when he didn't acknowledge my presence. I walked up behind him and took a deep a breath. I stepped in front of him and his eyes snapped to mine, the familiar furrow that declared deep thought pulling his brows together. I saw confusion sweep across his face as I stood up on my tiptoes, put my arms around his neck and tugged his head closer to mine.

Our lips met and he felt stiff under my touch for the briefest second before one arm wrapped around my waist, pulling my body flush with his while the other hand moved to my jaw, tilting my head toward his tenderly, his fingers tangling my hair. His lips were cold and insistent but it wasn't like kissing a statue. He molded his lips to meet mine and our lips moved earnestly against each other, filling my veins with bubbly fire that raced through my body, making every centimeter of skin blissfully aware of what it was touching. My chest pressed against his, his thighs against mine, his arm around my waist, playing with the portion of exposed skin from where my nightshirt rode up.

He moaned and I gasped. It was all the invitation he needed. His tongue slipped over my lips and into my mouth and my tongue met his, unwilling to let him explore without some exploring of my own. Our tongues danced around each other teasingly and I groaned at the tightening in my stomach, our bodies, already so close but not nearly close enough. I felt him propel me backwards without breaking our kiss until the wall was at my back and I was lifted up to wrap my legs around his waist. Braced between the wall and his solid body, he let both his hands caress my face and move down my sides in exploration. His lips moved from my lips to press lovingly over my cheeks and eyelids and nose and pretty much anywhere Jasper could put them. I sighed softly and threaded my fingers into his curly hair. He groaned and I tugged his mouth back to mine where we began our insistent war of domination again.

I finally pulled back, resting my forehead against his shoulder while he placed kisses to my bare shoulder. I clung to him, pulling him as close to me as I could. Our movements slowed until he stood there holding me, both of us struggling to get our breathing under control. I leaned back and our eyes met. He smiled and I felt the corners of my mouth curve up in response.

"And here I was trying to be a gentleman," he teased, placing a soft kiss to my jaw. I hummed in pleasure.

"You have to watch out for those crazed women. They'll kiss you out of nowhere," I whispered, scarping my teeth over his neck gently. He hissed and his arms clamped around me.

"Bella, as much pleasure as this gives me –and believe me, drinking blood doesn't even come close to what you are doing to me –I think it's time for bed," he whispered. I smiled to myself and slid, slowly, inch by painful inch to the ground. His suddenly belabored breathing caused my smile to grow and I began to walk out of the room, more of a sashay to my step than normal. I was suddenly hoisted into his arms.

"You asked for it, you little tease," he said, breezing into my room and depositing me on the bed for jumping down next to me.

Meeeeerrrrrryyyyy Christmas :D