The power surged once at exactly 10:03 before dying silently. Bella knew the time because she'd been staring at the clock, lying in the warm divot Jacob had left in the bed, since the moment he'd skipped out the door.

"Well, this is going swimmingly," Bella muttered to herself in the darkness. If not for the clock, she would never have guessed it was morning. No light filtered through the curtains, and the steady pounding of the rain on the roof continued with no signs of stopping. With a sigh she decided that she might as well get up and face the day, however awkward and rainy it was sure to be.

However, being stuck in the Black's house, in the middle of a hurricane, and with zero electricity only left Bella with so many forms of entertainment. Namely, snooping through Jake's room for illicit stuff, or housework. And while the prospect of digging up the dirt on Jake was growing ever more tempting, Bella decided that she really had no desire to find out if he had a Playboy collection (he did), where it was (bottom dresser drawer below the socks), or what his preferred 'type' was (Babes of Motocross). Which left the house.

In Phoenix, Bella's domesticity had been a necessity – housekeeping wasn't in Renee's repertoire. In Forks it was somewhat less true. Charlie managed for himself all those years. But when she'd first moved to Washington cleaning had been a way to make the time pass, the homesickness fade. Then it became a way to make the hours in between him fly by, make the separation, no matter how brief, that much easier. Now, it was just a way to keep her from dwelling on last night, and the conflicting battle taking place inside her. The war between the side that wanted to forget...and the one that desperately wanted to remember.

For once luck was on her side, albeit in a twisted way, for while on her search for a non-electrical task to do, Bella walked into the kitchen…and stepped into a puddle.

Two hours and one pack of matches later, Bella had all four burners on the (thankfully) gas stove going, cooking everything from Italian sausage, to spaghetti sauce, to…well basically anything in the Black's fridge and freezer that was perishable. She has no idea why it wasn't staying cold, but with the power off the entire appliance was becoming way too warm to be safe.

So Bella cooked. And stirred. And sautéed. And successfully blocked out all memories of the previous night…right up until back door flew open with impressive force, and Bella practically leapt out of her skin in shock.

"Sweet zombie Jesus!" Jake hollered, flying through the door and forcing it closed behind him. He stood dripping on the kitchen floor with a stupid grin on his face. "I don't want to alarm you Bella, but I think we're in for a storm."

"You think?" she gasped, her heart still trying to beat its way out of her chest. She leaned against the counter and tried not to have a coronary. "Don't move," she choked out. "I'll grab you a towel."

"Thanks," he shouted down the hall after her. "Hey, why are you running a restaurant out of my kitchen?"

"Because your fridge sucks, and I've seen the way you eat," she called, grabbing a whole stack out of towels out of the linen closet. "Billy can't afford to lose an entire fridge worth of food just because the power goes out!"

A huge crash suddenly reverberated down the hall. Bella tore back into the room only to find Jacob practically overturning the fridge, leaving a wet, muddy river in his wake.

"What did I tell you about standing still?" Bella demanded in exasperation.

Jacob grunted, as he wedged his large figure behind the fridge. "Whoever built this house had a bright idea to stick a heating duct back here. Whenever the power goes the thing gets hot as all blue blazes way…too…fast." The refrigerator jumped forward another foot as Jake gave one final heave. "That should help a little bit."

"One mystery down then," Bella chided playfully, handing him the towels. Jake's warm hand brushed against her own, and she flinched away from the contact unexpectedly.

Jake froze. "Bella…"

"Sorry," she murmured, feeling the color rising back into her cheek. It was instinctual, a reflex reaction to…to whatever they were now. "Just take 'em…"

She tried to force the stack into Jacob's unwilling hands but instead he pounced, sweeping both her and the laundry into his wet arms. "I am going to hug you until this awkwardness goes away," he informed Bella matter-of-factly.

She squirmed in his damp embrace. "Jake, oxygen!"

"A trivial detail!" he teased before setting her back down on her feet. "There, are we cool?"

"We were always cool," Bella murmured softly, gazing up at him shyly. "Now we're both just cool and…drippy." She shoved the pile of towels into his chest. "So dry off, then come in here and empty out the freezer while I finish up. It's either that, or we're eating ramen until the storm breaks."

"Aye aye, Ma'am!" he gave her a mock salute. "Your voice sounds loads better, by the way. You quit smoking or something?"

"Shut up."

Jake's extra set of hands was both a blessing and a curse. Before Bella could even pull her spaghetti sauce off the stove, he'd assembled a mess of candles and flashlights from niches all over the house, lit a fire in the living room hearth, and unearthed an old fishing cooler, which we was currently emptying the freezer contents into. He was chatty and goofy and a fun to have around. He was just…Jake.

Unfortunately his presence was making it hard for Bella to do what he'd asked of her. The more she tried to draw a veil over the previous night's events, the more she found herself dwelling them. When he reached out to pinch her as he walked by, all she could do was remember the way his hands had felt when he touched her in a very different way. He smiled, and she remembered feeling that same smile cross his face while he kissed her.

It was becoming distracting.

"...And it took Billy a full twenty minutes to cut the bucket off my head with a pair of garden shears. Alright, your turn Bells."

"Huh?" she shook her head, reemerging from her own little world.

"I told you a stupid story about my childhood," Jake said. "As requested. So ante up, I need blackmail on you now."

"Um…okay," she struggled to draw up a memory worth talking about, and was suddenly struck with an idea, a savage impulse. "When I was little I went to this sleepover at Becky Martin's house, and instead of truth or dare the girls played this game called brutal honesty," Bella explained, chopping peppers in a way that made Jacob exceptionally nervous.

"That sounds uplifting," he murmured. "This better get more interesting as the story goes on. Did you guys practice kissing on each other or something?"

Bella threw a wadded up napkin at him. "No, now shush. The rules of the game were that you were paired up with another person, and they to ask you any question they wanted to and you had to give an honest answer. The rub was you got to ask them one back, and neither of you was allowed to get mad based on the other one's response."

Jake snickered. "Yeah, sounds like the perfect game for a bunch of catty girls to play. I'm sure no one ever got their feelings hurt doing that…" His head emerged from the freezer, wearing an expression of sudden puzzlement. "So I know I'm going to regret asking this Bells, but why are you telling me this exactly?"

"Because," she started, taking a deep breath to steady her nerves. "I need to ask you a brutally honest question."

"You don't need to play any stupid game to do that, just ask away." His voice was confident, teasing. But his pallor seemed more ashen that usual. If it were possible for Jake to be pale, he was.

No amount of deep breathing was going to calm Bella's nerves, though she didn't understand why she was so jittery. She tried to take a sip of her tea, but the cup shook so badly that she set it back on the table before Jacob could notice. "Okay," she finally relented. "What did you mean…last night, when you said that you tried not to…care about me?"

This was clearly not the question Jake had been expecting, and he shut the freezer door and plopped down into the chair next to her, staring at her curiously.

"Why do you ask?" he wondered, reaching across to take her hand. But it was still trembling, so Bella jerked it out of reach and busied herself cutting the core out of another pepper.

"That's not how the game works, Jake. You have to answer my question first."

"Fine," he relented softly, but the worried lines in his forehead remained. "I meant that I know you're sad a lot. I know that you don't do 'love', not anymore at least. I know that you're broken and lonely and stuff. I knew that the minute you pulled into my driveway."

Bella remembered that day with exquisite clarity.

"And I…" he chuckled softly. "I already had a little crush on you, but I'm sure you knew that."

"Yeah, just a little bit."

"But you…you just looked so sad that day, and I knew you needed a friend and I just wanted to do that," he said, throwing his hands up in mock helplessness. "I wanted to be what you needed me to be. And despite the fact that you were miserable you were good company. I liked having someone there to talk to, and you seemed to like just having someone around. And so I tried to be good. I told myself you were off limits, tried to look at you through those 'just one of the guys' goggles…" His voice trailed off.

"But…" Bella prompted. She'd long since given up focusing on the food.

Jake looked at her with a soft, sad expression. "But…I don't know. Every once in a while you'd look at me while we were driving, or working on the bikes, or doing homework, and you'd shoot me this little smile and…and I just loved it so damn much."

He reached for her hand again, and this time Bella let him take it. He gave it a tight squeeze. "I loved being the reason you smiled, and I loved being the reason you laughed, and I loved being the reason you looked…happy again. And all of that just built up and accumulated until I realized I was just in love with you, period. All of you, every breath, every emotion, happy or sad and everything in between – I loved you."

"But I knew you didn't need a lover, and knowing would just make it hard for you because even if you didn't love me, you certainly liked me. And saying 'no' to someone you like is hard enough on your best days, so I kept it to myself."

"Not very well," Bella muttered, staring down at her lap. Jake squeezed her hand again.

"I'm not perfect," he said defensively. I slipped sometimes. Like around that Mike kid…it was hard not to." His voice took on a rueful quality, and Bella knew that he was remembering that night the same way she was. It was their last night together as normal, average, human teenagers. "But I tried."

Bella didn't know what to say to that. Jacob has just confessed his love for her, but those words were essentially meaningless – she'd already known, they both had. His love had been in the bikes, the road trips, the spaghetti dinners, his warm smiles and bear hugs. It was in his laugh and his touch.

It was in the way he follow her over a cliff without so much as blinking.

And yet…still something inside Bella throbbed emptily. Jake had given her, was giving her everything, and it was still not enough.

"I know you did," Bella whispered, still unwilling to look at him until Jake stuck a finger under her chin and forced her face upwards. His smile was sad, but very understanding.

"I don't want anything from you, Bella," he told her softly. "I promise, I'm happy to just be your friend. I'll keep trying not to love you, it's just hard," his voice was teasing now. "I mean, clearly you're just irresistible."

"Must be the clothes," Bella tried to tease back, but she couldn't hide the sadness in her voice. "I hear the guys really go for the hand-me-down look."

He saw right through her lame attempt at a joke though, and Jacob refused to be deterred from making her feel better. "I mean it, Bells, so stop worrying about it. Last night was an accident, its okay, we all get lonely. I'm just…I want you to know I'm here for you, okay? You can always talk to me. Just…know that above all else, okay?"

"I…" Bella tried to respond, but she was back under the water, unable to breathe, unable to speak. She shook her head and tried to find the words. "Thanks. For everything."

Jake pushed the hair back from her face, and his fingers lingered warmly against her cheek before he took his hand away. "No worries. So," he clapped his hands together brightly. "Shall we try to prepare our feast? I'm starving."

"Sure," Bella agreed, plastering an all too fake smile on her face. The conversation should have made her feel better. After all, Jacob had told her exactly what she wanted to hear: he cared for her, but he understood that she couldn't reciprocate.

But if that was what she wanted to hear then why was the hole, that gaping wound in her chest, aching again? And why did it seem to hurt for Jake this time? And why, each time he mentioned forgetting the previous night, did Bella have to bite her tongue to keep from telling him that she didn't want to forget, that she wanted it to mean something more than just a lonely accident?

She buried the confusion in her work, going back to the stove and stirring in silence until Bella remembered something.

"Now you get to ask one," Bella said.

"Do I have to?" He poked a package of what appeared to be frozen fish, and they squished beneath his finger.

"Yes," Bella assured him. "That's the only way to make sure it's fair."

Jake just rolled his eyes. "Fine. Did you come into my room last night because you were…you know?"

"Know what?"

"You know..." Jake said again, as if the emphasis would clarify something. Bella just continued to stare at him blankly. "Because you were…looking to…get some?" he finally blurted out.

Bella choked on her mouthful of tea, angrily trying to will her blood to flow anywhere but her face. An utterly futile attempt - she turned bright red as she glowered at Jake from over her cup. "No," she muttered firmly. "But thanks for implying that I'm a common hussy."

"Okay, one: I wasn't implying anything, I just asked a question. Two: I thought the whole point of this game was that you weren't allowed to get mad at me. And three: who says 'hussy' anymore? You sound like my grandmother…"

"I say 'hussy' you jerk," Bella shot back. "That better?"

"Okay, okay, I withdraw the question," Jake said, throwing his hands up in mock surrender and biting back his laughter. Bella tried her best to look more intimidating, but it wasn't working, and he only chuckled more. "I didn't mean to push your buttons, sheesh. I just assumed--"

"Assumed what?"

"Well, I…what I meant was…well I saw the pills in your purse when we went through that drive thru and you asked me to hand you your wallet and…I…well, I just figured and…this game sucks," he finally stuttered. But Bella wasn't done being mortified.

"Well you know what they say when--"

"Yes, I've made as ass out of myself," Jake interrupted. "Go me. Look, I'm a guy. We see little round pill boxes, our thoughts naturally drift to sex. Hell, we see lug wrenches and our thoughts naturally drift to sex – it can't be avoided. And again, aren't you not allowed to be mad at me?"

Bella glared down at her tea, since glaring at Jacob was not producing the desired effect. "I have really bad acne, okay," she finally admitted, huffily. "It's a touchy subject."

"What are you talking about?" Jake asked, tossing some quickly thawing steaks into his makeshift cooler. "You don't have a spot on you."

"Exactly," she retorted.

Jake suddenly paused, mid-throw with another frozen mystery package. "So…not to stick my head in the lion's mouth of anything but…does that mean you've…never?"

"Not that it's any of your business," Bella muttered. "But no."

"Oh. Okay. Um, okay."

Bella sighed, and fought the urge to bang her head on the table a few times. But knowing her luck it would splinter beneath her, and she'd impale herself through the eye on a wooden skewer, so she decided against it. "Any more personal issues you'd like to delve into, Jake? Want the results of my last pap smear?"

"Nope, I'm done," he chirped, seemingly unperturbed. "I still say this game bites though. And you cheat at it."

"Sucks to be you then," Bella said, but the sarcasm was fading from her voice.

"Yeah, no kidding," he shot back. He flashed her a toothy grin, but Bella couldn't quite tell if he was being serious of not.

Night came quickly with no power. They gorged on the myriad of food that Bella cooked. What Jacob didn't manage to choke down joined the rest of the salvaged packages in the fishing cooler. Jake and Billy would have to live on leftovers for a while, but the way Jake wolfed down her food, she didn't anticipate that being a problem.

They indulged in increasingly competitive games of Scrabble by candlelight, while Jake regaled her with tales of pack hijinks that Quil and Embry would probably have preferred he not share, and managed to hit a triple word score by spelling "clitoris" correctly. They danced around the subject of sleep, with Bella finally admitting she was tired when the letter tiles in front of her would no longer come into focus.

Jake threw another log on the fire. "Just so you stay warm."

"And to keep the shadows away," Bella replied, absently fluffing the pillows on the couch.

"Exactly." He leaned over, and Bella's heart skipped a rebellious beat before Jake planted a kiss on the top of her head. "Sleep tight, Bells. I'm going to jump in the shower, so don't panic if you hear me walking around."

Bella didn't lay down until she heard the door lock and the water pipes creak to life. She had a feeling Jake was going to stay in the shower until she was fast asleep. She pulled the blanket up tight under her chin, and clutched a stray pillow to her chest.

It was going to be a long night…

Minutes, hours. Bella had no idea how long she laid there, staring into the fire…

"Still can't sleep?" Jake appeared at the foot of the couch, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts and drying his damp hair with a towel.

"Story of my life?" Bella responded sadly, rolling over to look at him. "What's your excuse?"

"I just came in here to dry off," he replied. "Figured you might still be awake." He slid the coffee table out of the way and collapsed on the floor in front of the couch. He was so long that his feet reached the hearth of the fireplace, which was apparently the point.

"Sure, sure," Bella replied snidely. "Admit it, you were afraid weren't you?"

Jake grinned and leaned his head back against the couch cushions, so he could look at her upside down. "You caught me, I'm terrified of the dark. Hold me, Bella!"

She poked him in the head good-naturedly, but the atmosphere had suddenly changed. Jake's words hit too close to home for both of them.

"Bella…I can't believe I'm doing this…" he muttered.

She toyed with his damp hair. "Doing what?" she asked, teasing.

He continued to stare pointedly into the fire. "I need to ask you a brutally honest question," he said finally, and something in his voice made Bella's heart clench.

"Okay," she answered hesitantly. "Fire away."

"Why?" he seemed to ask the flames in front of them. "Why did you really come into my room last night?

Bella's hands froze, her throat constricting in a way that had nothing to do with her still recuperating voice. Jake turned to look at her when she didn't respond. "I don't know," she finally admitted lamely.

"Cheater," Jacob hissed lightly. "C'mon Bella, you must have had a reason. Please, just tell me."

"I really don't know, Jake." Memories from the previous evening filtered back into her head, through the wall she had put up to contain them. But now she was standing in the hallway again, peering into the dark abyss of his room, looking for…something.

Wanting something.

"I think…" she said finally, and the words felt thick in her mouth, heavy with significance. "I think I wanted to know what if felt like to be you." Jake stared at her, puzzled but afraid to interrupt. "I wanted to try to look at you…at us…and see what you see. Feel what you feel…I guess. Kinda stupid, huh?"

"I don't think so," Jake said softly. "What you tried to see…did you?"

Bella's eyes slid off his face, and she gazed into the flickering flames behind him. "I don't know," she said again. Another half-truth. The answer was there, buried in a dark recess she dare not face, a gaping hole that echoed with voices and memories she longed to run from, and so Bella pulled a sheet over it, clinging to her answer which was anything but.

"Cheater," Jake accused her again, but his voice was gentle.

"Hey, you're only entitled to one question, which I answered," Bella reminded him. "And speaking of rules, isn't it my turn to ask a question now?"

"Shoot," Jacob said, and he leaned back into her touch as she continued to run her fingers through is damp hair.

"Why did you really come in here just now?" The words were past Bella lips before she could stop to think about their consequences.

Jake's eyes slowly opened, and he turned to look at her over his shoulder. The orange firelight played across his features, illuminating the tension in his face. "I…" He seemed unable to get the words out.

But before Bella could offer him any encouragement he reached for her face, and a second later his lips were crashing against her own. His touch was fast, his fingers trembling against her skin. It was a kiss of desperation, and it ended before Bella could really grasp that it was happening.

When she opened her eyes his face was hovering inches from her own. "That's why I came in here, Bells," he whispered. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I know I promised--"

He paused as Bella's hand reached out and brushed his cheek in the darkness. He leaned into her touch as she traced the curve of his jaw, the lines that seemed permanently etched into his forehead, the bridge of his nose, the edge of his lips. His face in the firelight was captivating, the warmth of his skin inviting her hands to stay.

"Jake..." she breathed him in.

"I know I said I wouldn't, but I couldn't stop thinking about last night." he confessed in a rush, as if Bella touch was drawing the truth out of him. "About how your lips and your hands and…I walked to Emily's and back in the rain just so I could keep those memories to myself for a little while longer but…"

Bella's hands smoothed his forehead. "But what?"

"I'm greedy," he confessed. "I…I just wanted one more."

Bella's heart pounded thunderously against her ribcage, her pulse echoing in her ears. Her fingers ran back into his hair, and before she knew it was happening she tightened her grip and pulled his lips back into her own. They scrambled, a tangle of limbs as Jacob climbed onto the couch with her, not once breaking their kiss. He crouched over her, his hands combing her hair and tracing her arms and brushing the exposed flesh of her stomach and then returning to lightly touching her face again and again and again.

And Bella didn't stop him.

She didn't want him to stop. She was a vampire this time, stealing his heat, the fire that bled into her limbs each time he touched her. The voice of protest shouted in the back of her head, reminding her to be broken and bruised and lonely, but the sounds was muffled by the bass of her heart pounding in her ears, and the fire ate away at it until the words dissolved into blissful nothingness. Jake didn't stop to contemplate his good fortune, he just continued to kiss her in exultation.

And Bella didn't stop him.

He broke from her suddenly, breathing hard. "Don't st--" Bella started to plead with him, but her fears were unwarranted. Jake was far from done.

And so she smoldered, but it had nothing to do with their proximity to the fireplace, and everything to do with the way Jake's lips brushed her ear, finally landing on her neck. He moved inch by inch, kissing her slowly, deliberately – exploring every secret her body had to offer. And when she felt his tongue graze against her skin Bella shuddered and clutched at his back reflexively.

But her response only made Jacob bolder, as he nipped at collarbone, tracing its contour across her chest, and back up to the other side. He paused below her jaw, his tongue drawing tight circles and tracing invisible shapes.

"Jake," Bella moaned, as each touch, each caress burned her up from within.

His lips brushed against her ear once more. "Say it again Bells," he whispered throatily. Beneath her shirt his hand brushed the bottom of her ribcage, and climbed onward.

"Jake," she breathed again, arching into his touch.

He shuddered against her. "I love the way you say that," he confessed. "Just for me…" Bella turned her head and captured his mouth against her own. She pulled him against her with all her strength, but it still wasn't enough. She wanted…more…something that Jacob had to give. It was involuntary, instinctual, the way that her body seemed to respond to his subtle cues, his softest caresses.

"Just for you," Bella agreed when they broke apart.

Jacob's face was a dichotomy, half hidden in shadow, half bathed in orange light, but every inch of it seemed to radiate triumph. With a devilish grin he suddenly wrenched them both upwards, sitting up and straddling Bella across his lap as if she weighed nothing at all.

His hands grazed her stomach, toying with the edge of her shirt. And when he pulled back there was something in his eyes that was very human. It was the looked of a 16 year old boy, and he was asking her permission.

That very human part of Bella was equally nervous, and her own expression clearly crying: I'm scared, but I want you to so badly.

And so slowly Jake gripped the bottom of her tank top, and slowly he peeled it up, exposing new flesh bit by bit, until, with the swiftness of ripping off and band-aid he yanked it over her upraised arms.

Bella squinched her eyes shut, dropping her head and rolling her shoulders, as if she could fold in on herself and cover her exposed chest.

"Don't," Jake whispered, a warm hand guiding her face upwards. "Don't do that, Bells. You never have to do that, not in front of me." More gentle hands pulled her arms back down to her sides, straightened her back so that she was facing him.

Bella opened one eye cautiously, fighting the insecurities that threatened to overtake her with such ease. Jake smiled, then chuckled, then laughed at her outright, his face happy and his eyes still smoldering.

Warm hands gripped her hips, then traced up the expanse of her back and down again, exploring her skin. "You never have to be embarrassed in front of me," he assured her again, and Bella tired to give him a shaky smile. He pulled her in close, gently crushing her body against his own in a tell-tale hug. Bella shivered as his lips brushed lightly against her cheek, then her ear. "Do you have any idea how beautiful you really are?"

Color crept into Bella's cheeks, but this time it wasn't from embarrassment. Jake pulled back from her gently, and ever so slowly his hand tickled up her stomach, higher, playing against every one of her ribs, and higher still as he circled her breast.

"Jake…" she breathed again, a subtle plea that translated into more…more.

His thumb brushed against her nipple, and it hardened at his touch. Bella bit back the moan that tried to claw out of her mouth as Jacob did it again, squeezing the sensitive bud between his fingers. A tingle shot through her nerves, a pleasurable wave that overtook her senses. Her insecurities evaporated against his searing skin, leaving nothing but desire in their wake.

And Jacob did his best to slake those desires.

Bella moaned aloud when Jake's mouth found her other breast, her hands tangling in his hair. He flicked her nipple with his tongue, kissing and nibbling lightly, again and again and again.

It was too much. Bella arched her back, anything to bring her closer to him. Her breaths were coming in short gasps, murmuring incoherent sounds, each one seeming to encourage Jacob more and more. She shifted in his lap, and for the first time Bella realized that she wasn't the only one enjoying the experience. She leaned in surreptitiously, grinding her hips against Jake's, and the bulge in his shorts. He froze and she did it again.

"Bella," he moaned into her chest, his hands clutching at her. The way he said her name sounded good in her ear. The fact that she was making him feel good, that what she was doing was making him want her even more…it made Bella feel powerful…confident. She tried to do it again, wiggling her hips in what she hoped was a seductive manner, but Jake caught her and held her fast. The animal in his eyes had softened and he looked…abashed?

Ashamed.

"Don't," Bella whispered, leaning into him closer. "You never have to be embarrassed in front of me."

She ground against him defiantly, and this time he didn't stop her. Bella freed her hands from his, and wrapped Jacob up in her arms. Gently she pulled her nails across his back, and felt the goose-bumps rise on his shoulders. His skin was salty and warm against her lips, as she pressed them against his neck. He writhed beneath her, and it urged Bella onward.

"I like making you feel good too," she murmured.

He tangled his hands in her hair. "Everything you do feels good," he said breathlessly.

"Good."

Her hands traced paths up and down his chest, across the taught muscles in his arms, his stomach. Jake's transformation had affected his body drastically. He was no longer the willowy boy he had once been. He was built like a track runner – long and lean, but with the hidden bulk of subtle muscle. She traced the lines with her fingers, following with her lips.

"Bells…" he moaned again, as she flicked her tongue against the hollow at the base of his throat. For a second she was worried he was going to tell her to stop, but Bella didn't care anymore – there was nothing in her head that wasn't her body intertwined with Jacob's. He was in her mind and her eyes and her mouth, dominating senses she didn't even know she had. The throaty way he repeated her name again and again lay heavy in her ears. She had stolen his fire and now it smoldered in her core, heat creeping through every inch of her veins. She throbbed for him, somewhere deep inside, a tingle that ran down from her stomach, and touched that place between her legs.

Before she knew what she was doing, Bella's hands were toying with the hem of Jake's shorts, slipping beneath the seam, playing with the button. She didn't know where the boldness was coming from, all she knew was she wanted more – more heat, more touch.

More Jake.

She reached for his zipper.

"Bells." He caught her wrists. "Bella, stop…please," he said breathlessly, his eyes pleading with hers in the dim light. "If you don't stop now I won't be able to…"

"What if I don't want you to stop?" she whispered.

"Then you might hate me in the morning," he muttered sadly. Reluctantly, she surrendered her grip on his shorts, but only so she could hold his face.

"I…could never hate you," she murmured. And he smiled faintly in response before leaning in to kiss her. It was fleeting and gentle, the madness of passion fading, leaving them both drained. The fire was dying.

"I should go," Jake finally said, and he tried to pick Bella up but she clung to him tightly.

"Stay."

He tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear and sighed. "If that's what you want…"

It took some shuffling – Jacob was really too long for the couch. He propped his knees against one armrest, laid his head on the other, then pulled Bella on top of him. His arms wrapped around her tightly, as if he was afraid she would run away in the night, disappearing somehow. Behind them the fire faded into blackness, but it didn't matter, because Bella was happy…for the first time in too long a time.

So why couldn't she shake the feeling that something was wrong?

It didn't matter. Jake's chest rose and fell steadily beneath her, warm skin pressed against warm skin. There was no need for blankets, no need for explanations or words. There would be plenty of time for that tomorrow. But tonight there was just Jake and Bells, wrapped up in their own little world, in the eye of the hungry storm.