Authors note; beta'd by Frannie, the remaining errors are mine.

"I've known you since you were four years old, Bella," Jasper stated, flooring me. His angelic face was expressionless except for his burning gaze, which penetrated my soul.

I stared at him, my heart hammering away in my chest like a freight train. How could this be? It was impossible!

"But how could you 'meet' a child of that age?" I swallowed hard, my mind reeling. "Where did we meet?"

Jasper dressed instantly, at least it seemed that way to my untrained human eyes. One moment he was naked and unashamed, sitting on my sofa, and the next, he was fully dressed, with only his pristine white shirt open at the throat. I gripped my blanket tighter around my body, feeling superbly vulnerable and unsure.

Jasper remained seated, unthreatening. I knew he did this deliberately so as not to frighten me. His hands were folded together, on which he rested his chin. His gaze was dark and filled with untold emotions, which he held in check. I ached to go to him; it was as if he was my only anchor, even when he was the storm in which I floundered.

"We met in the forest not far from your house in Forks." He began, his deep, melodious voice soothing me somehow, despite a sense of foreboding blooming in my belly. "You were lost, and I was hunting."

I swallowed hard, pushing my hair away from my face. I felt suffocated. "What were you hunting?" I asked. I knew he wasn't human, but, vampire? Was it even possible? My rational mind refuted what I'd seen; vampires weren't real, were they? I knew Jasper wasn't human. Maybe I'd just been in some supernatural sex haze - I couldn't possibly have seen what I thought I had!

"I was hunting your father at first," he stated truthfully, and I gasped involuntarily; the thought of him stalking my dad was horrific. Plus, his matter-of-fact tone startled me. He made it sound so normal, somehow, like hunting people was natural. Jasper saw and felt my reaction, and a minuscule smile tugged at his lips before he continued. "Your father was frantic, his heart pumping madly. I knew he was searching for someone or something. So, I, too, searched for what he sought. Within a few seconds, I caught your scent - and from that moment, it was all I could think of. It drove me to the brink of insanity."

The knot in my throat grew. "And yet you left us alive; why would you do that?"

"Because an unexpected thing happened that day." He intoned, watching me so closely I squirmed, my hands twisted together nervously. "I found the reason for my existence—my mate."

I gaped at him; words lost in the deluge of horrible thoughts which flooded my mind.

"Me? But I was just a child! A baby!" I said, at last, repulsed.

Jasper shook his head slowly, refuting the evil thoughts which were running through my mind, a barely discernible growl escaping from his lips, which made me jump slightly in surprise.

"Never that." He denied, with a cold finality which I couldn't doubt. "In our world, a mate has many different meanings. Some of our kind are not in a physical, sexual relationship with those that are their mates. We become to them what they need us to be. Brother, friend, protector…"

I sat down abruptly beside him, my legs weak and trembling.

"You needed a protector, and so I became that. I have only ever wanted what was best for you, darlin'."

"But why did that change? You came into my life under false pretenses, and you have transformed me into what you are without my consent. You didn't ask me if this is what I want, Jasper."

"Everything was irrevocably altered when you tried to sell yourself to a stranger, Bella. I couldn't allow that. I want to give you everything your heart desires - and a future - with me."

I immediately understood how he felt. It was there in my heart, his pain, and suffering, as he imagined me with someone else, his joy at being with me forever. He seemed to be feeding me his emotions. I was reeling with the oddity of feeling my own reaction and his intertwined inside me.

I nodded slowly after a small pause as I tried to digest all he'd told and shown me. I understood so much now. I was unprepared for the thrill that shot through me at the thought of being with Jasper like that, as his mate, his partner for eternity. Despite my protests, I longed to be with him. But it grated on my nerves that he hadn't asked what I wanted.

How long would my transformation take?

"Your transformation is far from over, Bella. I've been changing you a little each time I see you. There are other ways in which to do it - faster ways. But I prefer this. It's far easier on you."

Inexplicably I felt tears well up in my eyes. They stung, and I blinked furiously to stop them from falling. Why was I crying? Was it my lost humanity that made me sad? I wasn't sure of anything anymore.

"The change brings with it emotional turmoil; it heightens everything." He told me softly.

That explained how emotional I was lately. "How long will it take for me to change completely?" I asked, my voice sounding husky.

"That all depends on how much venom I give you."

"Venom? Like a snake?" I was shocked; I'd never considered the logistics of vampires; were they poisonous? "Is that how it's done? When you bite me?"

Jasper nodded again sagely, his dark gaze electric and amused. "Yes, but not just that; we are poisonous. The venom is in every part of our bodies; it's in our blood, saliva, and other...fluids." He paused, a smirk twisting his perfect lips. "Since every part of me has been in and on you just lately...it was only a matter of time before the transition began."

I felt heat rise in my cheeks.

Jaspers smile broadened. "Have you experienced any changes yet, Bella?"

I nodded, my cheeks still very warm. "I'm hungry, but I don't want food, and my eyes seem to be changing color. I'm on edge constantly, like I want to crawl out of my skin."

He stroked my cheek slowly, tenderly. "Your eyes are beautiful." The look he gave me made my heart miss a beat. "Soon, you won't want human food at all. You'll need to feed to complete the transition."

Horror filled me. "Feed?" I gasped. "Do you mean - on people?"

Jasper's dark gaze flickered between my eyes and lips, his expression enigmatic. "It's what we eat, darlin'; soon, it will come naturally to you. But to shorten a very long explanation- you're dying, Bella."

"Dying?" I repeated stupidly. But of course, vampires were technically dead.

Jasper watched me intently, and then I realized he was processing my thoughts.

"Yes, we are dead in the human sense of the word. Although, I believe we never feel quite so alive as we do in death. It's poetic, really. This existence brings with it so much more. It's infinite."

I felt terrified, fear rising within me in giant waves. My lips trembled, and I felt tears sting my eyes once again. I was an emotional mess.

"Why did you wait so long to find a boyfriend?" He asked, abruptly, as if the question had been weighing on his mind.

He was trying to distract me.

"No one was good enough." I hesitated, trying to find the right words to describe my disdain for the boys who'd tried to date me in high school. "It made me feel physically sick when they tried to touch me. I... I just couldn't allow it. "

Jasper's face was expressionless, but I felt his joy deep inside me.

"I often wondered if it worked both ways, and now I know it does."

I tilted my head questioningly; I didn't follow him.

"You see, Bella, I haven't been able to be with anyone else either. I've belonged to you entirely since the moment I saw you. It's the most damnable thing being fully tied to a child. You can't imagine how frustrating it was to be unable to pursue a normal adult relationship with anyone at all. I was overjoyed by my connection to you but also deeply tormented by it. I've always wondered if your refusal to date anyone had anything to do with our bond. But it seemed improbable. After all, you didn't remember me, except maybe on some subliminal level."

"Does that mean we're made for each other?" I whispered. Awestruck. Could this man, this powerful vampire, truly be mine?

Jasper slowly reached out and took my hand from where it lay in my lap. "Many people never meet their soulmates; we were lucky to have met even though we were born so far apart in time. Fate perhaps had other plans for us."

"How cruel fate is to keep some people apart and yet allow others to meet." I mused, focused on the sensation of his skin on mine. It was everything.

"Fate can be cruel," he agreed and then paused. "I would never be cruel to you, Bella. My only aim is to make you happy and keep you safe. You require a little more care than most humans due to your carelessness and your choice of friends."

Jacob…

I thought it and watched Jasper's gaze grow darker still, fury tightening his angel's face into harsh lines, all tenderness gone.

"Yes, your so-called friend was on a dangerous path. He was going to harm you, and if he had tried, I would have dealt with him harshly."

"What did you do?" I was afraid to ask, and yet I had to know the worst.

I didn't care about Jacob's fate as I once would have. His growing attachment had terrified me, it's dark undertone unsettling. I'd been genuinely afraid of him and what he might do to me.

"I removed the threat." Jasper stroked my skin with slow, mesmerizing movements, which immediately made me hyper-aware of his proximity to me. My nerve endings literally danced at his touch. My body was already aching to be filled with him again.

"Do you hate me?" Jasper asked.

"That depends on what you did," I told him, trying to sound stern and failing miserably. "How did you remove him exactly?"

Jasper watched me closely, his gaze clinging to my face. A small shake of his head made my heart plummet to my toes. "He is gone, darlin'. I made sure he wasn't coming back."

I felt sick, my belly churning unpleasantly as bile rose in my throat.

"Is he dead?" I asked hoarsely.

Jasper cupped my face slowly as he stroked my cheeks with both hands. His touch was strength and heartbreaking tenderness. "He isn't dead, merely contained. He will be released when his feelings for you cease to be a threat."

"How will you know?" I asked, curious beyond words.

He smiled. "Death brings with it certain gifts, darlin'. I can read others' emotions just as you hear speech. But Jacob's incarceration will be over the moment your transformation is complete because he will not want you once you're no longer human."

I wanted to touch Jasper, so I did. I wrapped my hands around his wrists as he held my face, anchoring him to me, my gaze drawn to his mouth and then his eyes repeatedly.

"But I'm human, and I want you," I admitted this boldly, knowing he already knew everything I felt for him. My needs were laid bare to him, it seemed, and somehow, I didn't care. His intimate knowledge of how I felt and what I wanted allowed him to fuck me until my toes curled and I was a mess of shivering, spent passion.

I felt my body respond to my thoughts; there was a tingling ache between my legs, which was so painfully pleasurable and powerful I stifled a moan.

"That is because of our bond, Bella. Humans are usually afraid of us." Jasper said, referring to us collectively as if I were already immortal. He pulled me into his arms slowly so as not to startle me, and I sunk into him with a sigh of surrender, my lips parted, eyes heavy. My entire body rejoiced at my proximity to him; I felt unimaginable pleasure from merely touching him.

He ran his fingers through my hair, and I watched, mesmerized as his elegant and yet powerful fingers moved through the freshly washed strands. He wore a single ring on the middle finger of his right hand; it was large, robust, and thick. It was aged vintage silver, which looked as if it had been worked by a Viking warrior a thousand years before. A signet ring, perhaps. There was a Griffin carrying a torch in its claw on the face of the ring; behind it was a crest that looked ancient.

Jasper saw my interest in his ring. "That is a story for another day." He told me as he pulled me closer, his breath on my face.

I felt my eyes turn tilt as emotion and sensation so intense it left me breathless, rushed through my body.

I couldn't think of anything else when he touched me.

I shuddered in pure arousal as our lips touched. Jasper stood and lifted me with him easily. A single hand supported my ass as I wrapped myself around him, my towel falling away forgotten as my arms found their way around his neck.

This was all that mattered.