Chapter 7: Jacob

Broken Heaters Make for Good Times

A week later it was our last day of classes before Christmas vacation and I was totally ready. It pissed me off that this thing with Jamie had happened and left me so confused about everything. When I was with her I was excited, flushed and couldn't think of anything but her, but when I wasn't with her all I could do was feel confused and scared. I hated the tennis match always being played in my mind. I hadn't wolfed out since that day with Sam. I didn't want my friends to read my thoughts and know anymore than they already knew. It was hard enough having Quil and Embry singing the K-I-S-S-I-N-G song to me everyday during lunch, but to have them know that there was a possibility that I had actually imprinted on her…that was an entirely different story all together.

The pack had decided to take a couple of days off around Christmas and just enjoy spending time with our families. That was perfectly fine by me; I had no intention of going to any meetings or doing any patrolling anytime soon anyway. I knew Sam was pissed at me for abandoning the pack, but he was forced to deal with it, because I wasn't going to take his alpha bullshit anymore either.

Before I left for vacation Jamie had given me her phone number and asked me to call her and let her know if I was available to get together for New Years. Of course I wanted to jump up and say 'sure! For you I'm totally available', but I was way too much of a coward and a chicken for that. So instead I smiled dumbly at her and slid her number into my pocket. I forced myself to walk away and play it casual, not wanting to seem too eager and end up getting myself in trouble, or make anyone think that I may have imprinted on her. I was not willing to even deal with the possibility of an imprint, let alone give anyone cause to jump to the conclusion.

I walked in my front door, a smile on my face, and looked around. Where was Billy? I noticed a note on the counter and picked it up.

Jake,

Sue, Charlie and I are getting together at Charlie's for a while. I left food in the refrigerator for dinner. Also, Bella called for you and I told her you would call her back. Be home later!

Billy.

At the sight of Bella's name, I got instantly excited to talk to her. I was excited, but I was also afraid that she would find out about Jamie. I knew that there wasn't really anything to speak of, but I didn't know how the conversation would go. I reached for the phone, desperately wanting to call her back, curious about what she would want to talk about. I dialed her number too quickly and then I noticed my heart pounding in my chest and realized that maybe I had been a little hasty. I was terrified of what we would say to each other. But, before I had too much time to dwell on my nerves, she answered the phone. "Hey Jake." She said; her voice soft and even.

The sound of her voice was music to my ears. I had missed her so much, it almost caused physical pain. "Hey Bella." I responded, my throat dry and my eyes the opposite of dry.

"I'd like to see you." Those were simple, plain words, but they did a number on me. I wanted to see her too, so badly, but I was still afraid.

"You are welcome to come over whenever you like."

"Is now okay?"

Now?! I really hadn't been expecting her to want to come over immediately. Of course it was alright, I would never deny myself the chance to see her, but I just really hoped I could pull this whole thing off.

"Sure, now is great." I told her, beads of sweat forming on my forehead. We hung up and I stood there for a few minutes. I really had to get myself together. It would only be a matter of minutes before she appeared at my door and I needed to get a grip on myself. What the hell was happening to me?

I ran to the bathroom and looked at myself; I looked like a disheveled mess. Had I gone to school like this? Had I stood and talked with Jamie like this? If I had then I should be ashamed of myself. No, I couldn't have looked like this earlier; someone would have made a comment…..probably Quil or Embry. I must have done this to myself after I got home. I splashed some cold water on my face, fixed my hair and brushed my teeth. I was just about to floss when there was a knock on the door. I felt my stomach jump into my throat and headed over to answer the door. I opened the door so slowly it was like I was trying to postpone the revealing of what was behind door number one.

Once I finally got the door open, I looked at her. She was even more beautiful than I remembered; her skin had a healthy glow to it, her hair seemed shinier and her eyes appeared as if they were dancing. This was not the Bella I remembered. Something hit me deep inside and I had to remind myself to breathe. "Bella." I whispered, unable to get my voice to work.

She smiled at me, wider than she had in ages, and looked up at me. I thought she must have been judging my appearance as well, but she didn't say anything. I wasn't sure how I should greet her; we left things in an interesting place. She moved forward and then back, as if to determine the same thing. Finally she reached her arms up and linked them around my neck in a strong, warm hug. I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her closer to me. I closed my eyes and took in her scent, letting it wrap around me in comfort and security.

"Bella, you look even more beautiful than I remember."

She looked up at me, running her hands through my hair, "and you look like life has been good to you."

I smiled at her, not sure how to respond to that one, "I've been keeping myself busy. You wouldn't believe how much my grades have improved."

"I guess I should go away more often then." Even though she was smiling there was a hint of sadness in her eyes.

I shook my head, "No. I like it better when you're here."

A huge grin formed on her face, "I like it better when I'm here too. You wouldn't believe how institutionalizing those dorm rooms feel. It's so nice to be home."

"And what have you been up to?"

"I've been dabbling in some different classes, even a music class. I really enjoy it, its giving me an outlet to express myself. Also, I joined the debate team."

"Really? Wow, what is that like?" I was genuinely surprised.

She smiled at me, "I kind of ran into them. Well, actually I fell into them, but you know me. We started to talk about Romeo and Juliet of all things and I got to hear the story from multiple perspectives and I realized how much I enjoyed that. They invited me to come to a meeting and I went. What I heard was amazing. They were able to expand my mind and make me feel like a well-rounded thinker. I will never look at the world the same way again."

"Wow." I couldn't come up with anything intelligent to say so I just gave up. "So, did you ace all of your classes?"

"Pretty much." She looked up and me, gently twisting a lock of my hair around her finger. It was then that I realized I was still holding her in my arms. I felt really stupid and quickly released her. She smiled at me with a look of disappointment. I didn't know how to react to that.

"Can I get you something?" I asked her.

"Maybe some hot tea or something; I can't seem to get warm."

I looked out the window and noticed that it was snowing steadily. "Looks like it's really coming down out there."

She waved her hand, "Eh, it's not a big deal."

I went to the kitchen and started to boil the water for her tea. She went into the cupboard and pulled out her favorite mug (the one I had made for Billy when I was 8) and grabbed the tea bags. I loved watching her in the kitchen; she knew where everything was just like she actually lived here. There was just something about her that made her look even lovelier when she was in the kitchen. I knew how barbaric that sounded, but I didn't mean it that way.

I didn't realize that I was staring at her until the pot started whistling and we both jumped a mile. Awkwardly, we both made a quick movement to the pot and I accidentally hit her hand onto the hot metal part of the pot. She drew in her breath and instinctively pulled her hand away, nursing her soon-to-be-burn. I felt so bad; I didn't know what to do. I took her hand and kissed it and then kissed it again and then kissed it again. "I'm so sorry."

She smiled up at me, "It was an accident. And, honestly, I don't even feel it anymore." I looked into her eyes, captivated once again. We just stood there staring at each other, neither one of us making any effort to move from our mental embrace.

When I finally pulled myself from my own fantasy, I poured the water into her mug and handed it to her, careful not to allow her to get burned a second time. I found some cookies that I thought she might enjoy with her tea and grabbed them from the cupboard. I lead her into the living room and to the couch so that we could get comfortable to talk.

I couldn't tell for sure, but she seemed as though she might have been a bit nervous. I didn't want her to be nervous around me, but I had to admit that my stomach was doing flip-flops as well. I didn't know if it was being alone with her or the thing with Jamie or both. I just knew that it was hard to act casual when everything in your being wanted to scream.

We talked for two straight hours, about school, the pack, her debate team, her roommate and everything….with the exception of Jamie. Jamie was the last thing I wanted to talk to Bella about, until I had a reason to. Wait….did I say until? I meant unless I had a reason to. Oh God. I hadn't realized how much time had passed until it started to get dark outside. I looked at the clock on the wall and my eyes practically popped out of my head. "Wow, we've been talking for two hours."

She smiled, "wow." She shifted and started to get up from the couch, "I should probably get home."

I sighed; I didn't want her to leave.

We walked to the door and I looked out, the snow was coming down in droves. It was a total white out and you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. The driveway was covered in snow, almost to the top of the tires on Bella's truck. There was no way she was going to be able to go out in this.

"Um, Bells, I think you should chill here for a while. It's not safe to go out in that."

"I'm sure I'd be fine once I got onto the road. I bet they've plowed recently."

I folded my arms across my chest, "Seriously, it's too dangerous. You can't see anything out there, it's not safe. You should just wait out the storm here. We will get your car out so you can go home as soon as the blizzard lets up."

She paused for a minute, thinking and then nodded her head, "I suppose you are right. I need to call Charlie though."

I smiled and handed her the phone. She called Charlie and told him that she was going to stay here until the storm cleared and he said that Billy and Sue were staying there. So, basically, we had the house all to ourselves until the storm was over. That was really good----and yet completely terrifying---news.

I looked at Bella and noticed that she was shivering. I desperately wanted to wrap her in my arms and warm her up the most effective way possible….hot naked skin against hot naked skin. I shook my head to clear my mind, why was I having these kinds of thoughts? Um, probably because you're a horny teenage boy. I guess my mind knew more about me than I wanted to admit.

"I'll go turn up the heat." I told her. We kept the house pretty cool all year long because heat was expensive in this crappy economy and because I was a werewolf who never really got cold. Billy had adapted to being cold and it didn't bother him that much. But, for Bella, it was probably way too cold in my house. I went to the thermostat and cracked up the heat to 70 degrees. I waited for the little click when the heat started up, but it never happened. 'Shit! The stupid heater must be broken again.' This was another reason why we didn't use the heat all that much….it was a stupid piece of shit. "I'm sorry Bells; it looks like the heater isn't working." I didn't know what we were going to do; I didn't want her to freeze to death. "Uh, I could maybe set a fire in the fireplace."

"Yeah," she said, "that should help."

We headed to the living room and I proceeded to set a fire in the fireplace. This was something I hadn't done since making the change into a werewolf. Back in the day I used to have to set fires all the time though, because it seemed like our furnace was always on the fritz. I lit the fire and something came over me; I decided to play one of those multi-artist compilation-type Christmas c.d.'s. She smiled at me and it was then that I realized how intimate the setting really was.

I settled back on the couch, next to her, fidgeting nervously. I had no idea what I thought would come of all of this or what I even wanted from it. I looked at her and couldn't help but notice that she was still shivering. Damn, the fire hadn't been enough to warm her. I instantly felt bad about the crappy heating the house had. It had crappy everything, really. Instinctually I moved closer to her, slipping my arm around the back of the couch. She looked at me and moved closer, which let me know that she was totally comfortable with the prospect of me warming her physically.

As my arm came around her shoulders, she slid in even closer, resting her head against my shoulder. I heard a small sigh escape her lips and wondered how long she had wanted to do this. Trust me, it didn't bother me too much either. I looked into her eyes, just as she was looking into mine, and within seconds our lips were pressed gently together, hers feeling so soft and delicate against mine. I think a sigh escaped my lips at that point, pulling her even closer to me. She was so tiny and delicate in my arms; I feared I might get caught up in the moment and crush her.

My hands were all over her back, on her neck and in her hair. I didn't want to let her go, but I also didn't want to make things more complicated either. How far was I prepared to let this go with Bella? What about Jamie? These were questions I wasn't ready to answer and therefore, I had to tread the waters very carefully. I had no intention of deepening the kiss, but it happened regardless. Before I knew what was happening, my hands were roaming against the soft, gentle flesh of her back, under her shirt. I could feel her trembling against me, to which I responded by kissing at her neck and her jaw line.

"Oh Jake." She whispered and it was as if those were the most intense words ever spoken. I felt myself tingle all over and my erection practically double. I really had to control myself so as to not just take her right then and there. That was probably a bad idea, considering everything, and I didn't want to do something that I would later regret.

I breathed in her scent, her hair all around me. "God Bells," I whispered. It was against my better judgment to let things go any further, but my raging hormones took over and made all the decisions for me. I pulled her onto me; her legs wrapping around my waist and her hips began to move in rhythm with mine.

I didn't know what to make of all of this; things had never been like this before she went away to college. What was making her react this way around me? I wanted to stop and ask her what all of this meant, but again, I was being controlled by the wrong brain.

She moved with me and I longed to throw her clothes to the floor. My hands were all over her; tracing circles on her back, running through her hair, cupping her breasts and grasping at her hot little ass. I couldn't seem to get enough. She moaned against me and I replied with an equally contented moan. I wanted nothing more in that moment than to feel myself inside of her and I felt the wolf stirring within me at the primal need. I had to focus my mind to control myself from taking her right then and there.

As I looked into her eyes I saw nothing that prompted me to stop. Her eyes were half rolled back into her head, glazing over. The moans that were escaping her lips were desperate, intense and incredibly sexy. God, this woman really knew how to get me going. I felt as though I might wolf out and fought very hard at the urges that were tearing at my insides.

This was all I had wanted for as long as I could remember and I was finally in the middle of it, but I wasn't sure I would be able to continue. I was out of control, almost to the point of no return. I had to stop her, it was too irresistible. With a huge, very upsetting, sigh I pushed her off me and back onto the couch beside me. She looked up at me, a look of confusion and disappointment clearly written all over her face. "What's wrong?" she asked me after about a minute or two of just sitting next to each other in silence.

"I'm sorry, but I just can't do this."

I wasn't completely sure, but it looked to me like she might have actually pouted her lower lip at me. "Well, why not?"

"It's complicated. I'm sorry, you didn't do anything wrong. I just can't explain it right now."

She looked into my eyes, searching for something and then she looked away, folding her arms across her chest. "I guess I just came on too strong."

I sighed, "Bells, you didn't do anything wrong, I'm just dealing with some things right now. Trust me, I wanted it as much as you did, but it's complicated."

I could see the hurt on her face, "is there someone else? Jacob, have you imprinted?"

I groaned, this was really not what I wanted to be talking about. I had no idea how to explain all of this to Bella; I needed time to sort out what was going on before I could explain everything. And, was she trying to insinuate that there couldn't be another girl without the imprinting? That was just a little bit arrogant. She must not have meant it that way.

"No, I haven't imprinted." I paused, "at least I don't think I have."

She raised an eyebrow at me, "you don't think you have? What the hell does that mean?"

"It means that I don't think I have. I'm sorry I don't have an explanation for everything, things are a bit confusing for me right now." Why did I feel the need to apologize and defend myself to her? It wasn't like Bella was my girlfriend; she had made that quite clear before. And, how many times had she chosen that bloodsucker over me? What the hell "Bella, no offense or anything, but I don't owe you an explanation, okay? I don't know if I've imprinted or not, Sam is trying to help me figure it all out. When I know something, you will be one of the first to know."

She stood up, practically shooting fire from her pupils and crossed over to the door. She grabbed her coat, scarf and gloves and threw them on in frenzy. I rushed after her, trying to stop her from leaving so fast. "Bella, where are you going?"

"Home. The snow has let up a bit."

I looked out the window, "No it hasn't. If anything its worse than it was before. I know you are mad at me right now, but you can't just go running off like a child. Especially in these weather conditions." After I said it I knew it was a bad idea.

She glared at me, "did you just call me a child?"

"If the diaper fits…" I trailed off, trying to sound like I still meant it.

Apparently that was enough for her; she threw the door open, snow whooshing into the house. She trudged through the knee-high snow over to where she had parked her truck. She frantically tried to bury the car out so that she could get in it and drive away, but it was a feet and a half. The snow was practically up to the door and it was heavy snow too. There was no way she was going to get into that truck.

"Bella, for crying out loud!" I yelled, trying to be heard over the raging winds. I caught up to her and grabbed her arm, "come back inside!"

"I would rather stay out here in the snow bank than go back in there with someone who thinks I'm a child."

"Okay, I'm sorry about that Bells, I shouldn't have said that. I didn't mean it, really."

She rolled her eyes at me, "yes you did, I know you did."

"No I didn't, I made a mistake." I looked at her as sweetly as I was capable of and I could tell that she melted a bit. "Come inside and I will make you some hot chocolate with the little marshmallows. I will even add some extra chocolate for you, just the way you like it."

She rolled her eyes at me, "fine, but that doesn't mean that you're suddenly back on my nice list."

"That's fine by me; that will just give me free reign to be naughty." I smiled a crooked smile at her.

"Okay, sign me up for that." She said and my cheeks turned red. What had gotten into this girl to make her such a sex-starved maniac?

I helped her through the snow and back into the house, where we warmed ourselves by the fire and went back to the way things had been before we put the moves on each other. It was almost like those wonderful moments of pure passion had never happened….almost. Underneath it all we both knew it was there and it was incredibly difficult to ignore.