A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update! I kept re-writing until I could get this chapter just right. I apologize for the way the format of the story is. I don't know how to indent new paragraphs because everytime I try, it just reverts back to the way it was before I tried indenting. If anyone can help me out with how to fix it, I'll be very grateful! Thank you for all who reviewed!

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, settings, etc. of the book Twilight/NewMoon/Eclipse. The original characters and plot are the property of the brilliant Stephenie Meyer.

Bella rummaged through her closet hastily, trying to find something to wear. She finally settled on a royal blue v-neck and jeans. She had one hand wrapped around the sleeve of her jacket hanging in her closet, when she thought she should check the weather outside to see if she really needed to wear it. The sun had been playing hide-and-seek with the heavy gray clouds for the past half-hour. If there was one thing that Bella truly loved, it was the feel of the sun's rays on her bare skin; despite how feeble the sunlight was in Forks compared to how it scorched in Phoenix, she would take what she could get, which, sadly, wasn't much here.

She opened her window and stuck her hand outside to test the temperature. There was a slight chill in the air, nothing that seemed too extreme to brave without a jacket, she decided. She pulled her hand away and the sight of Jacob outside caught her attention. He was fumbling with the engine of the Volkswagen, his raven-colored hair gently falling in curtains around his face, which bore a look of extreme frustration. He kept wiping the sweat from his temple and nose with the sleeve of his shirt, fully annoyed. Having had enough, he took off his shirt completely and tucked it in the back pocket of his jeans.

Bella couldn't help but admire Jacob's body. She appreciated the way his copper skin stretched tautly around the well-developed muscles of his chest and upper arms. Guiltily, she wondered what his bare skin would feel like against hers, not in the way that she had touched his face this morning, but how it would feel if it moved against hers. She felt her mouth go dry suddenly, and realized that she had stopped swallowing her saliva. Jacob swiftly turned his head in the direction of Bella's window and was alarmed to see her staring back at him. She quickly ducked her head down below the window sill, and felt her cheeks ignite with the hot flush of embarrassment at having been discovered.

Jacob laughed quietly to himself. He wasn't sure what had gotten into Bella within the last twenty-four hours, but he couldn't bring himself to complain. He had never felt this way about any other girl in his life before Bella, and to have her appear to begin to return his feelings after pushing him away for so long elated Jacob. He shut the hood of the car and hopped in the driver's side.

"Please, please," he coaxed.

The car rumbled deeply and sprang to life at his request.

"Thank you," he breathed.

He turned the car off and half-ran into the house, where he was met by the sight of Bella.

"All fixed," he said, flashing a smile and motioning toward the car.

"Great," she said quickly.

"Uh," he said, holding up his oil-covered hands.

"Oh, second door on your right," she said, realizing he needed to shower.

Bella hoped that the embarrassment had faded from her face.

The silence in Bella's truck between her and Jacob was overwhelming on the drive to the meadow. Neither of them quite knew what to say to each other about the events of the previous night. Every once in a while, Bella could feel Jacob stealing glances at her and she pretended that she didn't notice. Finally, they both spoke.

"Jake-"

"I'm sorry-"

They said in unison.

Bella laughed nervously.

"Go ahead," Bella offered.

"I'm sorry about what I did last night," Jacob said quietly. "I shouldn't have been so forward," he finished.

"That's all right," Bella said uncomfortably.

"You were just relieved that I wasn't freaked out about you being a werewolf. I know you didn't really want to kiss me," she added.

It was silent for a moment, and she felt Jacob's eyes on her once again.

"What if I did?" He asked.

His boldness caught her off guard, and Bella was determined to keep her gaze glued to the road.

"We're friends, Jake," she said intently, though she felt like she wasn't just trying to convince him of the boundaries of their relationship anymore, but rather, herself as well.

"Okay," he said wryly.

"I'll behave from now on. I promise," he said with a tone that implied he saw right through her carefully constructed facade.

Bella stopped the truck at the edge of the woods in front of the trail that would lead them to the meadow.

"So, where to?" Jacob asked.

"This way . . . I think," Bella answered.

They had been walking nearly an hour in almost complete silence, save for the occasional grunts of annoyance at the thick shrubbery that pulled at their clothing and exposed flesh.

One of Bella's shoelaces suddenly caught on a small gnarled tree branch and before she could comprehend her face making contact with the small collection of jagged rocks in front of her, Jacob's arms shot out and caught her around her waist.

His hands were like fire.

"Thanks," she gasped.

"Why do you do that?" He asked her.

"I don't fall on purpose. I'm just naturally clumsy," she explained.

"No, I mean, every time I touch you or go near you, your body tenses up automatically," he said.

Bella was taken aback. She never realized that she did that. She resolved that her body had become so accustomed to Edward and his boundaries that it was just an automatic response. Just like the way your knee jerks when you tap it with one of those little hammers.

Jacob, saw the look of confusion twist into one of realization on her face, and figured that it had to do with Edward.

"I get it," he said.

"Hmm?" Bella was pulled from her thoughts.

"Well, leech-, er, vampires have super strength, right?" He said. "I can't imagine that they'd have the most delicate touch to a human. Werewolves, on the other hand, get the super strengthwithout having to compromise their human tendencies, that is, when they're not in their werewolf form. My touch would be very delicate," he said with a hint of arrogance

Bella ignored him.

"How did it feel to kiss him?" Jacob asked unashamed.

"That's none of your business," she answered.

"I bet it would probably feel like kissing one of those rocks you almost smashed your face into back there," he said, and instantly regretted it.

"If you're going to continue being a jerk, then you can leave," she said acidly.

"Bella, I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me," he said ruefully.

He truly was sorry and ashamed of himself. The truth was, he knew exactly what had gotten into him. The idea of Edward kissing Bella or doing anything else with her made his blood boil with jealousy.

"It's just that, you're so . . . fragile," he said.

Bella continued trudging through the ferns and moss-covered ground, letting Jacob babble to his heart's content.

He stopped her suddenly.

"I can only imagine that with somebody as breakable as you are, naturally, some things wouldn't be possible," he said.

She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out.

"Bella, I can give you things that he can't. I can do things with you that he could never do. At least not without killing you," he said, his dark eyes penetrated directly into hers, and she understood exactly what he meant by that last part.

"Just give me the chance to," he pleaded.

The faint gurgle of water nearby jarred her thoughts.

"There it is," she said recognizing the familiar archway made of two vine-maples that marked the entrance to the meadow.

She walked ahead of Jacob, leaving him reeling.

'It's still here,' she thought, amazed. She had half-expected it to exist only in her dreams as Edward did.

Edward.

Bella couldn't stop herself from thinking about him. How could she when this was the place where he had indirectly said he loved her for the first time?

Jacob followed her through the entrance.

"Wow, it's beautiful," he said.

The thin rays of sunshine that struggled to glow brightly made the fresh dew on the grass and flowers sparkle brilliantly.

Bella closed her eyes and inhaled deeply; the smell of fresh grass and wild flowers met her senses instantly.

"I love that smell," She whispered. "Can you smell it?"

"I wish I could," Jacob said regrettably. "Then again, it's probably a good thing that I can't smell much right now. Your scent normally drives me crazy," he confessed.

Bella's eyes flew open.

"I'm sorry?" She said.

"I didn't mean it in a bad way," he said laughing. "It's a very nice scent."

Her cheeks began to grow warm.

"But I'm sure I'm not the only one who's told you that," he said quietly.

'The difference is, I don't want to eat you,' he thought to himself smugly.

Bella found a small patch of sunlight across the meadow and sprawled out in it. She closed her eyes again and let the sunlight warm her eyelids.

The sun hid behind the clouds, permanently this time, and she opened her eyes annoyed and felt her heart drop.

Jacob was nowhere to be found.

"Jake?" She called out, rising to her feet.

No answer.

"Jake!" She yelled out louder now, her pulse racing with panic.

Suddenly, he sprang toward her head-on, knocking her off her feet. In one impossible, nonhuman fluid motion, he caught her again before she could hit the ground.

"What the hell did you do that for?!" She said, pounding her fists on his chest when he set her down again.

"Ouch! I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he said between laughs.

"Did I hurt you?" He asked.

"No, but-" she said.

"Did I hurt you?" He asked again, trying to make his point clear.

"No," she said flatly.

"It seemed to me like you weren't really listening to me back there, so I had to do something to prove my point," he explained. "I bet you the bloodsucker could never do that without putting you in the hospital."

Bella glared at him.

"Congratulations, you proved your point," she said sarcastically.

"I'm not finished," he said, as he walked slowly toward her.

He put his hand on each of her shoulders and brought his body closer to hers.

She inhaled sharply as a means to protest his proximity, but he shook his head in disagreement.

He brought his hands up to her face and held it in his hands while he slowly turned her head to the side, exposing the side of her neck. He found the spot where her pulse was beating frantically and brought his burning mouth down to kiss her there.

The sensation made her vision go blurry and she couldn't help the way her body reacted to Jacob; to the way he touched her in ways she hadn't been touched in months. She began to feel dizzy, like everything around her was spinning while she stayed put.

She didn't try to resist him anymore. What would be the point? She couldn't pretend that she and Jacob were just friends anymore, because she knew all along that he was much more to her.

So much more.

He pulled away from her a bit and saw that her eyes were closed and her lips were slightly parted.

"Could he do this?" He asked cautiously, as he took her hand in his and placed it on his heart, then placed his hand on her heart.

Bella felt her eyes begin to moisten as their hearts beat in unison. Jacob's simple gesture had touched her so deeply.

"I love you," he whispered as softly as the breeze that wafted through the trees and grass around them.

"Don't" she started.

Jacob's heart sank.

"Don't stop," she whispered.

Jacob's expression turned to one of bewilderment. He hadn't expected her to react this way.

He tried to read the expression in her eyes, but they were an enigma to him. Worried that she may change her mind, Jacob captured her mouth in his hungrily.

At first, Bella's arms remained stiff and limp at her sides, while her lips moved with his carefully. Then, she remembered that Jacob's body didn't feel like stone when it was pressed against hers. His lips weren't glass that could cut hers with the slightest wrong movement. She didn't have to be careful with him. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back with a fervor that she didn't know she possessed.

Jacob was inexperienced when it came to this, but passion took over and he felt that he knew exactly what to do. He lowered her to the ground and lay down on top of her carefully, his mouth never leaving hers.

Bella brought her fingers up to his hair and let them tangle in it for a moment, and urged his already impossibly close body even closer to hers. He let her catch her breath for a moment while he kissed along her neck and collar bone. She ran her hands all the way up his shirt and lifted it up over his head. Her heart was beating wildly as she clutched his strong, broad shoulders and ran her hands up and down the scorching skin of his back. She brought his mouth back down to hers and grazed her teeth along his bottom lip.

Jacob's hands found their way up her shirt to the skin at the small of her back, where they lingered desperately. The wind had picked up a bit and the air was beginning to grow chilled around them. Bella welcomed the intense heat of his body against hers, and succumbed to her long dormant passions.

"I've wanted this for so long," Jacob said between gasps of his uneven breathing.

Bella could tell just how much he wanted her when she unconsciously moved her hips against his and the sensation startled them both. He groaned into her mouth and she gasped at the unexpected feeling of desire that washed over her entire body.

She had his jeans halfway unbuttoned when she was suddenly jolted away from the moment.

"And so the lion fell in love with the lamb."

'Stop it,' she scolded herself.

"What a stupid lamb."

"What a sick masochistic lion."

'Stop it!' She protested again.

'This isn't right. You know this isn't right,' her own voice echoed in her head.

'You're still in love with Edward. It won't be any easier to make him disappear.'

The Cullen House

Alice walked down the stairs and stood, waiting for Edward to return. A few moments laterhe walked through the door.

"Why do you keep doing this?" Alice asked desperately

Edward looked at her sadly.

"To be with her again," he answered softly.

"She didn't notice you were there, it being daytime and all?" Alice asked, her eyebrows raised.

"She wasn't there," Edward began. "I smelled her scent mixed with Jacob Black's."

Alice sighed.

"They're in a forest, somewhere. I don't know which one," Alice said quietly. "That's all I saw."

Edward nodded once and walked slowly upstairs to his bedroom. Alice followed him, curious by the look of defiance on his face.

"What are you going to do?" She asked when they were in his room with the door closed.

"I'm going to read his mind," Edward answered. "If you don't agree with my decision, then I'll ask you to leave."

Alice stayed silent.

He sat motionlessly, with his eyes closed, in a trance-like state. Suddenly, his jaw clenched tightly and he let out a low menacing growl

"What is it?" Alice asked frantically. "Is it Bella? Is she in danger?"

"Give me a moment, please," Edward commanded through his gritted teeth, his nostrils flared in anger.

Alice could recall very few times in her life that she had been as frightened of Edward as she was now.

He opened his eyes, and she saw them clouded over with rage. She knew then that there was only one thing that could anger Edward to the point of madness after reading Jacob's thoughts. He got up quietly and walked out of his room, and down the steps quickly.

"Edward, wait!" Alice called when he was near the front door.

He turned toward her stiffly.

"You left her," she reminded him. "You wanted her to move on."

He turned toward the door and left without another word.

"Jake, wait" she said breathlessly pulling away from him, which wasn't easy considering how her body very much wanted to be with his.

"What's wrong?" He asked, his face flushed.

"I can't do this. Not right now," she said, pulling her shirt back down.

"Did I do something wrong?" He asked alarmed.

"No, no," she said, shaking her head. "That's the problem. You were doing everything right."

"But, we're not prepared," she said.

"You're right," he said, pulling his shirt back over his head.

Fat droplets began to fall from the canopy of trees near them. Bella dreaded the hike back to the truck and the drive home.

"Come here," Jacob said, sensing the anxiety in her eyes. He lifted her in his arms. "Close your eyes and hold on to me tightly."

Bella did as she was instructed. She barely wrapped her arms around his neck when she felt them flying through the woods, just like Edward had done when they came to the meadow for the first time.

'Another benefit of being a werewolf,' she realized.

Within minutes, they were back at the truck and Bella didn't feel the least bit nauseous as she had with Edward, maybe because Jacob was so warm and comforting.

Jacob, put Bella down, and suddenly sank to his knees on the ground, bent over in pain.

He clutched at his head and let out an agonizing cry.

"Jake! What's wrong?" Bella asked frantically.

He lay on his back, panting heavily.

"It's. Happening. Again," he spat out.

Bella understood now. He was having a "sensory-overload" moment where his wolf senses were trying to accommodate themselves within his still-human senses. She knelt down next to him and moved the hair that had clung by sweat to his forehead. A thin trickle of blood escaped from his nose and Bella nearly fainted from the sight.

"Your nose," she said dizzily as the strong scent of iron crept its way up her nostrils.

"It's okay," Jacob said. He wiped it away and breathed in a big gulp of air, and was grateful when the smell of damp earth, as well as Bella's unique smell that he had spoken of earlier, greeted him.

Bella helped him get to his feet and into the passenger side of her truck while she walked around to the driver's side and started the engine.

"Just try to rest until we get to my house," she said, guiltily grateful that they didn't have to endure another awkward silence after what had almost happened between them.

Jacob didn't try to resist, and drifted off to sleep.

Bella turned the truck into the driveway, just as a light rain began to fall. She hurried over to the passenger side and tried to wake Jacob up, but he was still too weak to walk by himself. She managed to get him to put his arm around her shoulder for support, though it wasn't easy considering Jacob's towering figure compared with her own petite frame.

Once they were in the house, Bella tried to figure out where to put him. She decided against the couch, since it was much too small for Jacob, and led him up the stairs to her bedroom. By the time she reached her room, she was so out of breath that she collapsed on the bed with Jacob.

She quickly got up and made her way to the bathroom to get a cold cloth for his forehead, when his hand suddenly shot out and grabbed hold of her wrist. She turned to him, alarmed, and his hand slid down to hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. He smiled faintly at her as she left the room.

It took a moment for Jacob to regain his awareness. His head still throbbed with a dull aching sensation. The worst of his episode was over, he realized thankfully. He lay on Bella's bed, breathing softly, and taking in the surroundings of the room, when his head suddenly snapped up guardedly at a fresh, strangely familiar, venomous smell.

He inhaled deeply, once, twice, just to be sure he was actually smelling what he thought he was.

It only took seconds for his mind to register and categorize the complexity of the scent.

First, vampire.

Second, one of the Cullens.

Third, Edward.

"Edward," he hissed.

He must have just left before they arrived. He sat upright, his chest heaving with anger. Edward must have been here before though, he realized. The air was thick with his scent, and it lingered on nearly every surface of Bella's bedroom.

'Doesn't he know that Bella is with me now?' Jacob thought to himself.

Then, darker thoughts crept into Jacob's mind. He imagined Bella and himself together during the day, talking, laughing, holding hands. But at night, Edward waited for her in her room, in secret, and she went to him then, and forgot all about Jacob.

He suddenly felt hurt and betrayed by her.

"Jake, what's wrong?" Bella asked cautiously when she came back into the room, damp cloth in hand.

"I think you know the answer to that, Bella," Jacob said coolly. "How long did you think you could keep this up without me finding out? Did you think I was so stupidly in love with you that I never would?"

Jacob stood up and walked toward Bella in an imperious manner that made her step back against the wall to support herself.

"What are you talking about?" She asked, bewildered.

"Bella, please don't treat me like I'm stupid," Jacob said.

"Jake-" Bella began.

"Edward!" He exclaimed. "His scent is all over this room. It's everywhere," he spat.

Bella felt the color drain from her face, and suddenly her legs seemed to be unable to support her.

"What did you just say?" She whispered.

Please read and review! I look forward to them.