The plot thickens....have a great day!

Chapter 8

BPOV

That.

Was.

Amazing.

My body was practically singing with Jasper's praises and my mind was reeling. It has been so long since I felt completely sexy, confident or anything positive. Jasper allowed that to come forth from me and I was so thankful. He was gorgeous, strong, powerful and completely vulnerable at the same time. The man was amazing in and out of bed, or door, or shower....

He started the water after my prompting for a shower. Although he didn't have any of the nice girly amenities that my shower did, I looked forward to seeing him stalk naked with water running down his gorgeous body. He got in the shower first and I followed, standing a couple of feet away so he had some space to get clean.

"Come here, Bella," he cooed.

I stepped forward, my eyes never leaving his eyes. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me into his chest. The feel of his skin was like home, its texture smooth and remained cool from his run earlier. My head rested on his chest, my arms squeezed around his middle. I felt at home with him around me and at peace.

Suddenly, he turned me into the hot water and I flinched. "You didn't think that you weren't going to get wet to, did you sugar?"

I laughed with my head down, trying to keep the water out of my mouth and eyes. "Let me out!"

He turned my body again so that the water hit the sides of our bodies, keeping us warm. Jasper's hands left my skin to push my brown hair to lay across against my back. He seemed to have something against my hair covering my breasts. I laughed at the thought and held him tighter. Jasper reached for the bar of soap and started a slow caress against my arm, lathering it completely. I glanced back up into his eyes and smiled, seeing nothing but me in their beautiful, blue reflection. I sighed and stood on my toes to kiss his lips softly. I couldn't help but feel sad with all of the time that we could have had together if I would have introduced myself sooner.

"What's the matter?" Jasper asked. I was amazed at this man's ability to read me, to feel exactly what I was feeling when I felt it. He was always sincere, it seemed as though my pain always became his own pain.

"Oh, nothing," I lied. His eyes opened wider and he nodded, prodding me to continue with just a glance. This man was nearly dangerous for my resolve, "I just wish I would have met you sooner. It feels like so much wasted time..."

Jasper bent down to kiss me again, this time with much more conviction and purpose, as if he were trying to relay something completely sincere through it. "The time we had before each other prepared us for the time we have now. Don't regret whatever you went through before me. It made you the perfectly imperfect Bella that I..."

"I love you. I meant it when I said it," I finished what I knew he was going to say. He accepted me for who I was and didn't expect anything more. How could I be so fortunate? And when does this ever happen in real life?

He beamed down at me, eyes sparkling and filled with complete adoration. "I know you meant it. I meant it, too. Now let me get you clean because I'm starving."

*******

Once we were clean and dry, I threw my sweats and sweatshirt on. I didn't realize that he had completely torn off my underwear until I looked to put them on. I laughed as I threw the mangled fabric away. The splattering of clothes throughout the hallway in Jasper's house was really quite comical.

We both went downstairs and I opened his fridge to see what I could make for a late dinner. His fridge was completely empty except for protein shakes and some condiments. I opened up the freezer and laughed. The freezer held some frozen hamburger and Bomb Pops. What a bachelor...

"Bomb Pops?" I eyed the box that featured the multi-colored Popsicles and raised an eyebrow at Jasper. After seeing him completely naked, him taking me against his bedroom door and showering with me, the first time that he turned completely red was at my questioning his possession of a certain kind of Popsicles.

"I really like popcicles..." he laughed and I laughed along with him. With his manly persona, he had the cutest quirks and I was excited to find out about the rest of them. I remembered the lasagna that I had at my house and was instantly hungry.

"I just made lasagna today, I'll go get it and we can heat it up," he grabbed my hand as I tried to walk past him to the front door.

"Darlin', you cook?" his eyes flashed with a tremendous wave of desire. I was not surprised at all that my cooking abilities would be a turn on to him with the complete lack of food.

I walked back to him and pushed him against the wall. He smirked slightly, "I can cook. I also can do amazing things with Popsicles. I will have to show you sometime..."

My toes extended upwards as I kissed him on the nose and turned on my heels, "I will be right back."

"You better, you lil' minx," Jasper exhaled.

I opened his door and the cold air hit my lungs and I coughed at the feeling. I hugged myself and rubbed my arms, shivering uncontrollably.

Why do I live here again?

I reached my front door and opened it, remembering that I left it unlocked thinking that I would be back within thirty minutes or so after my run. My house was dark.

Odd. Usually I leave all of my lights on.

I turned on a light as I stood in my front doorway and glanced around. The room was empty, but I felt terribly uneasy. Something told me that I was not safe here. I walked quickly to the refridgerator and grabbed the pan of pasta, closing the fridge and turning quickly. As soon as I turned, I saw a figure in the doorway.

I inhaled sharply and my heartbeat skyrocketed. Adrenaline pumped through my veins as I tried to recall some self defense moves that I learned in a class that I took in college. Heel of the hand to the nose, knee to the crotch, break the pinky fingers if hands surround my neck...

The figure stepped through the door and I recognized him immediately. Stalky, muscular frame. Wide-set shoulders. Long, black hair. Dark, tanned skin.

"Jake," I barely whispered.