AN: thanks for the amazing reviews; and thanks to my super-beta Georgia Dawgette (you are the best! Buon lavoro e a presto!)
6.
Imprinting!
Bella was pacing back and forth in her room. Was it possible that Jared had imprinted on her? Could it be that Kim was already dead? What were the chances that an imprinted wolf that had just lost his imprint would just find another one right away?
Panic was rising in waves; what would she do if he had imprinted on her? How could he have kept it hidden from the pack? If even Edward couldn't read his mind, maybe he had managed to keep it from them too. Maybe the other wolves were trying to avoid his mind because they were scared to feel his despair over Kim's loss.
Fear rose up in her heart. Did she break up with Edward because of the imprinting? She didn't have any doubts about how much she loved Edward or her decision to become a vampire; then all of a sudden everything just had gone upside down. Was she feeling the pull of the imprint? Was it possible that she wasn't in total control of her mental faculties? How exactly did imprinting work?
Millions of questions were piling up in her mind, and the more she thought about it, the more it all made sense. Since their meeting two nights ago, Jared had seen her countless times, was he just responding to the pull of the imprint? His kiss and his scent had been branded on her soul, she could barely keep her hands off him every time they saw each other, could it be that she wasn't an awful cheater; but just an innocent imprintee?
Why didn't Jared tell her? Was he angry? Was he glad that it was her? They had never interacted much, but before he had Kim and she had Jake.
Jake! Oh God! How were they going to explain this to him?
Her pacing increased. Maybe there was another explanation, there had to be another explanation. But what?
"Isabella can you stop pacing? You are making me dizzy." growled Jared.
She spun and there he was, in her room. She immediately looked down and realized that she was still wearing only a towel. She clutched at it like her life depended on it. No one, other than Edward had ever seen her wearing so little, and she was deeply embarrassed.
He looked her up and down, and his eyes darkened. Was that a good or a bad sign? When that happened to Edward he would usually find an excuse to leave. What would Jared do?
She felt a blush spread from her cheeks down her body. She was very self conscious, and it didn't help that he was standing there in only his cut-off jeans. His naked muscular chest had drawn her attention. She looked up again, and took a step back. "What are you doing here Jared? I swear that if you don't leave right now I'll tell Jake."
He advanced on her. "And what exactly will you tell him? That every time I kissed you, you kissed me back? That you can't keep your hands off me? What exactly will you tell him, Isabella?"
With a fast move, he had her in his arms. He put his head in the crook of her neck and inhaled. "You washed away my scent."
She shivered. Words would just not come out. She was frozen and waiting. Though if she was being honest with herself, the feeling of his burning skin on hers was amazing. In a way, she had adjusted to Edward's cool touch, but she had known deep down that she missed and craved warmth, that had been part of the reason for her attraction to Jake. Jared's unique scent was assaulting her senses and she knew that she was lost. Irrevocably.
He chuckled and the vibration gave her goose bumps. "I'll just have to put it back then."
She closed her eyes, overwhelmed by the feelings Jared was evoking. She took a breath and in a moment she found herself lying on the bed with him on top of her. She looked into his darkened eyes; he was so close and yet so distant at the same time. Could she ever reach him? "Jared... I..." she didn't have time to speak before his mouth descended on hers. She struggled, but waves of desire clouded her mind overriding her desire to understand more about what was happening.
She felt him kiss her jaw, her neck and then moving off her a little he opened her towel letting it pool at her sides. She tried to cover herself, but he immobilized her hands and locked them above her head. Bella knew she needed to stop him, not even with Edward she had reached this level of intimacy, she was trying to speak, but her body and her mind were at odds. She was reeling from the intensity of the moment. When he spoke, she felt goose bumps rising all over her already overheated body. "Now Isabella, there is no need to be shy with me." He started to trail kisses from her neck down to her breast until he reached her nipple.
Bella realized that she wasn't breathing when he put his mouth on her nipple; she exhaled, her breath was followed by a moan. Her body was on fire; her mind was focused only on the dark man who was making her mad with desire. He moved his mouth to her other nipple, and she arched her body into his. She felt him settle between her legs, his erection touching her core.
Jared looked up at her. "Tell me that you want me, Isabella."
She bit her lip, and shook her head. She had always been shy with Edward, she couldn't fathom having to vocalize her desires, though she was curious about deepening the physical intimacy that she already had with Jared. It was strange how she wasn't scared that he would hurt her, there was something in the way his body connected with hers that was reassuring. It was like electricity was surrounding them, making her tingle everywhere.
Jared interrupted her thoughts and clearly not pleased with her reply, he gave a small push with his pelvis, and the contact, spiked her desire up a notch.
He growled. "Tell me that you are mine, Isabella."
Bella refused him again. She knew that if she opened her mouth she would ask him to make love to her. This was so overwhelming and she was puzzled over how much she wanted him. All of him.
He put his mouth on her nipple and after licking it he bit down. Not strong enough to hurt her, but enough to make her want more. "Tell me that nobody has ever made you feel this way, Isabella."
She closed her eyes, and wondered if she could fight against both him and herself. Was there anything that could get her out of this situation? Did she really want out?
Jared's hand started to trail down from her stomach, to her navel until it reached her folds.
Bella opened her eyes and saw his smirk. "Now, Isabella we are playing by my rules. If I ask you a question you have to answer." He touched her lightly, and she jolted. "Otherwise you will be punished. Are we clear?"
Bella didn't answer. The feeling of him touching her where no one else had ever touched her, was new, strange, but at the same time very intense. She was curious how far he would go, she knew that this wasn't the right time to test Jared, but she needed to understand him and the sensations she was experiencing.
Jared put his mouth on her shoulder and bit. She hissed and he asked again, "Are we clear?"
"Yes." she managed to whisper.
"Now I will ask you again. Do you want me?" growled near her ear.
She sighed, and bit her lip.
He bit again at her neck, and she hissed. "Yes."
Jared chuckled. "See, it's not that difficult after all." His hand moved, and he touched her again making her moan.
"Are you mine, Isabella?" Jared whispered softly.
She trembled and sighed. "Why are you doing this?" she managed to ask.
He growled again and bit more deeply. She felt her skin break and when the metallic smell of her blood reached her nostrils, she fainted.
...................................
She opened her eyes to find a cold wet cloth pressed to her forehead. Jared intense eyes were watching her carefully. "You would make an awful leech; you can't even handle the smell of blood."
Bella blinked and then blushed. "I'm not planning to be a vampire anymore." She glanced down and saw that he had covered her again with the towel. She took a deep breath, and some of her fear left her. He had scared her with his intense approach, but the care he took to cover her and seeing that she was well left her thinking that he was also adjusting to the new situation as well.
Jared was gazing at her intently. "Why not?"
She smiled sadly. "I think you know, Jared."
He stood up from the bed, and looked out of the window. "I didn't expect it to happen. I cannot yet even fathom how it actually came about."
Bella felt her last flicker of hope sizzle away. "So it's true. You imprinted on me!"
His intense guarded eyes turned to her again. "At least we know that Kim is dead, and not turned."
"We can't know for sure, if she was turned maybe she doesn't have a soul in her new form. You need to be prepared for the chance that you'll see her with the newborns." Bella said softly. She didn't want to tell him that, but she felt that he needed to know. "Do you ... hate me?"
Jared laughed, but it was harsh and hollow. "How could I? You are my imprint. Apparently the wonderful sweet Isabella Swan is exactly what I needed in my fucked up life."
Bella winced at his anger, and then she started to get angry too. "Do you think that I wanted it?" She spat. "At least it should have been Jake!"
His eyes darkened further. "It isn't my fault either! I loved Kim and I care for Jake! How do you think this makes me feel?"
"And I had a life with Edward! I was going to marry him and instead today I left him!" she felt tears streaming down her cheeks. "You... the imprint... I... it's so strong! I feel it in every part of my body. It's like your soul calls to mine."
Jared took a deep breath, and sat on the bed. "You broke up with Cullen today?"
Bella looked at him. "Didn't you know? I thought you came here to gloat."
Jared hesitated a moment. "I felt your distress." He looked out of the window again, seemingly lost in his own world. "I had to come and see that you were well."
To say she was surprised by this information would be an understatement; Jake had told her a bit about the bond that is shared between a wolf and his imprint, and she knew that to an extent the couple would be connected, but she was ignorant as to how deep that bond went. Were the outburst of anger that she was experiencing recently connected to this? Were she and Jared channeling and/or feeling the same things? Then it hit her that he had come tonight to reassure himself of her well-being. Bella snorted. "You really did a number on me earlier. Were you trying to scare me?"
His eyes flickered to her, and then turned to look out of the window. "Not really. That's part of me, maybe the wolf part. Sometimes he ... thrives on the fine line between fear and arousal."
Bella was watching him intently. "Why can't they read your mind?" she blurted out.
Jared shrugged his shoulders. "I've always been quite reserved. My thoughts are my own. I guess I'm just good at shielding. The guys don't mind though, sometimes I let them see things, but usually the most important things are mine."
Bella bit her lip, her curiosity was shouting at her to ask more questions. "Does anyone know about... you imprinting?"
He shook his head, "No. They know that I'm imprinted, but because I had Kim they think that it's the connection with her. I've phased very little these past two days and kept thoughts of Kim on the forefront of my mind."
She was fascinated by this guy, how had she not noticed him before? She shook her head, damn imprint! "Did you... behave like that with Kim too?"
He tensed. "No. Kim was sweet and docile. The imprinter is attuned to his imprintee. She couldn't take that side of me; at least my wolf was aware of it." His eyes showed amusement then. "I wonder what goes through your mind Isabella, that made my wolf come out to play with you."
Bella blushed. "Will it always be like that... between us?"
Jared's eyebrow rose. "What exactly are you talking about?"
She stood up from the bed and winced, her shoulder was throbbing a bit, and she looked at it and saw that he had bandaged it. "I mean sex... will you always be that ...?"
He walked slowly to her and stood so close that they almost touched. She had to look up to see him. "It will be what we both want it to be."
She sighed and took the final step. Her forehead touched his burning chest, and she took a deep breath. Jared's already familiar smell enveloped her, and she had to close her eyes at the intensity of her emotions. Wants, desire, familiarity. It was astounding how she felt so comfortable with him.
Jared took a step back, putting distance between them. "Careful, Isabella. My wolf is lurking very close to the surface. I think you've had enough for today."
She blushed, and nodded. "I need to put on some clothes. Do you mind waiting for me downstairs? We need to talk a little bit more."
His eyes darkened again. "You can change with me here. There isn't anything I haven't already seen."
The tone of his voice was challenging. She straightened up her shoulders, and looked back at him. She opened the towel and let it drop. Slowly she walked to her dresser and took out panties, a t-shirt and some shorts. When she turned, she realized that he hadn't moved and his hands were fisted at his sides. "Jared? Are you ok?"
He laughed then, relaxing his hands. Slowly he walked to the door. "I didn't think you would have done that. I really look forward to knowing you better, Isabella."
Bella was left alone in her room. She blinked once, Jared was really something.
Never in her entire life had she met a man that puzzled and challenged her more. He was a mystery that eventually she would solve. She went downstairs to finish their talk, hopefully, in a more normal environment there wouldn't be any tension. A quick memory of their kitchen encounter flashed through her mind, and she laughed. Or maybe not.