A/N: Ok, I know I said I would upload one chapter a week, but the next couple are almost written, so I couldn't resist uploading this now! And we get to hear a bit more about the guy at the bar…can only be a good thing…right?

Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns all things Twilight.

"For fucks sake Jay, what the hell was that all about?" asked Emmett, rounding on his best friend and fellow army veteran.

Jasper growled intelligibly at him, not in the mood to talk or even think about the way the small brunette leaning against the bar had made him feel. Desire coursed through him as he thought about the way her chocolate brown eyes had met his, so deep he felt like he could drown in them and he felt his cock twitch in his jeans. What the fuck is going on, Jasper thought to himself. He was used to the attention he received from women, but never before had a girl had this effect on him. As she settled herself at the other end of the bar, Jasper could not stop himself from watching her. He wondered why she was dressed for a cocktail party but had instead turned up at the grotty backstreet bar in Camden he liked to frequent.

"Jasper, man, are you alright?" Emmett asked again. His girlfriend Rosalie was also now peering at him with a curious expression on her beautiful face.

"Yeh, I'm fine, just not in the mood to be ogled at by some girl after the day I've had," Jasper said, grumbling. Emmett and Rose both stared for a second before bursting out laughing.

"Ogled?" said Rose. "Who the hell has replaced Major Jasper Whitlock with this pussy?"

Emmett continued to cackle loudly, drawing the attention of everyone in the vicinity, including the girl at the other end of the bar, who was looking increasingly pissed off. Jasper watched as she hopped abruptly off the bar stool she had been perched on, smoothed her dress over her pert ass and sashayed off to the other side of the room. He watched the heads of every man and some of the women in the bar turning as she passed, prompting possessive thoughts to rush through his mind.

Jasper turned back to Emmett and Rosalie who were still pissing themselves with laughter, noting how often Emmett's eyes flicked to the small brunette. Although he didn't want to admit it to himself, Jasper knew that if Emmett hadn't been six foot five and built like a tank, he would have punched him in the face by now for staring at the girl.

"Shut the fuck up both of you," he said. After a final hoot of laughter, to their credit they both stopped and instead changed the subject to discuss their plans for the weekend.

Jasper turned back to the bar, trying to distract himself from the girl who was still making his cock want to leap to attention. Looking back at his friends, he thought about the beginning of his friendship with Emmett, how they had first bonded in primary school when Em had punched him in the stomach and stole his lunch. Even back then he was a huge guy, but Emmett had not counted on how fast Jasper could run and after chasing him round the playground and attempting to wrestle his ham sandwich back, a lifelong friendship developed. I don't even really like ham sandwiches, Jasper thought to himself with amusement, not that his Mum had ever remembered that. The two boys had been inseparable throughout the rest of school and joined the army together when they left at 18. There was nobody else in the world Jasper would trust to watch his back and although he still viewed his discharge from the army with anger and disappointment, he was glad not to be on tour without Emmett, who had left to spend more time at home with Rose. Rosalie was a tall, statuesque blonde who worked as an English teacher and Jasper knew without a doubt that she and Emmett were made for each other.

The barman, known as Quill to his friends due to his ink, sauntered over to Jasper "Seem a little on edge tonight Jay," he said with a knowing look. "And what's with the posh get up? You're dressed like a fucking bank manager."

Jasper looked down at his outfit, knowing that it wasn't his usual state of attire. "Oh fuck off," he said. "We were meant to be going to my wanker of a brother's engagement party, but decided to sack it off at the last minute and ended up in this shithole you call a bar." Jasper said the last part with a grin, knowing it would wind Quill up.

Jasper was aware his father Carlisle would be exceptionally pissed off with him for not turning up at the party and would probably threaten again to disown him. However, this seemed to be the constant state of their relationship, hence why Jasper had not talked to his father or brother more than once a year during the time he had been away in the army. Only recently had they started to spend more time together, but this was still limited and Jasper realised he didn't know anything about his brother anymore or about the girl he was marrying.

Jasper turned from Quill back to his two best friends who were now whispering to each other with confused looks and he again became distracted by the girl who was now sat on her own at a small table on the other side of the room. As Jasper looked over at her, he noticed how sad she appeared, sat with her beautiful face half hidden by a sheet of soft brown hair as she rested her face on her hand. Shit, I'm an asshole, Jasper thought to himself, definitely beginning to regret his harsh words from earlier.

He couldn't take his eyes off her and stared broodingly as she raised her head and her eyes caught his. After staring for a second she looked down, a flash of anger still in her eyes. I really did piss her off Jasper thought with amusement. He watched with narrowed eyes as a smarmy looking guy approached and offered her another bottle of beer with a whiskey chaser. She downed both drinks in quick succession, leaving Jasper feeling irrationally angry that she wasn't taking better care of herself.

"I'm going out for a smoke," he said to Emmett and Rose who were still shooting the girl confused looks. He wondered absentmindedly what was going on with the two of them.

"I know I recognise her from somewhere," Rosalie whispered to Emmett.

He looked at her quizzically. "Where from? And why the hell haven't you introduced me yet?" he said with a sly smile and a cocked eyebrow.

"You knob." Rosalie swatted at his huge arm fondly. "And that's the problem, I can't remember. I just know I've seen her face before."

"Whatever babe," said Emmett, bored with the direction of the conversation already. Rosalie gave him an exasperated look. Although she loved her man to death, he could be extremely infuriating at times. Built like a body builder, he was absolutely huge, but with the sweetest smile and the kindest eyes. Rosalie knew how lucky she was to find someone like him, big enough to make her feel safe and protected, a prerequisite for her when it came to boyfriends, but also kind and gentle, with the most ridiculous sense of humour. She smiled at him lovingly before snapping her fingers.

"I've got it!" Rosalie quickly looked round to check that Jasper had definitely gone outside for his cigarette. "You know we went with Jay to see Carlisle this afternoon?"

"Well yeh," said Emmett. "I can't believe the bust up they had over Edward's engagement party tonight. Carlisle must have known Jay would never willingly go, he hates that tosspot so much." He paused, a confused look crossing his face. "But what the hell do they have to do with the girl?" he asked, nodding his head towards the brunette who was now walking with a drunken sway across the bar.

"While you and Jay were with Carlisle, I was chatting with Esme. You know what she's like, she was telling me all about the proposal and was even showing me photos of the happy couple. I'm pretty sure that girl over there is Edward's fiancée,' Rosalie explained.

"But that can't be right," Emmett answered. "You know the engagement party's tonight. If it is her, what the hell is she doing here?"

Emmett and Rosalie both turned to look at the drunken brunette's retreating back, wondering what could have happened to cause her to abandon her own engagement party.

Fuck I have definitely had too much to drink, Bella thought as she headed out the door. At least the alcohol and attention from the men in the bar had effectively distracted her from thoughts of Edward and Alice together and from the arrogant prick she had met at the beginning of the night. Bella felt her eyes flash angrily at the thought of him, amused that she was now so much more pissed off with the gorgeous, golden haired man than she was with Edward. Feeling woozy, Bella made her way outside to get some air, only a little concerned in her drunken state by the group of three men who got up to follow her out of the bar. Stopping off at the toilets on the way out and expecting to see a drunken mess in the mirror, she was surprised by how good she looked; skin glowing and eyes sparkling.

Once outside she was relieved that the group of men who had followed her were nowhere to be seen. Relaxing, she leaned back against the wall and bent down to take off her heels, realising how much her feet were hurting after wearing the stilettos all night. As Bella stood back up, she noticed with concern that the three men were now standing around watching her closely.

"Alright sexy, how you doin'?" one of them called out, his voice slurring from the alcohol he'd consumed.

Bella looked at the floor, pretending not to have heard him and hoping they would go away and leave her in peace.

"Hey, I was talking to you," he said as she looked back up, registering with alarm that he was now right in front of her, flanked by his friends.

"I'm fine," Bella said, feeling her heart rate start to increase as she realised they were unlikely to leave her alone so easily.

"Just fine?" he questioned. "Bet I've got something that could make you feel a whole lot better." He leered at her as he leaned in even closer.

Bella could smell the whiskey on his breath and in a voice much stronger than she felt answered. "I said I'm fine, just back the fuck off."

The men started whooping. "You've picked a feisty one there Eric," one of them said, laughing.

"Well how about I teach her some manners then," Eric snapped, reaching for Bella's arm and pulling her hard towards him.

Before she could push him away, Bella was bewildered to find him flying away from her, hitting the wall with a thud. Standing in front of her was the arrogant prick from the bar, eyeing the other men with such fury they all started to back away.

"Come near her again and you'll wish you'd never lived,' he said in a menacing tone to the men, who skulked back into the bar muttering apologies and threats under their breath.

The man turned to look at Bella, surprising her with the still angry look on his face. "You need to be more careful," he said. "Do you have any fucking idea what they were thinking of doing to you?"

"I have had enough of asshole wankers like you for one night. Why can't everyone just leave me alone?" Bella yelled back in shock. Suddenly, under the heat of his gaze she crumbled, the events of the night finally catching up with her. With a curse, he caught her just before she hit the ground, carried her over to a nearby bench and set her down gently.

"Hey, it's ok," he said, catching her chin with his long, graceful fingers and tilting her face up to look at him.

Bella felt as though a bolt of electricity had shot through her and pulled her face from his grasp. "I'm fine," she stammered, quickly realising that actually she was very far from fine and did not have a clue what to do with herself or with the feelings of desire and need that were coursing through her body, just from a single touch. She chanced a look up at him again, registering how tall he was even from a seated position and saw him frowning down with a strangely concerned look on his face.

"So, are you gonna tell me what a girl like you is doing at a place like this?" he asked.

Bella smiled to herself at his clichéd one liner, before shrugging her shoulders, not wanting to go into the details of her night with the man sat in front of her. "I've just had a tough evening and needed to escape from it all," she said vaguely. "I got in my car and started driving and this is where I ended up. I don't even know where I am." She suddenly felt concerned. How could she have been so stupid? Sat on a dark street in the middle of the night with a stranger, albeit a gorgeous one, with no idea where she was, or how she was going to get home now she was much too drunk to drive. "Fuck, I can't go home," she said, realising that there was no way she could go back to her house tonight if Alice might be there. Even as she tried to stop them, Bella's eyes welled up and she started to cry heavy tears, realising just how screwed her life had become in the space of a few hours.

"Oh fucking hell," the man cursed. "Bloody women."

But contrary to his words Bella was surprised to feel his arms wrap around her, holding her close as she cried. The sobs wracked her body and it felt like hours before she finally felt able to control her tears and pull away from him.

"So," he said awkwardly. "Why don't you think you can go home?"

Bella sighed. "I live with my sister. She did something tonight that I can't forgive and I can't go home to face her when I'm like this," she paused. "Please don't ask me anymore. I'll just find a hotel or something near here where I can stay for the night."

He looked at her incredulously. "You really don't know this area at all do you? You can't just wander off at night, hoping to find a hotel." Looking as though an internal battle was raging inside of him, the man stared down at her, before his gaze softened, the concerned look returning to his eyes. He ran his fingers through his golden curls. "Fuck it," he muttered. "You can crash at my apartment tonight, if you need to."

Bella looked up at him, amazed he had made the offer, particularly considering how much he had appeared to hate her at the beginning of the night. As she stared into his green eyes, Bella again felt the jolt of electricity rush through her, feeling her heart rate and breathing increase. As though everything seemed to centre on them, she felt her thighs involuntarily clench as she struggled to keep her mind clear and not focused on her arousal. "Yes," she whispered. "That would be great, if you don't mind."

He looked more than a little dazed that she had accepted his offer. Fuck, Bella thought, he had obviously wanted her to say no. As she opened her mouth to say that actually she would find somewhere else to stay, he stood up abruptly.

"Let me just tell my friends we're leaving," he said before slipping back inside the bar.

Bella quickly gathered her shoes which were still lying by the wall where she had discarded them not long before, all the while thinking about just how stupid she was being by agreeing to go back to a stranger's house in the middle of the night. But considering earlier events she really could not bring herself to care that much. She felt safe with this man, even though, she realised with bemusement, she still didn't know his name.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked, surprising her by approaching so quietly. Bella looked up at him, a little intimidated and more than a little turned on by his close proximity.

"Yes," she said, not breaking eye contact.

"Good," he said, turning swiftly around to walk down the street. Just a few paces ahead of her he stopped. "Sorry darlin', I haven't introduced myself," he said over his shoulder in his deep masculine tone. "I'm Jasper Whitlock."

"I'm Bella," she answered, following him.

"What the fuck do we do Rose?" Emmett said in alarm, wondering how they had let Jay leave with his brother's very drunk fiancée. "We didn't get a chance to tell him who she is."

"Well I'm not sure that would have been the best idea anyway," Rose replied. "You know the temper he has and he's already lost it with her once tonight. Can you imagine his reaction if he knew she's engaged to Edward?" Rose paused and looked up at her man. "Besides Em, we're still not one hundred percent sure it is her. Until we are, I don't think we should mention it."

Reassured and quite frankly glad to be let off the hook, Emmett agreed. Although he was considered by many to be a hard assed army Captain, telling his best friend that the woman he had taken home and had obviously been hung up on all night was actually his brother's fiancée, was not something he was looking forward to.

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