***To Build A Home***18

It had been a week since my Alice had seen the Cullen's in a vision, and she couldn't be any happier, I was sure. Even at my suggestion that we leave right away, she always replied that the timing wasn't right. Confident in her abilities and not very worried, I asked her if she knew when. I did have my construction business to look after, after all...

She wasn't sure when, only that it was soon, in the next month or so. Knowing that, I went ahead and put "going out of business," "huge sale," and "everything must go" signs in the store windows and outside the lot. When we left, I didn't want any of it going with us; there was no need and no room for any of it, so I might as well sell it. We'd have more cash that way, anyway...

In the week that I'd put up the signs, various people had come in to ask about the merchandise and the pricing. Telling them what they needed to know, I waited for even an inkling of interest before telling them that I had to close up shop and move town.

After the initial questions, I explained that there would be a sale over the course of Friday's business hours, Saturday and Sunday all day, to which most of them said they'd attend. With the numbers of interest I was getting, things were looking good.

I fully expected quite a bit of interest and customers at the sale, knowing how fast word gets around, even in New York. I had made quite the reputation for myself, covering anything and every thing from selling and buying to odd jobs and construction work. Needless to say, I was a jack of all trades, a fact that my Alice was always keen to tell me.

Which reminds me about my Alice... She'd asked for a week off, which she spent at home packing our things that she knew we wouldn't need anytime soon. It wasn't long until I began to see a difference in our home.

The pictures we'd so carefully and lovingly hung on the wall were packed in boxes with tons of newspaper. Over the course of the time we'd been together, we'd gathered quite a quite a few, both pictures and instruments.

We always hung our wedding pictures in the center, surrounded by all the others- our safari in Africa that seemed like a lifetime ago, the day we got our house here in New York and Alice's car, a few shots of Alice I'd taken quite stealthily when she wasn't looking, a few of me when she'd done the same, and the most recent were her party on her second Coco day that either I or Kitty had taken, depending on who was in the picture. I knew these pictures were coming with us, they always had and they always would.

Our instruments were put away in their cases just as lovingly, my guitar that Alice had given me all those years ago the first to be put away. Next were Alice's violin and fiddle, gifts from me for various anniversaries. She was a classical dream on violin, and sexy as hell and natural as any Southern lady on the fiddle- after I taught her, of course. She'd given me gifts of her own, from a harmonica to my very own banjo- "to complete your hot Southern stallion look."

Walking into the house after work, I found Alice still hard at work, packing away all the decor from around the house. Sweeping her into my arms from behind, I nuzzled my nose along her throat. "Honey, I'm home..."

Her head rolled against my shoulder as her eyes closed with a sigh, my teeth nibbling at her earlobe. "Now, darlin', I know you ain't ignoring me..."

Wrapping her arms up around my neck, she pulled me tighter against her with a giggle. "I'm busy..." Even as she said that, I felt her lust spike.

Grabbing her around the waist, I trailed my tongue from her ear to her mouth before dipping her in my arms and capturing her mouth with mine. Tugging her upright with a small smile against her lips, I easily pulled her bridal style into my arms before lowering us both to the floor.

Never breaking the kiss, I slowly unbuttoned her sheer white blouse as her black bra showed plainly through the tight material. "I love you, Alice."

Arching her torso against my chest off the floor, I pulled her top off and threw it in a heap across the room, slowly trailing my finger tip along her bra strap. "Nice bra... Too bad it has to go... But first, lemme try something..."

Lowering myself until I pressed her rather hard against the floor, my teeth followed the path of my fingers. My whole mouth wasn't far behind, taking her bra cup with my tongue and lips, as she arched tighter against me with a moan. Massaging her breast through her bra, I sent a smirk up at her as a louder moan surfaced. "I think the bra can go now..."

Arching her against me again, I tantalizingly trailed my fingertips along her skin before unhooking her bra and sliding it from her shoulders as she sank back to the floor. "Just once, Jazzy... Just this once..."

"We only have a month left, darlin'... I will make absolutely sure the Cullen's know just who you belong to... If that means we pull an all-nighter, by god we will pull an all-nighter... Just so they and you and I know exactly who you belong to..."

"But I already know exactly just who I belong to, Jazzy..." Her voice was soft with finality as our eyes locked, mine still dark from human blood and hers from lust. "I'm yours, only yours, Jasper."

~000~

Rolling out from under her as she slept, I blurred to our room and pulled the downy comforter off our bed. Blurring back down the stairs, I found her sitting up with her eyes still heavy. "Where'd ya go, Jazzy?!"

Slumping to the hardwood floor beside her, I pulled the comforter tight around us with a small smile and kissed her forehead. "Just to grab a blanket... Sorry I woke you up, darlin'..."

Snuggling against me, she lay her head on my chest with a sigh as I nuzzled my nose along her ear. "You didn't wake me..."

Rolling out of my arms with a quiet giggle, she stood bare and beautiful before me, hands limp at her sides as her eyes met mine over her shoulder. Smiling ever so radiantly, she slowly turned on her heel and offered her hand. "Dance with me, Jasper...?!"

Standing a second later, I took her hand with my own smile and bowed, kissing her knuckles. That always drove her crazy, when my "gentleman" came out... "'Course I will, darlin'..."

Sliding my fingers into the near perfect spaces of hers, I rested a joined hand on her long-since still heart as she lay the other on my own. Wrapping the blanket around us, I bent and softly pressed my lips to hers. "I love you."

Laying her head on my chest as I began swaying us around the room, she sighed and snuggled closer. "I love you, too."

Breathing my own sigh, I felt her emotions all at once. I'd easily grown used to her emotions- just like she had me in her visions- and rarely even had to test the air around to find her; I just knew.

It was like her emotions had somehow become my own, twined with mine that I could hardly tell whose was whose. But one stark and blunt emotion stuck out, and I was rather worried. Why was she feeling regret and apologetic?! What had she done to feel such things?!

"Jasper," she began slowly, almost hesitantly, as she clenched her eyes shut from mine, "I didn't realize how much I was asking of you, until recently.

You're leaving your job- your business- and your house to follow me and meet people that I know you don't even care for... You're uprooting everything you've worked so hard for these past years, just to satisfy me. And I'm sorry... I really am..."

Her eyes finally opened, the color of butterscotch- slightly dark from hunger and emotions but not fully taken over- and locked with mine as she paused in step. "I am sorry, Jasper... I didn't think about the sacrifices you're making, or the things you're leaving behind, or how you'd feel being around people you don't know...

I've taken you for granted, ever since you came into that diner... Hell, even when I was human and had you in my visions, I took you for granted- and I didn't even know you then...

I've made you into something you're not- I mean, after all, you are a vampire, and vampires drink human blood... You're doing something totally unnatural and way out of your comfort zone- drinking animal blood- just so the Cullen's will accept you..."

Looking at her still motionless feet, she sniffed as her emotions multiplied tenfold, worry and regret and apology washing over me. "I don't know why you even put up with me for this long, honestly... I am a wreck, and I'm only bringing you down with me..."

Growling with a roll of my eyes, I rather roughly gripped her chin and forced our eyes to lock as mine glowed. "Alice, how many times to I have to tell you exactly what you mean to me, darlin'?! You're not asking anything of me that I'm not ready to give...

As for my job, I'll get another one somewhere, it's not the end of the world... Leaving my house- our house- it's just a roof over my head, we'll find or build another one... I promise, darlin', it will all work out..."

Kissing her, I cupped her head against my chest with a sigh and continued, hoping she'd see that there was no need for her crazy emotions or insecurities. "This has never been my home, Alice...

Here, or back in Philly, or in Italy- none of those are my home, or will ever be my home... YOU are my home, Alice- anywhere and everywhere you are..."

Kissing her once again, I felt her emotions deflate, if only a little bit, as I began swaying us around the room. "If you and the Cullen's can drink animal blood, so can I, darlin'... Don't worry about if I like them or not, either... As long as they like you, I could care less what they think of me...

Now, let's not talk anymore... Let's just dance..." She nodded against my hand as I tilted her face towards mine, catching her lips softly. "It will all work out, I promise, darlin'..."

"Jasper, I love you so much, you know that right?!" Smiling, she danced her fingers through the hair at the nape of my neck, drawing my face down so our lips met. Giggling, she was twined up around my torso before I even knew she'd moved. "Can't have my old man breaking his back just to get a kiss or two..."

Chuckling, I held her tighter and walked outside, trailing the comforter behind us. "Ha. Ha. Ha. Let's see, you were born in 1901, changed in 1920. That makes you 19 in human years, plus your 42 vampire years, which altogether makes you 61...

You ain't even that old, darlin'! Bet you'd still be hot, even for an old lady... In fact, I know for a fact that you'd still be hot, 'cause you're mine..."

She giggled with a teasing roll of her mischievously sparkling eyes and danced a finger along my bare chest. "And how old are you, exactly, Jazzy?!"

Counting back the years, I ticked a few off on my fingers and pretended to mull it over. "1843 to 1863 is 20 humans years, plus 99 vampire years, which altogether makes me 119... Daaayyymmm, I'm old...!"

Pulling away with a sexy wink, she scooted out of my arms and crossed her arms over her own chest. "You ARE old, Jazzy...! Did you know that you're 58 years older than me?! That's actually really gross... Like, pedophiliac gross... Ewwwhhh! I can't believe I married such an old man..."

Chuckling again, I stalked to her side with a smirk and plucked her into my arms. "I can't believe I married such a young woman... Will that young woman of mine let me have my wicked way with her just one more time?!"

Her brow rose teasingly as her finger trailed down my chest and over my rapidly growing bulge. Looking up at me sideways, her lips tugged into a smirk. "Just one time?! Only once?! Daym, I was really hoping we could pull one helluva all-nighter, my old man and me..."

Gripping her wrist tightly in one hand before she could do any of her "damage," I opened the back door with the other and walked out into the night, dropping the comforter. "Think you can keep up, darlin'?!"

Winking, I trailed a finger along her naked flesh and easily broke her barrier as her eyes practically rolled to the back of her head. Her breath was a soft moan as she clutched me tighter. "I know I can keep up... Question is, can my old man keep up?!"

Then I dove into the pool with Alice tight around and inside me. We both easily kept up, rather needless to say...

~000~

The next morning, still twined together with my Alice on the hard wood "dancing" floor, I looked up at the clock with a muttered cuss. "Alice, darlin', wake up! It's 8:30 and we have to be at work..."

Barely lifting her head from my chest with a sleepy-eyed grimace, she glared at the clock as her lips stuck in a pout. "But I don't wanna get up and go to work... I wanna stay here with my Jazzy, aaalll daaayyy looonnnggg..."

Chuckling with a wink, I tilted my head down at her and rolled until she lay flat under me. My eyes moved tantalizingly along her naked body as I shoved the offensive blanket away from us and rested on my elbows on top of her. "As easily as that could be arranged, darlin', you have to go break the news to the girls, and I have a sale to get ready for... I'm sooorrryyy..."

Batting her lashes flirtatiously, she wrapped her legs up around my torso and pulled me into her with a moan. "Pllleeeaaasssee Jaaazzzyyy... You and I both know you wanna... You and I both know I wanna... So what's the problem?!"

Rocking my hips hard against her as she hungrily devoured my lips, I found myself not even that worried or caring about work. My Alice felt the same, I knew.

My Alice was here- with me, beside me, inside me- and we were already hard at this morning. Who needs work when you can stay home with and inside your wife all day...?!

Moving to our rhythm with her, I growled as the phone rang quite shrilly, almost ruining the mood... Keyword; almost.

"They can call back... But we better not be having fun when they do, or someone will get hurt." Running my tongue over my lips, it wasn't long before I had hers in my mouth, and mine in hers.

"It's been far too long since I've kissed you I almost forgot what you taste like, darlin'... But don't worry... I. Got. This."

Arching deeper into me, her eyes glazed over from lust as she tightened her grip on me with a moan. "Good, 'cause I can't even think straight right now... It's been far too long since I've made love to you I almost forgot what you feel like, Jazzy... But don't worry, I. Got. This."

Smirking up at me, she traced each scar within reach, teeth and tongue not far behind. Managing to speak through my lust, I sent my own smirk at her. "Darlin', you do realize we just made love last night, right?! Like, not even six hours ago...?!"

She nodded limply as we both got closer and closer, though not quite ever finding our high. "Who says that's still not long enough, Jazzy?! Different strokes for different folks... And, ooohhh, do you feel good, Jazzy..."

Only my Alice could take one of the oldest sayings in the book and make it sound so incredibly sexy... Which means, of course, that I am all hot and bothered- not that I wasn't, it was just ten times worse then...

"Maybe you do need to stay home today, darlin'... Think you're coming down with something... I'll stay with you, of course, keep you some company." There was a low chuckle in my voice as I smirked down at her and moved deeper, closer to the brink.

She moved deeper against me in the next two seconds, close to the brink as well. Moving harder and faster, it wasn't long until we reached our high and I fell into her with a groan. "You definitely need to stay home, darlin'... In fact, why don't I call Kitty...?! Or even Coco herself...?!"

Running a finger over my face with a small smile, she caressed a single curl of honey blonde hair and pulled me flat on top of her. "I actually do need to go in today... If not to go ahead and give my two weeks, because my break is up... I guess I'll put it in at lunch. Come with me...?!"

Smiling, I loosely twined our fingers and nuzzled my lips along her ear. "'Course I will, darlin'... I'd be happy to, you know that.

Come on now, darlin', let's get some clothes on- I won't dare have anybody seeing my woman and my wife and my Alice running around in her birthday suit..."

Sweeping her into my arms like the first time we kissed as man and wife, I walked slowly upstairs to our room. Setting her on the bed, I blurred to my closet and tugged on a pair of underwear followed by jeans, fingers flicking through my shirts. About to pull on a random one, I froze as my Alice swept behind me and tugged it out of my hands. "Let me help you there, cowboy..."

Turning around in her arms, my lips tugged into a smile as I gazed down at her, eyes sparkling somewhat mischievously. "Yeah, I'm sure you'll be a big help to me this morning, darlin'..."

Her own lips tugged down at the corners in a playful frown as her eyes met mine under lowered lashes. "You don't think I'd be of good help?! You don't think I dress you way better than you yourself?! That hurts, Jazzy... It really really does..."

Tugging her flush against me, I rocked my hips hard against hers before using my tongue to master her lips back into a smile, all the while her breath came in short gasps. "I don't know much about you dressing me, but I think you UNdress me pretty damn well, darlin'... I guess you can go ahead and finish what you started, just this once..."

Before long, she had pulled my shirt up and over my head, fingers teasing along my chest as they trailed over my buttons. Tossing me my leather jacket, she stepped back to admire her handiwork with a lick of her lips. "Daaayyymmm! You look good enough to undress all over again, Jazzy...!"

Tugging her against me with a wink, I smirked and nibbled at her pouting bottom lip. "You look good enough not to let get dressed in the first place..."

Laying her hand flat on my cheek, she stood on tiptoes and lightly kissed me before pulling away and walking to her own closet. "Too bad we both have work to get to, Jazzy..."

~000~

My day passed in a blur as I prepared for the pending sale in the next few days, not realizing just what time it was as I hastily flicked the lights off for my "lunch break," and climbed into my truck. Not long after, I walked into Coco with a dazzling smile just for Kitty. "Have you seen my wife anywhere around, Kitty?!"

She was somewhat flustered as she flashed a flirty smile and pointed to Alice's office up the stairs. "Her office..."

Hugging her close for a few seconds, I kissed her forehead with a small smile. "Thanks, Kit... For everything..."

Striding down the hall, I still heard her gleeful "your welcome," as I knocked on my wife's door. "Delivery for Mrs. Whitlock. A very hot Southern stallion..." Walking in with a smirk, my face fell and I was at her side in a blur, worry and protectiveness tensing my muscles. "Alice...?!"

Stooping, I found her eyes as she sniffled and tried to push out of my arms. "Alice, what's wrong darlin'?! Talk to me...?!"

Shaking her head with a sniff, she wiped a finger across her face and dropped her head on her desk. "I don't know, Jazzy... Don't get me wrong, as much as I want to find the Cullen's and have a family, I don't wanna leave the girls... I can't do it, Jazzy...

I mean, the Cullen's might not even accept or want us... I don't even know that for sure, Jasper, I just assumed really... Why would we leave this place- our home- and our friends, for people we don't even know...?!

I don't know, Jazzy... I really don't, and it scares me... I'm used to knowing everything, and seeing everything, and I'm not and I don't and it scares me... What do we do, Jazzy...?!"

Trading places in her chair, I pulled her into my lap with her back against my chest and twined our fingers. Dropping my head to the curve of her neck, I trailed soft, slow kisses along her skin before tilting her face towards mine and connected our lips. "Que sera sera... Whatever will be, will be..."

Pulling away so that our noses brushed, she laughed quietly with a raised brow. "What?!"

Clearing my throat somewhat uncomfortably, I almost regretted bringing it up. "We were working-class, not too well off but certainly not in need of anything... Times were tough, back then, and with the pending war, we needed all the help we could get...

My father eventually found and hired a stable manager, Juan- a busybody Mexican who barely spoke a lick of English. He was a hard-worker and was always more sweaty than not- an easy and welcome addition around the plantation and home.

We all worked with him on his English, which he learned quickly and rather fluently, and it wasn't really until then that he told us he had left family back in Mexico. We scrounged and saved every last dollar to bring his wife and two children over, finally welcoming them all into our home almost three years later.

They were all nervous and antsy awhile after that, and with good reason. They were scared they'd be deported right back to Mexico, and with the pending war and the Northerner's breathing down our necks, we were nervous too... Not that we'd done anything wrong- we paid Juan to man the stables and keep everyone in line, and his wife Margarita was in the house with her children helping Momma with the everyday, little chores. We might've worked them quite a bit, but we loved each and every one of them like family..."

Smiling at the memory, if only a little, a shadow crossed my face as I cleared my throat. "My father and I were checking the fencing one day when a rattler startled his horse into rearing and bucking like a lunatic. He fell off and narrowly missed being trampled... His horse ran off, leaving me to jump off mine and kill the rattler... Then I raced back home for help, Juan swinging on with me so we could bring him back home...

Margarita was the only one calm enough to do anything that day, doctoring him up real nice and proper- as best she could any way... I tried to be strong and not let my feelings show, for Momma's sake, but then we all realized that, with how hard he landed, his back was pretty much broken and he was paralyzed... Just like that, I was man of the house...

It took me some time after that, with a lot of pros and cons and debates, before I decided to lie about my age and enlist in the war, which struck not long after Daddy's accident.

I knew he would want to be in on the action personally- which was impossible, of course- and I didn't figure he'd see a problem with my lies, but I was man of the house and I needed to look after him and Momma...

It didn't take Margarita long to convince me that we would make it just fine, with or without me. So, with her warm, whispered words from her native land that I hadn't yet visited, I wrote four letters- one each for Momma, Daddy, Juan, and Margarita.

Then I snuck out through my window to the barn and left by the light of the moon and instincts of my horse..." My voice was soft as a memory took over- my horse relaxed beneath me as a gentle wind blew, my eyes filling with the tears of a scared boy thrust into his Daddy's shoes too early, as I took my last glance back, at my home and family.

Shaking my head, I cupped her cheek and lightly brushed my lips across her forehead, my eyes clenched tightly shut. "Funny what you remember... There are so few things that have ever stayed with me, and Margarita's words are definitely one of them... "Que sera, sera," she would say, many many times. "Whatever will be, will be."

(A/N: I know it's been a long time since I've posted, and I apologize... I just don't want my baby to be over, and THIS IS my baby... It's almost over anyway, might as well drag it out...;);););) Thanks for those of you who stick with me!;);):):)))