Previously:

I nodded, noting his confident tone and trying to match my feelings to it. "It's alright Bella. I've got you." he said, obviously sensing my internal struggle. "Sleep, Darlin'." he said lowly. He moved so he was leaning against my head board with my head on his chest, and sent a wave of lethargy over me, and I fell asleep nestled in the circle of his stone arms.

Despite the comfort of being held in strong, and, well, comforting arms, I had no plans whatsoever on falling asleep. But, with my head on Jasper's chest, and his wild scent of rain, and forests, and the cool of a clear spring night soaking into me, soon, my eyes fluttered closed, and I fell into dreamland.

The next morning, I blinked awake to my pillow moving. I also noticed something odd about it, besides moving on it's own. It was hard, like a piece of rock, like a piece of gran- oh. I tilted my head back, and saw Jasper staring down at me.

"Morning." I greeted softly. He gave me a tense nod, and shifted some more. "What's wrong?" I asked, concerned. "Um…" he trailed off uncertainly, and I searched his eyes, getting trapped in the brown that was almost black-another realization hit me, and I instantly scooted away. Jasper half reached for me, but dropped his hand. "Sorry." I said, almost automatically. This time, when he reached for me, he brushed hair away from my face. "You don't need to apologize for anything, Bells. It's my fault for putting off hunting for so long." I sighed, and his light fingertips brushed along my cheekbone.

"How long will you be gone?" I asked, trying to keep my voice from trembling. No, I had not been especially close to Jasper when the rest of the Cullen's were still here, but when I to know him better, when he protected and comforted me, we just...clicked. He was closer than a brother, and almost closer than Edward and I had been, just, in a different way.

I was jerked back to the present by Jasper's warm, gentle voice. "I promise that I wont be gone for long. Even though you'll be in school, I'll call you when I get back." "Promise?" I asked, hating the little-girl tone of my voice. "Yes, I promise, Bella." Jasper said, his onyx-ish eyes softening. I smiled a little, and stood. Jasper walked to my door, and, just before he went out, he stopped. "Oh, and Bella?" I looked at him expectantly. "You dont have to be angry with yourself fo neeing someone. Any one would after what you've gone through." Completley forgetting his need to hunt, I hurled myself at him.

Jasper caught me easily, his arms holding me lightly. I wrapped my arms tightly around his trim waist, and Jasper held me as tightly as he could without bruising me. "Thank you." I murmured against his cold, muscular chest. Jasper didnt reply, and I felt his cheek against my hair. Somewhat reluctantly, I tugged myself from his ars and Jasper left the room, slowly closing the door behind him.

I stared at the door, and slowly backed up, sitting heavily on my mattress. My arms felt weirdly tingly from holding Jasper in them, and every time I moved, I got a whiff of his scent, which had seeped into my clothes, hair, and my very skin. What was going on? Yes, I had loved Edward-I froze. Had loved? Didnt I still love him? For some reason, I was no longer sure. Edward and I had never, ever been as close as Jasper and I were now. Edward had always treated me like a piece of glass, like I couldnt do anything. Jasper was in no way careless, but he didnt treat me like Edward had. He treated me like I was a person, not a figurine.

I was startled to hear a tap on my door. "Bella? Is everything alright?" "Yeah. Why?" "Your emotions are going crazy." "Oh." I was completley embarrassed. I forgot that Jasper was an empath. "Why are you embarassed?" "I forgot you were an empath." I explained in response to Jazz's concerned question. "Oh. Um, I suppose I'll leave you to get dressed, then." "Kay."

I moved steadfastly to my dresser, and tugged the top drawer open, pulling out under things. I tossed them on my bed, and went to my closet, pulling out a pair of blue jeans, and a black shirt with three-quarter length sleeves. I slipped into the clothes, and shoved my feet into a pair of sneakers. I tugged brush through my slightly unruly hair, and walked to the bathroom. I knew I was just asking to have to change my shirt when I brushed my teeth, but, miraculously, I didnt spill a single drop of toothpaste on my shirt.

I rinsed my mouth out, and inspected myself in the mirror. I definately didnt feel like wearing a bright, cheery color today, but the shirt I was wearing was rather low-cut for my taste. It bared the top of my breasts, and I rearranged my dark hair so it appeared that there was less cleavage showing. Satisfied, I walked down the stairs, finding Jazz in the kitchen. This morning, he had fixed waffles for me.

He turned around just as I entered the kitchen doorway, plate of fluffy waffles in hand. His eyes widened apon seeing me, and his grip on the plate loosened enough for it to begin to fall. Only his nearly instantaneous reflexes saved the plate from slamming into the ground. I gues my shirt was a little lower than I had previously thought.

Jasper P.O.V.

I quickly got Bella's breakfast ready, not paying a bit of attention to what I was doing, my body working on automatic. There was only one image in my mind, and that was of me holding tightly, nearly too tightly, to Bella. Despite the fact I needed to hunt, when Bella rushed in to hug me, the urge to hunt just...disappeared. I was still rather astonished at that fact, and I wanted to know why it was like that.

I was jerked back to the present by the sound of Bella's footsteps coming down the stairs. I timed it perfectly, and turned around just as Bella entered the room. My eyes widened as they saw her, and I instantly began to drink her in. Her casual blue jeans fit her perfectly, as did her top. The shirt was a deep black, with sleeves that went down to her forearms. it was surprisingly low cut and showed off the top of her breasts. I'd always known Bella was beautiful for a human, and now, I had no trouble seeing that beauty.

Completley stunning me, my hands and lips suddenly itched with the urge to touch. I wanted to run my fingers across her fine cheekbones, down her slender neck, hesitate on her full breasts, then continue down to her waist. And I wanted my lips to follow the path of my fingers. I felt the plate of waffles slide from my fingers, and my hand shot down, easily catching the plate. I sat the plate on the table, and Bella sat in front of the plate. I pulled butter and syrup from the fridge, handing them to her, and watched her slather the waffles.

"Jasper?" I blinked. I got the sense that she'd said my name a few times, but I was only noticing now. "Yes, Bella?" "You were staring at me." "Oh. Sorry." I said, embarssed. She smiled at me, and pushed her plate away. I glanced at it, seeing that she had cleaned it. "Okay, ready to go?" Bella nodded. I lead Bella out of her house, and quickly jumped into the drivers side, and Bella slid into the passenger seat.

I drove her to school, neither of us saying a single word. However, I knew that she was entirely comfortable, which was mystifying. Bella had always been oddly at home with vampires, but never with me, from all the warnings the family had given her about me. But now, she was completley at ease. She didnt have any hesitations about being with me in an enclosed space, even when she knew I needed to hunt.

I blinked a few times, realizing I'd been staring straight ahead, lost in thoughts, my body on auto-pilot. We were already at school, and I parked her truck, getting out and walking around the truck, just in case she hurt herself getting out of the truck, which wasnt impossible. But she made it out of the truck with zero scratches, bruises, or any other injuries.

Bella and I simply looked at eachother for a moment, and then, I caught a wave of nervousness from her. With a startling quickness, she darted forward, her warm lips pressing against my cheek. I froze, and she felt it, immediately pulling back. Feeling a little bad, I darted forward this time, and pressed a quick kiss to the smooth skin stretched over her cheekbones. I felt the blood rush to her face, and just like that, I was hungry. But, strangely enough, not for blood. It was the same feeling I'd had when I saw Bella emerge in her low cut top. I shook the hunger off, pulled away from Bella, and smiled. Without another word, I darted into the woods, eager and reluctant to get away from Bella.

Sorry it's taken me so long to update. Hope you like this chapter, and keep up with the reviews. Luv to all my readers!