I felt her on the other side of the door, waiting, as the reverberations from her knock slowly echoed into silence. The imprint made it easy to sense where she was at any given time, but even without it I would have known she was still here. The girl doesn't know how to give up.

I remained motionless on my bed for another minute, face down, arms stretched out to either side, feeling the cool linen sheet beneath me. I heard the slight shift of Nessie's feet as she waited for my response and my anger ebbed at her audacity. In all honesty, it's difficult for me to stay mad at that girl. She lights up my life without ever knowing why, and I forget sometimes that while she's brilliant beyond belief, as well as being fast, strong, and independent, she's also an idiotic teenager. If you asked her parents they'd say she was still a child, barely older than a baby, but I knew better. Ness does, too. It wasn't just her body that grew quickly, then froze. I'd been watching her grow for a while, and wondering when this day would come. The imprint pulls her to me as much as me to her, but at least I know why that is and what's happening. My perfect princess had no idea.

My face turned towards the door as Nessie knocked again. "Jake?" she asked, softly. "Can I come in?".

I rolled over onto my side to make room for her on the bed. "Yeah," I called out. "It's unlocked."

She opened the door a few inches and smiled at me. "I knew that," she replied. "Your door doesn't have a lock."

I held my hand out towards her and she ran at me and into my arms faster than a human eye would have been able to follow. I smiled into her hair as she snuggled close, happy that she felt comfortable using her powers in front of me and unashamed to still be in her underwear. She was sometimes hesitant and self-conscious, even in front of her family and the other werewolves who knew what she was, but never with me. And to tell the truth, I was really glad she hadn't put her trenchcoat back on. I'd never admit it out loud – mostly because it's difficult for her to have secrets and I'd inevitably have to fight her father –, but she was a sight for sore eyes and I'd been fantasizing about her for the last several months. It made me feel guilty, mooning over her when I knew she was happy with Jesse, and I'd promised myself I'd leave her alone while she was with him. He was a great guy, and treated her well. I had no complaints. Other than that the beautiful woman I was in love with was romantically involved with someone else, but hey, that wasn't his fault.

It did throw a wrench into the works that Ness had decided to use me to further her relationship. I felt my anger begin to boil again, and had to remind myself that she didn't know. She was unaware of the way I felt about her, and that was because I'd purposefully kept it that way. And I planned to keep it that way, too. I resumed my role as her protective big brother.

"Then why didn't you ask 'May I'? Aren't you the grammar Nazi around here?" I teased.

She laughed, the sound clear and happy, like the chiming of a bell. "You're right, I should have," she answered. "But I might not have been able to if you were leaning against the door."

"Why would I do a thing like that?" I asked. No way would I ever let something as small as the fight in the living room come between the two of us. Surely she knew that.

Nessie scooted back from me a bit and looked up into my face. I could tell from the uncertainty in her eyes that she didn't. "You were so mad," she whispered. "You almost turned into a wolf. I didn't mean to make you mad Jake, really I didn't. I just…" her voice trailed off and she seemed confused about how to continue. I waited patiently for a minute. When she didn't say anything else, I brought my hand up to her face and ran my thumb along her cheekbone, hoping to give her encouragement.

"You just?" I prompted.

She sighed and leaned her forehead against my chest. "I just didn't think. Or I did think, just not the right way. I figured you'd be like everyone else, and jump at the chance to sleep with me. I forgot it was you. You're like my big brother, and it was a weird request." She looked up at me again and grinned. "I know it's probably bothering you that I'm in my underwear."

I smiled back at her. "It's not."

Almost instantly, Nessie's face turned into a smirk. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. Give this girl an inch and she takes a mile. Yeah, Nessie, go put on your clothes, would have worked. It's fine, just don't do it again, would have been ideal. But "It's not"? I'm an idiot.

Without taking her eyes off me, Nessie untucked her knees from the casual fetal position she'd held herself in while we'd cuddled and pressed her hips and torso into me. "You don't mind me in my underwear?" she murmured. Her hand fluttered up to my face and I was afraid for a second that she was going to show me those entirely-too-tempting images again. Instead, she slowly ran her hand over my hair, behind my ear, and down my neck where it came to rest on my collarbone. I closed my eyes against the sensation. Somehow that was even worse than her naughty notions she'd conveyed on the couch.

"Ness," I begged, my voice sounding weak even to my own ears. "We can't do this. I'm older than you, and more experienced. You're in a relationship with Jesse. I know you don't want to cheat on him, Ness. You're not that kind of girl."

I felt her shift slightly on the bed, and it creaked as she moved away from me a fraction of an inch. I opened my eyes and was relieved to see I'd said something that hit home. Hopefully I could keep up this momentum. I didn't know if I had the willpower to turn her down a third time.

"He wouldn't have to know," she pleaded, no longer meeting my eyes. "I was planning on keeping it a secret anyway. It's not like I could actually explain that I was part vampire and you were the only one I could lose my virginity to. It'd just be sex, Jake. It wouldn't really mean anything."

I bit back a biting retort. It wouldn't mean anything to her. I reminded myself again that she was unaware of my true feelings, that she had no idea how much it hurt that she only wanted to use me for sex. But I was still more than a little annoyed.

"Then why don't you go to Paul?" I spat. "He's the king of meaningless sex." Nessie scooted back to the edge of the bed and I realized I'd scared her again. I looked at her with her arms wrapped around her middle, knees slightly bent. She seemed forlorn, and from the way she was refusing to let me see her face, I knew there must be tears in her eyes. I took a deep breath to try and calm down.

"Aw, Ness, I didn't mean it like that," I told her. "I'm sorry I sounded angry. Come here." I held my hands open, and after a quick hesitation she moved back into them and nestled against my chest. I wrapped my arms protectively around her and rubbed her back as I tried to explain.

"You know I'm not the only one who can help you. And we're… we're more than friends, Ness. I don't think it would be a good idea for us to take it to the next level while you're in a relationship because, well, it just wouldn't." I paused and thought for a moment. "You haven't had sex before, Nessie, and sometimes it does things to us that we can't control. What if it changed things between us? Or ruined your relationship with Jesse? Please just leave it alone. If you really want someone to take your virginity, I mean it, ask Paul. I promise I won't punch him. Or I won't unless he thinks about it in pack mentality. 'Cause seriously, I don't need to see that."

While Nessie had been listening to my explanation, she'd managed to uncurl one of her arms from where she'd cradled it between her breasts and had slowly begun to rub the tattoo on my tricep. After I finished she began to trace slow spirals with her fingers, first out from the center, then back in. I closed my eyes and waited for her to absorb what I'd just told her. It didn't take long.

"You like me, don't you?" she asked.

I nodded my head twice.

"Why haven't you told me before?"

I swallowed, not sure what to say. I squeezed Nessie a bit tighter to me and buried my face in her hair.

"Jacob. Look at me please." I opened my eyes and looked down at her upturned face.