Disclaimer: I don't own the Twilight Saga or any of the characters in the story.
I am amazed every time I post a new chapter of how well received this story is! You are all such wonderful people, each and every one of you and I thank you for your kind words. It's all of you that make me want to keep writing this story! I hope you enjoy this new chapter, so as always, happy reading!
Chapter Twenty Four
Bella's eyes opened to darkness. It was obviously nighttime, but what struck her was how silent it was. The rain had finally stopped.
Her head was still nestled against Jake's chest and shoulder, her naked body wrapped around his own, soaking up his immense heat. For a long time she lay there, content with simple thoughts of feeling his chest rise under her head, and how his arms were wrapped around her, protective even in his slumber. The sting in her shoulder had ebbed away to more of a dull ache which echoed the one between her legs. She couldn't restrain the small smile that appeared on her lips at the small reminder of what had happened earlier.
Bella had been correct in assuming that having sex with Jacob would be unlike anything she'd experienced. Unlike with her previous lovers, while they could not even understand where to begin with pleasing a woman, Jake had known exactly how to look for her signs of pleasure. And he'd hadn't entirely been himself, he'd been overcome with the mating instincts of the wolf. Bella shivered a little as fresh thoughts of what their sexual encounters would consist of when he was completely human, when his mind was a little more clear.
But still she had to wonder if he had been with any other girls before he'd been with her. It was true that she hadn't been a virgin when he had taken her last night, and yet her lack of knowledge and awkward understanding of the capacity for men while in bed made her feel like a virgin. She'd never had such an experienced partner, and although she thought it was wonderful that he was so excellent at pleasing her, Bella couldn't fight off the jealousy that bubbled in her blood.
He was her Jake. Hers. Not anyone else's.
As she was glowering in her thoughts, thinking of things that she knew might not be true, but doing them anyway, her stomach growled loudly. She realized immediately that the last time she had eaten was at Emily's. Plus with the shock of a vampire coming to her door, and the intense lovemaking that she had gone through with Jake, it was no wonder that she realized that she was absolutely starving.
She gently tried to wiggle out of Jake's arms, but as soon as she moved, she was pulled back into his embrace, almost tighter than before. Sighing she turned her head so that she could look at Jake's face. It was slack with sleep and he looked so vulnerable and peaceful that Bella could not resist stretching so that her lips could press against his own. She placed three kisses on his lips and then tried to slip from his grasp again, only to be startled by Jake's hand winding its way through her hair and bringing her face back to his.
"What exactly are you doing, Bella?" Jake asked in a sleep roughened voice that made a shiver go down her spine. He didn't wait for her answer as he gently brought her face back to his and pressed his lips upon her. Their lips moved together in a sensual rhythm, it was much slower than earlier tonight, and Bella moaned breathily at how incredibly arousing it was. Her leg slid over Jake's other side so that she now straddled his torso and leaned over his face to get a better advantage in their kiss. Amazing, Jake let her take a small lead on him, letting her tongue sweep over his bottom lip and then invade his own mouth to tangle with his velvety tongue. The small thrill of power made Bella more confident as she kissed him deeper and placed her hands on either side of his face. Jake made a small growling noise of approval as her hips shifted on his body, seeking some kind of friction already.
And then, as if protesting, Bella's stomach growled once again, loud and long. Bella broke away with wide eyes, almost mortified that she'd made such a ridiculous sound, however Jake only laughed deep in his chest.
"My little Bella is hungry, as she should be," he said with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows. Bella rolled her eyes in an attempt to look unphased by his self-appreciation, but her blush gave away how affected she truly was. Jake let out another laugh and pushed himself into a sitting position on the edge of the bed. Pulling her legs around his waist he stood and walked through the darkness.
"Don't trip on anything, because you'll fall and squish me," Bella said to him as he seemed to move effortlessly without bumping into anything. Jake chuckled and pressed his lips to the top of her head.
"We have very good night vision thanks to the wolves, Bella. I can see everything in this room right now, no problem. And even if I did trip, of course I wouldn't squish you," he told her with a smile in his voice.
"Oh whatever..." Bella huffed, though there was a small smile on her face as well. Jake stopped finally and let Bella down onto a cold surface. She hissed as the chill touched the flesh of her backside, unused to feeling anything cold when she was with Jake. He murmured an apology as he let go of her and she barely heard him move across the room until the lights were turned on suddenly. She shielded her eyes from the light until she could get used to it then looked around the tiny kitchen Jake was standing in the middle of. The both of them were still naked as the day they were born, but she found that she didn't mind. That's not to say that she didn't turn the same color as a tomato and avert her eyes, but she was much less uncomfortable with it than she had expected to be.
If Jake had noticed her reaction, he hadn't said anything as he walked over to the fridge and nearly had to kneel down in order to look inside of it.
"What are you hungry for?" he asked her, still looking into the fridge. She found her eyes now glued to the well muscled and powerful body of her mate. His bronze skin was beautiful as it flowed over his muscles. She could see them bunching and stretching with his every movement.
"If you don't stop looking at me like that, your food is going to have to wait," Jake said, a smile in his voice. Her eyes darted back to his face which was looking at her with a relaxed expression that hinted towards what he was saying.
"Uh... Anything is good. Something easy, I can make it?" Bella said with another blush as she slipped down off of the counter. The ache between her thighs become more evident as she stood and she grimaced a bit at it.
"Does it hurt?" Jake's voice was soft as he closed the fridge and crossed back over to her. Bella tipped her head back to look into his concerned face. She gave him a reassuring smile and wrapped her pale arms around his naked waist. Her lips pressed against his torso as she spoke carefully, choosing her words so that he would not feel guilty of anything that happened last night.
"It only hurts as much as I expected. I haven't had sex in a while, so I wasn't exactly going to be... stretched and stuff... Plus you're a little bit... bigger than I expected," Bella said, glancing down at the large member between them. Even when he was soft, Jake was a bit larger than average. Briefly she wondered how he'd even fit inside of her, as well as why she didn't feel more pain. However she decided to change the subject. "To be honest, the bite hurt more last night than anything else. What was that for?"
Jake was silent for a moment and Bella took a step back to lean against the counter and look up at his face. He seemed very deep in thought, his eyebrows pulled together.
"Honestly I don't know what it was... In all of the other cases of imprinting in the pack, none of them bit their mates during their first time together. I honestly didn't mean to hurt you, Bells, I don't know what came over me," Jake said quietly. Bella understood that he was distressed and confused by his actions. Her hands found his and held them as tightly as she could while looking into his dark espresso eyes, so different from the ink-black pools she had seen just before he had taken her.
"Please don't be upset about this. It barely even hurts anymore, and besides," Bella said with a slight blush as her fingers ran over the indentations on the back over her neck and shoulder, "I sort of enjoy the idea of having your mark on me."
Jake still didn't look pleased with the idea of having hurt her, but he said nothing about it anymore. Bella squeezed his hand one last time and then let go to move around him towards the fridge.
"Let's get something to eat, I'm starving," Bella said as she opened the fridge. Quickly her face pulled into a frown when she saw that there was only a carton of eggs, a half gallon of milk, something wrapped in some tin foil and a block of cheese.
"Sorry there isn't much... Usually I eat at Emily's," Jake seemed a bit sheepish of the state of his food stocking. Bella laughed lightly and pulled out the eggs and cheese.
"That's alright. I can make an omelet. Do you want some?" she asked.
"Bells, I don't think there's enough in there to feed even a fraction of me. You eat it. You'll need your strength," he said with a smirk as she placed the items on the counter. With Jake's help she rummaged around the kitchen to find a frying pan, a plate and fork, and a bowl to scramble the eggs.
While her omelet was cooking Jake wrapped his arms around her body from behind, resting his chin on top of her head.
"I like seeing you like this," he said softly and Bella couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"What? Being naked and cooking some food?" she wondered with a chuckle. Jake laughed lightly but bent down to press a kiss to the aching mark on her shoulder.
"I mean, I can't disagree with the naked part, but I meant just being in my kitchen with me. You're so relaxed and you just seem so..."
"Happy," Bella supplied him with the word. She felt him nuzzle at the junction between her neck and shoulder. She truly had never felt more happy than she had in this moment. There was nothing in her life that could compare to the simple happiness of this moment with Jake.
"I am too," he whispered in his deep voice against her, laying soft kisses along her neck. Bella wiggled around and laughed lightly.
"Don't start something just as I'm about to eat!" she chastised lightly, a smile on her face. Jake let out a growl as he pulled his head from her neck.
"Fine, but as soon as you're done, you're fair game," he told her in his deep, vibrating voice. A thrill ran up her spine at the thought of everything they could do. Jake stepped away from her body, but not without planting a firm smack on her ass. She jumped with a yelp and turned to glare at him, but he only sent her a smirk in reply.
Once her omelet was done she walked with Jake back into the small bedroom, and sat on the bed, devouring her omelet.
"Jesus, Bells. Don't choke!" Jake said to her jokingly as she practically inhaled the food in front of her. She sent him a glare, but continued to scarf down the eggs as if it was her first meal in ages.
When she had finished, Jake took her plate and went to put it back in the kitchen since he'd turned off the lights and if Bella had attempted it, she would have probably walked into a wall. So she snuggled down into the bed and her eyes found the neon numbers of the clock on the dresser. It was no longer flashing, and instead told her that it was only a little past midnight. This day had gone by far slower than anything she'd ever experienced.
She thought back to Emily's and the pack's decision to move her onto the reservation for her own safety. Now, after a vampire had made it past the border and into this house she wondered if she'd even be safe here. Her thoughts drifted to what the vampire girl had said. She'd been trying to help her? Well... she hadn't exactly attacked her... Perhaps it would be useful to listen to what she had to say, with Jake's company of course. Not that Jake would let her get even remotely close to a vampire by herself anyway, but still, the vampire was part of that boy's family. She was bound to know something about him that the pack did not...
"You okay, Bells? You're very quiet," Jake said as he came back into the room. She could see the shadowy outline of his body as he crawled onto the bed beside her and pulled her into his arms. Again, she was overcome with the calmness that swept over her at the touch of his skin against hers. She wondered if it would always be like this... She hoped it would be at least.
"I was thinking about what that vampire said to me when she came here earlier," she responded honestly. Immediately Jake's muscles tensed beneath her.
"I'm so sorry that she got so close to you Bells. The others were leading us away from the house, and the rain was so heavy that it was hard to pick up the stray scent. We didn't even realize it was a decoy until Leah heard the leach in the house on her way back. Thank God she was fucking close enough, otherwise..." Jake was now shaking violently. Bella quickly pulled herself on top of him and stroked her fingers over his skin, letting her lips gently kiss his face, trying to relax him.
"Jake, I'm alright. I wasn't hurt, everything's fine. You know that. And besides, she didn't try to hurt me... She was warning me," Bella soothed. The tremors in his body finally slowed and his hands stroked the silky skin of her naked back.
"I don't care what she was doing, she shouldn't have been here in the first place," he said to her quietly. She could see how upset he was that a vampire had even gotten so close to her to begin with, but she had an idea that what the vampire girl had told her was much more important than he was understanding.
"But think about it, Jake. She's in the same family as the boy who was stalking me. She knows much more about him than the pack does! She probably knows his habits, his thought patterns, how he hunts! We have to talk to them! The could help us so much, can't you see that?" she asked him. He was silent for a moment, and she could tell that he wasn't happy with the idea.
"I'm not asking to go to them alone. Hell, for all I care I can stand behind the entire pack while you talk to them. But I need to be in the loop, Jake. I want to know exactly what you all are up against and what sorts of things I can do as precautions! Please, Jake," she asked him, her voice growing more passionate the more she thought about it. He had been right that she could not defend herself against a vampire and that she stood no chance on her own, but that did not mean that she had to sit completely useless while the pack risked their lives for her. She wanted to have as much knowledge about the threat to her as possible.
For a long time it was quiet. The only sounds were that of their breathing and Jake's hands gliding up and down Bella's back. And then finally he spoke.
"I will arrange a meeting with the Cullens and you will attend, but Bella there will be rules. You cannot go in front of the pack members I bring with me. You will be straightforward with your questions, since I don't want to be around those blood suckers for any longer than necessary. And lastly you cannot give away the fact that I am the Alpha. They still do not know which of us is the leader, and if they accidentally let that information slip to the rogue Cullen, he'll understand just how important you are to the pack and he'll change his tactics to more violent ones. Do you understand me?" he said to her in an extremely serious voice.
Bella nodded her head slowly, trying not to give away her excitement at the prospect of getting more answers. Jake sat up against the head of the bed and pulled her body against his, kissing her soundly on the mouth.
"I cannot lose you, Bella. Not to anything, especially vampires. I won't survive without you. I love you," Jake said with conviction against her lips.
"I love you too, Jake," she responded in a whisper. He nodded and then pressed his lips firmer against her own. She could feel the passion and utter devotion he held for her in their kiss, and she responded to it with just as much enthusiasm. There was so much at stake, but Bella was not going to let anything come between her and her Jacob. She knew that he would not live without her, but she also was beginning to see that it was the same for her.
Thank you so much for reading! Leave some feedback if you care too! Until next time, my lovely friends! ~W.