Chapter 2 has arrived! Now, the first chapter was steamy and this one will be, too. Even more so. And I can kind of already hear "why are you starting this so early?". Well, because that's how I see it happening. And I've had this story planned for a while. I'm already planning the third one, so please try to go with it if you want to read it. Not every chapter will have steam. I'm just trying to satisfy my and other fans' need for steam between our favorite couple right now. I'm getting them to a certain point, so I gotta start off early.

Now, please, enjoy!

Shelby POV

It was about time Nessie and Jake took some time to be alone. The sexual tension was just about to kill me now that I had sensitive senses. I could smell the sex build up in them and then her frustration as he'd go to take care of himself. Though I gave him some credit because he'd slowed down on the whole do-it-myself approach. And it had been a lot calmer for her since their engagement. She'd been content for a while, but now that that newness was wearing off, she wanted more with her man.

After I finished my world weary sigh, I sniffed the warm, night air. It was strange that it was so warm out. But then again, with my now upped body temperature it felt like a thousand degrees out here. I'd stripped down to my cami-tank and was glad that I'd put on shorts before we left.

Seth, Caden, and Leah were helping me hone my hunting skills before I went out with the Cullens. At first, Caden had taught me about the Children of the Moon. We'd also discussed how I had yet to shift at the full moon. Even Carlisle and Edward had thrown in ideas, but the main denominator was that I was an imprint. Adam had suggested that there was more to an imprint than just a soul connection. That there may be a physical one. Carlisle had agreed saying that the night I was attacked, my heart had beat stronger when Seth was near me or touching me. Unless it was something else. Something that none of us had theorized.

"Alright," came a now familiar English accent. "They're all hidden and trails are semi-covered. Now, before you take off-,"

"I know, I know," I huffed, bouncing on the balls of my feet. "You want me to stand here and get my bearings. Chill. I know."

Caden came to stand near me, arms crossed over his muscular chest. A scar ran across his stomach from where Tristan had swiped at him months ago. The scar would never fully heal because it had been done by a claw of our kind.

"Clearly, you know. You said it-what, three times? –in that sentence."

"Oh, bit me," I snapped.

He chuckled. "Not sure your man would like that too much, love. Now, do as I instructed."

Shooting him one last glare, I stilled my feet and closed my eyes. Calming myself down even more, I took a few deep breaths, trying to get my heart to pound a little quieter. After a moment, it slowed down and the sound moved to background noise.

"Good," Caden said in a low voice. "Now, listen."

Swallowing a smartass comeback, I did as he instructed. The first thing I heard was him. He was standing so close to me that I could hear his breath as it scratched out his throat, his heart beat loud as a drum next to me. The blood in his veins rushed to take oxygen to the rest of his body and then raced back to his lungs to grab more.

"What do you hear?" he whispered.

"You," I said softly.

"What else? Stretch it further, past me. Listen to the woods around us. Tune me out."

Moving my head here and there, I listened to the woods around me, tuning him out. It took a moment, but eventually I was able to focus on the sounds further from us. Birds chirped, deer tucking in for the night, small animals scurrying here and there, and crickets as the night engulfed us.

"Tell me."

"Birds."

"What of them?"

"They're chirping, talking to one another."

"Are they calm or alarmed over something? Is their chirping happy?"

I strained my ear wanting desperately to open my eyes and search for the birds. "They're calm, happy with the warmth."

I could hear the smile in his voice. "Good. Very good. Tell me more. Tell me everything…including what you smell now."

Before I answered, I took a deep breath through my nose. A whirlwind of scents assaulted me, making my eyes water. I smelled the rank sweetness of the Cullens, the disease flooding through Caden's blood, my blood. I could smell the different types of animals and insects racing around us, the plants as they tucked their leaves for the night.

"Easy, Shelby. Focus on one scent. Pick one out of all of them. Tell me about it."

Searching through them mentally, I found one that I had become fond of. I smiled. "Seth. The smell of the earth, moss. Musky but not too strong.

"Where is it coming from?"

Another deep breath, scenting the wind. I had to move with the breeze to be able to find it again. "North of us, a few miles up."

Caden was at my ear when he whispered, "Find him."

Snapping my eyes open, it was as if Seth's scent had laid down a trail for me. My feet took off long before my brain had given the order. I dodged into the dark woods, jumping over roots. Limbs and twigs scraped my skin and dragged through my hair but I didn't care. My goal was Seth. His scent became stronger and stronger, thicker, the closer I got to him until suddenly he was right in front of me. I must have been faster than we both thought because he blinked at me as if he was just registering my presence before I pounced playfully on him, taking us to the ground with me on top.

"Got you," I whispered, pressing my lips to his.

Once he got over his shock, he kissed me back as he grinned. His hands moved down to the backs of my thighs and squeezed. "Yes, you did." He pushed me up his chest to press another kiss to my lips, growling slightly.

"You like that, don't you?" I whispered before I clamped my teeth over his lower lip.

His eyes fluttered shut as he groaned. He squeezed my thighs again, but this time downward against his hips. "Like what? That my woman is a sexy as hell predator now? I freaking love it."

Since my "infection", my sex drive had shot up to some strange proportions. It was probably because the feeling of Seth had been so dull when I'd been fully human. Now that my senses were heightened, everything about him was sharper, smoother, less grainy. The feel of his naked skin sliding against mine when we were tangled up in bed felt like fur and silk at the same time. Luxurious and addictive.

He'd also told me that when we'd made love before, he'd had to watch himself, just in case, so that he didn't hurt me. Now, I could see his point. We'd had to move the bed away from the wall to keep it from chipping the plaster and waking Jake and Nessie. Most of the time we ended up on the floor though.

Something had changed in Seth both when we started having sex and after I'd been infected. He was different with me than when we were out around other people. When it was just us, he was more dominant, a little less polite. Our personalities melding seemed to have brought out the dominant male in him, making him want to dominate me, tame me. And I loved and "fought" every second of it.

But my sex drive must have hit the gas pedal for now because all I wanted to do was strip down and roll over the ground with him.

Sensing the heat rising up in me, Seth rolled us so that he was on top. Usually, we fought over it, but I decided to let him win. His hands roamed my body over the thin clothing I had on as I sank my nails into his skin enough to bleed him and dragged them down his arms. Those silky lips of his pressed so hard into my skin that I could feel the edge of his teeth.

"Oh, good grief," a voice said from the trees. "Don't you two ever take a break nowadays?"

I didn't really acknowledge Leah and Caden as they watched us in the dirt and leaves. Seth's teeth were set into my skin and my eyes had closed in pleasure.

He broke away just enough to say, "Go away, Leah. I'm busy." And then his teeth were back on my skin, his hips digging into my core from where my legs were wrapped around his waist.

"Come on, love. Let's let them have a moment," I heard Caden say with a suggestive lilt. I knew where that was heading.

"At the rate they're going, there are going to be little Shelbys and Seths all over the place," she said as they walked off.

Yeah, she was one to talk. She had locked herself into the Clearwater home on the rez with Caden for a week solid. I'd come to find out that he was a very sensual, sexual creature. Every chance he got, he was on Leah. And she loved it. But I was happy for her. She was happier now that he was in her life, and she seemed like less of a bitch.

Seth and I both stopped and leaned back at the same time, staring at each other, breathing hard. I didn't know what his reason was for backing up, but my reason made me chew on my lip. Seth brought up a hand so he could run a finger between my eyes.

"Hey, you ok?" he asked, worry in his eyes.

I nodded, taking his hand in mine and kissing his fingers. "Yeah, just thinking."

"What's up, sweetheart?"

The question I wanted to ask him he'd see as a trap. I knew he would, but it wasn't. I wanted an honest answer.

I chewed on my lip and didn't meet his eyes. "Baby, is-is there something different about me? Like not the infection or whatever. Something else. Something that you've noticed is out of character for me with our without the disease."

There. It was in his eyes. It was that, "Does this dress make me look fat?" question that all guys got trapped into. But that wasn't how I wanted him to take it.

"Seth, there's not going to be a consequence. I just really want to know if there is something."

He sighed and rolled onto his side, leaning on his elbow. With his free hand, he brushed the hair out of my face. "Well, there is one thing." He flinched. "I just don't want you to take it the wrong way, ok?"

I nodded. "Of course. I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to know."

He took a deep breath and gave me an apologetic glance. "Well, you have gained a little weight." There must have been an expression on my face that I didn't intend because he quickly continued. "It's not that I don't like it." He blushed. "I mean, I like having something to hold onto. But it just seems odd. Your metabolism should have kicked up with the werewolf infection, therefore, you shouldn't be gaining weight. I wanted to ask you about it, but I thought you'd get mad."

Smiling up at him, I stroked up the scratches I'd left on his arms. "It's ok. That's what I wanted to know. Anything else?"

His brows furrowed as he thought about it. "Um, you did eat fish the other day. I wasn't quite sure if you knew that or not."

My eyebrows shot up. "Fish?" And then my stomach rumbled. I frowned. "But I don't like fish."

"Exactly," he said, giving me a look. But then his look turned serious. "Shelbs, what's going on? Why are you asking?"

Rolling out from under him and back up onto my bare feet, I held a hand out to him. "Come on. I need to ask someone a question."

"Shelby, what is going on?"

"I'm having a hunch," I said as I led him through the woods, following a recent scent.

"A good one or a bad one? Please don't say bad one."

"Well that would depend. But for you? Probably good. Me? I still haven't decided yet."

Looking back at him, I saw his eyes widen. "Shelby?"

I just shook my head. "Let's find Caden."

But finding him proved very bad for my health. We came into a clearing to find his bare back and ass glowing in the moonlight. His body was moving in a forward and back motion that I was very familiar with. The only parts of Leah that I could see were her legs wrapped around his lower legs and her nails scratching down his back as he pumped forward. The moans and grunts coming from them made me swallow hard and step backward into Seth's chest.

What the hell was it with all this sexual crap going around? Was it still mating season or something? Taking a deep breath, I pushed Seth back into the trees with my back against his chest. Once we were far enough away that we couldn't hear them, I slowed down and took Seth's hand.

"Well, that was a new nightmare I didn't need," he said pressing a kiss to our intertwined fingers. Then he tugged on them, making me turn to face him. "Seriously, Shelby, what's going on? Why did you need to talk to him?" His eyes darted down to my stomach. "Do you really think you're pregnant?"

I squeezed his hand before letting it go. Slightly turning away from him, I rubbed my arms as if I were suddenly cold. And I kind of was but on the inside.

"I just don't know, Seth. I mean, seriously, what is it with all the sex and babies happening?"

I heard him chuckle. "Shelby, it's mating season for wolves. They-we- are happy. It's warm out, food is abundant, and it's play time. And," he came to me, tilting my chin in his direction. "Emily's the only one who's had a baby this year, which is actually a low record for us since more wolves phased and mated. So, please tell me what's going on?"

I sighed and met his eyes. "Before I was attacked in November, I-well-I thought I was pregnant. My theory is that I lost the baby at the attack. Which is totally believable. Of course it doesn't explain why I haven't shifted in all these months, but over the months, I had this urge to follow Caden when he went."

"But?" he prodded gently, taking me into his arms.

Wrapping my arms around his waist, I put my ear against his chest so that I could hear his heart beating. "But this past full moon, my body was completely quiet. There was no urge to shift and run on all fours. I was completely content where I was. What the hell could explain that?"

He took in a breath, but before he could answer, there was a rustle in the bushes just before Caden walked through with Leah not far behind.

"Pregnancy could certainly explain it. You're right that it doesn't explain the months in between of not shifting, but I'd be curious to know that if you are pregnant, what would happen after the pup was born?"

I arched an eyebrow. "Pup?"

He shrugged. "It's been my terminology for years, love. Please, forgive it."

"How long have you been a werewolf?" I asked.

He took Leah's hand and brought it to his lips. "I may look like I'm eighteen, but I haven't been there for a while. Enough about me. Let's talk about you. You said you thought you were pregnant before the attack?"

I nodded, gripping Seth tighter. "That's why I was out in the woods that night. J-Jordan and I really hadn't gone far from the house. I needed to think and then I was going to go find Seth when we were attacked and taken up to that clearing."

He nodded, keeping us on the subject. "And you think you might be pregnant now?"

I caught Leah smiling and glancing at her bother. "What?" I asked.

Her smile turned to a grin. "I can't believe how excited I am at that possibility. And good job, bro. At least we know you're good for something."

"Oh, shut up," he said, blushing and burying his face in my hair.

I squeezed him again.

"Shelby," Caden said, bringing my attention to him.

"Oh, right. Sorry. Um, well, when I asked Seth if something about me was different, he said that I'd gained some weight, which, like he said, didn't make sense since my metabolism should have kicked up." Then I made a face. "And apparently, I ate fish. I hate fish." But my stomach rumbled again at the mention. I told it to shut up.

Caden studied me for a moment, eyes roaming my body. It was nothing sexual, just taking me in. He crossed his arms over his chest.

"How did you know she gained weight, Seth? She looks the same to me," Leah said, the same look in her eyes as her mate.

He blushed again. "I hold every inch of her body in my hands at least once every other day. As the wolf that imprinted on her, I know her. And I could feel the difference."

Caden got a very evil glint in his eye. "Which part is heavier?"

This time when Seth's face turned red, it wasn't from a blush. I stroked his face and neck, calming him down. His fingers dug into my waist. I glared at Caden, who chuckled. Leah just smiled and looked confusedly at the man beside her.

"So her breasts then."

Leah laughed. My face erupted into a blush. Seth just blinked at him. "How'd you know that?"

Caden nodded, the seriousness returning. "When a woman becomes pregnant, one of the first signs of it is enlarged breasts from the milk. It's subtle at first. But as the baby grows bigger, so does the parts of the woman that are needed the most after birth."

"How do you know that?" I asked.

His eyes turned sad as they stared at the forest floor. Leah came up to take his hand and rest her head on his shoulder.

"It's ok, Caden," she whispered.

He smiled sadly at her and shook his head. "I can't hide my past from them forever, love." Then, he looked at us. "I had a family once. I had a mate, a son, and a pup on the way." He closed his eyes and swallowed. "And then they were taken from me. All of them."

I gasped, putting a hand over my mouth as I leaned into Seth. He held me to him, his hand already creeping toward my stomach to protect something that we didn't even know was there. Maybe his instinct told us the answer.

"I'm sorry, man. I couldn't imagine losing Shelby now that I have her. And if we have kids or are about to have one, I wouldn't be able to stand it, losing them." He stepped forward, still holding on to me to hold out his hand to Caden. "Did you get the bastard?"

Caden took the offering, gripping Seth's forearm. "Thank you. And no, I didn't. I came home to find them. But I knew it was a vampire."

"How?" I asked.

"The scent. And I caught a glimpse of the bastard before he took off into the trees, my family's blood all over his face."

He stepped back to wrap his arms around Leah. She'd been standing back to let him grieve for the family he'd lost. It was a sign that she didn't want to give the impression of replacing them.

"I'm so sorry, Caden," I whispered.

He squeezed Leah to him. "It's alright. It happened a while ago, and now I have Leah." He flashed a dazzling smile at her. "She helped me learn to let it all out so I'm not angry all the time over it. But if I ever run into that bloodsucker, I will rip him apart for them and any other family he's torn apart."

"And I know I'd be happy to watch," I said, my own hand creeping toward Seth's. Well, if that didn't support our theory.

"We should get you to Carlisle," Caden said. "If you are pregnant, we need to know."

"We'll wait til Nessie and Jake come back. Shelby will want her best friend there. And I'll want my Alpha and pack brother there."

"Thank you, Seth," I whispered, leaning up to kiss him. He met me halfway. "I love you."

"I love you, too. But tell me something, why aren't you sure that this is a good hunch?"

I chewed on my lip. Nessie and I had already had this conversation and she'd put me in my place. But I just couldn't help but be nervous. Seth understood my silence, though. He stepped back so that he could lean down so we'd be face to face.

"Listen to me, Shelby. You. Are. Not. Your. Mother. Do you hear me?"

His stare was so intense that I almost couldn't meet it. But I managed and was surprised to find strength there. My strength. I gripped his face between my hands.

"Just don't let me do this alone. Please. If I am pregnant, don't leave me," I whispered.

"Never, Shelby. I would never leave you or our baby."

"He wouldn't be able to," Caden said from behind me. I turned to him. "If you are pregnant, the first time you see or hear that tiny baby," he shook his head. "You will kill to get back to Shelby at the end of the day. But I think it's different for us since we have animals living inside us. With wolves, the males rarely leave their pregnant females. And when Alora was still alive and pregnant, I couldn't be away from her without becoming extremely aggressive."

"Was she a wolf?"

He shook his head. "No, she was human."

Leah fidgeted next to him and my heart beat for her. "I'm sorry, Leah."

She smiled. "Don't be. I know the story. And as much as I already love him, I wouldn't wish that on anyone."

"You already love me, huh?" Caden said teasingly.

Leah blushed.

"Well, hallelujah," Seth chimed in.

"Oh, shut up," she said copying her brother's words from earlier. "Come on. Let's get back to the house. We're all starving."

Laughing, we all started walking toward the house. Seth and I shared a look and smile as did Leah and Caden. As we walked, Leah took my hand in hers and squeezed. We were just two female wolves standing between the book ends of our males, finally getting along.

But the whole way back down, I had the weirdest feeling that whatever had happened back in November wasn't even close to over. This happy little peace wouldn't last.

And I might be pregnant when the next wave comes crashing down.

JPOV

Man, that kid didn't wanna go down. Emily had been right. She fell asleep in my arms and wouldn't go into the crib. Eventually I got the idea to wrap her in the blanket and rock her with it against my body. It worked. The blanket had absorbed my heat, so that when I placed her in the crib, she was still out.

Jogging down the stairs, I nearly lost it when I found Nessie on her stomach on the bed, her back bared to the room. She was still in her hiphugger jeans and I could see the skin of where her hips started to slope out into her ass. Didn't that just get me hot under waistband again?

I went to stand next to the bed, right where I could be between her legs if she brought them down. She didn't though, so I gripped the legs of her jeans and tugged her legs down so they were on either side of my hips. She put whatever it was that she was holding down on the bed and turned to look at me over her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

I slid my hands up the backsides of her legs. When I got to the backs of her thighs, I got up onto the bed on my knees. To steady myself, I had to move so that her legs were between my knees, much like she had been earlier.

When she raised an eyebrow at me, I answered with, "Payback," before I slid my hands up over her ass. She arched her hips back to press into my hands with a shaky sigh.

"Jake," she gasped.

"What? Don't tell me you don't want this. If you didn't, you would have changed into your pajamas."

She couldn't argue with me and she knew it, so she just rested on her elbows and watched me. Her hips and butt were my favorites. Though her breasts weren't far behind. She definitely hadn't gotten those from Bells. These curves had to have come from Edward's side. My hands traced the skin just over the line of her jeans the way her tongue had done with me. She'd been so close to places she'd never seen and it had been hot as hell. I decided right then to give her the same payback, but I had other things to do first.

Keeping up with my hands, my eyes followed them as they moved up her sides. When I hit her ribs she shivered because the tips of my fingers had brushed the sides of her breasts where they were pressing out from being squished into the mattress. I stopped and pressed my fingers firmly into her flesh. She bowed her back and arched her hips into me, pressing her ass into my jeans. I growled, wanting more than anything to take her when she was like this. She'd just gotten over Mother Nature's visit and I could sense that this was the prime time to have her.

But I just couldn't do that. So I savagely beat that instinct back. Right now wasn't the time. Not yet.

Instead, I let my hands finish their roaming of her back before I leaned back and press a kiss the slop above her jeans. She gasped and turned around to look at me. I just smiled at her over her skin. Lust was written all over her face as was a dare. I took the challenge and flicked my tongue out over her skin. She had two small dimples just as her hips sloped down and out, and I swirled my tongue over them. Her eyes closed and her fingers gripped the sheets. This was my payback. Slowly, very slowly, I slid my tongue up her spine, tasting her. God, she tasted like honey, minted honey because of her body wash. But I could handle that. She tasted divine, the way a goddess should. And I couldn't believe that she was mine, that she wanted me as much as I wanted her.

When I got to her neck, I wrapped my teeth over her spine there and bit down as I growled. This was what I liked to call her submissive hot spot. As soon as I bit down, her body went limp under mine. When I growled, she whimpered a little bit. The first time she'd done that I had jumped off of her so fast it wasn't even funny. But she'd assured me it was because she liked the feeling of me being on top of her, taking control of her. And she liked that I liked it.

Her body moved, arched, and bowed underneath mine as I sat over her on all fours with my teeth still around her. Slowly, I let her go and pressed a kiss to her skin. She groaned into the blankets. While she recovered, I just sat there and stared at her. I could only see one side of her face but that part was peaceful. Her back rose and fell with the shallow pants but she was smiling.

When she rolled over, I was a little surprised, but then I found that her arm was wrapped over her breasts. Even though we'd had times that she'd be pressed to me bare chested, I've never actually seen her bare and she knew that. She lifted her other hand to my face.

"I love payback."

That was not what I had been expecting and it made me laugh. I kissed her palm as she moved it over my lips. She moved so that she was gripping the back of my neck, pulling me down. I went and met her lips with mine. Her kiss was hungry. I knew that because her teeth nipped at my lips and her tongue traced my teeth. But she pulled away too soon and I groaned.

She wiggled and squirmed to get out from under me.

"Where are you going?" I asked. "I'm not done yet."

"Oh, I know," she said, smiling at me. She used her free hand to scoot up the bed so that she was leaning on the pillows. Watching her lay like that made stare. She was so beautiful with her soft but straight shoulders that led to her perfectly shaped breasts which were barely covered. Her torso was long and lean leading down to flare out at her hips, her flat belly leading down to the juncture of her long legs. Her hair was pulled to one side and back so that she wasn't laying on it but it wasn't in viewing disturbance areas.

My eyes caught the movement of her arm that was covering her. She moved it so that only her arm and one hand were covering her. My eyes narrowed at her suspiciously. She grinned evilly as she moved again, her fingertips barely covering her.

"What are you doing?"

"Testing you."

I opened my mouth to say something. But before I could, she moved her entire arm down to her waist. Baring herself to me. My eyes immediately darted away.

"Nessie, what-,"

"Jacob, look at me."

I shook my head.

"Jacob, I know that you want to wait until later to make love to me. I do understand that. But I don't want us to be two fumbling morons. I know nearly every part of your body, except for that one place. And frankly, I don't want to wait to see it. You want to wait until we're married and such to just see things, but I don't. I want to know what I'm getting myself into."

Quickly, I met her eyes and held them there, trying not to hone in my peripheral vision skills.

"Nessie-,"

There was a challenge in her eyes. "Go on, Jake. Give me a valid argument for why we shouldn't do this. Don't tell me you don't want to." She repeated my words from earlier.

And man, did I want to look down. I wanted to see what I'd been holding and kissing, what had been pressed to my chest a thousand times.

"What's the difference, Jake, between your chest and mine? Other than the fact that I have to wear a bra. Well, I guess I don't exactly have to, but the only reason I'm different than you is because mine are for the use of a child. And to turn males on, but that's not the point. Just because you see my breasts doesn't mean that we have to make love. We both still have our jeans on."

I looked away from her toward the closet door. "Nessie, if I look at you like that, I'll want to touch you."

A moment later, I felt the bed move. Of course. I'd pissed her off so now she was going to get dressed and go to bed. I sighed, feeling like shit.

But before I could wallow in my stupidity, I felt her hand take mine. She lifted it up to place it on her chest, over her heart just above her breast. She'd placed it over the mark that I'd given her there.

"Then touch me, Jacob." Her other hand came up to my cheek, forcing me to meet her eyes. "I'm not scared of this anymore. I won't fight what I feel. Why are you still fighting yourself?"

Dammit, she was right. I was fighting my instinct to be with her because I didn't want to hurt her or have her regret what we do before we get married. I didn't want her to get caught up in the moment and regret me. That would tear me apart.

And she knew exactly what I was thinking. "I won't regret you. Would like to know why?"

I nodded because, frankly, I was curious what her thinking was.

"People only regret doing those things with other people after they break up and realize that what they had hadn't been all that special. But, Jake, I know you're not going to leave me for another woman. In the end, I'd still be giving you myself on the other side of marriage. We both know that neither of us is leaving the other, ever. And I know you're also scared you're going to hurt me. You've said as much. But whether or not we make love now or later, you'll still be worried you'll hurt me. And you know what? I'm just going to tell you now that whether or not you're scared, you'll still hurt me, at least a little."

"What?" I asked, panicking at the inevitability in her voice.

She smiled gently. "Jacob, think about it. When we make love for the first time, you'll be stretching my body. My body doesn't like change. But also, it hurts every woman who's a virgin. There's no way around that, but I'm ok with that."

"You are?"

She shrugged. "I want to make love to you. Once I get used to you being inside me, it won't be bad at all unless we go weeks without doing it and my body goes back to normal, but I doubt that'll happen. Which brings me to my next point. You said you were wanting to learn to control yourself now. Here's your chance because I seriously doubt that we'll be controlling ourselves after we realize how amazing sex is."

We both laughed at that, which was what she was trying to do. Her heart thudded under my palm nice and even. She wasn't nervous.

"You've really thought about this, haven't you?"

Again she shrugged. "Of course I have. I want you to understand. You keep saying that you're listening, but you aren't actually hearing me. Pay attention to my body, to how much I want you. I'm not scared or worried or fighting anymore."

The determination in her eyes suddenly made me see her in a whole new light. She really was a woman now. A woman who knew what she wanted. I was her man. And she saw that better than I did. I was a man, not a boy anymore. It was like even when I had come to the conclusion to man up, I really hadn't, not in every aspect of my life. She was trying to get me to realize that we had nothing to be ashamed of since we both knew that neither of us was going anywhere but right back to the other at the end of the day. We weren't teenagers who had no idea if we were going to make it til tomorrow. We were fiancés, engaged to be married to each other.

Swallowing hard, I leaned forward, kissed her lips, and said, "Lie back again."

Her skin left my hand as she smiled before scooting back over to the pillows. I kept my eyes on hers the whole time, drowning in the love. Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I let it out slow.

Slowly, I opened my eyes and started with her face. She smiled at me in a way that she knew I was fighting with the child in me that wanted to be embarrassed. I shoved that child down as my eyes moved over her bare shoulders, the mark that I'd left over her heart, and finally over her breasts. Once I saw her, I really couldn't understand why I'd made a big deal out of it. I'd kissed, bitten, and licked parts of her even though it had been through a t-shirt. Hell, she'd been bare pressed up to my chest before. Not to mention that my face had been buried between her barely covered breasts. The only parts of them I hadn't seen or touched had been her nipples. Really, what the hell was wrong with me? Had I really thought that I'd lose all my good sense and ravage her the moment I saw something that had once been forbidden?

But God was she beautiful. Perfectly proportioned. The centers were a rosy pink and dainty. I forced my eyes over the rest of her, all the way down to the waistband of her jeans, wanting to explore the rest of her. This must be what she meant about wanting to see all of me.

I knew my eyes had gone dark when I looked at her and she had that knowing smile and look in her eyes. Softly growling, I crawled over to her, my knees on either side of her legs, my hands sinking into the pillows. She brought her hands us to my face and brought our lips together. This time, we were both hungry. I nipped and sucked on her lips and tongues, still growling. I sat back on my knees, technically on her legs, and brought my hands up to her bare shoulders.

"Touch me, Jacob. Please," she whispered.

I moved my lips to her neck as I stroked my hands down her arms and then jumped to her waist. The skin was warm and soft here. I could almost meet my fingers and thumbs around her waist and back. But she was lean muscle, not just skin and bone. She rested her head back against the headboard, her hands stroking over the muscles of my back and shoulders, as I kissed and nibbled her neck. But my concentration was all in my hands. Slowly, I raised them up over her ribs and my thumbs brushed the undersides of her breasts. That soft flesh that I'd started sinking my teeth into through her sleep shirts. She groaned as her flesh came into contact with mine. Her nails scratched down my back.

Not able to be slow anymore, I slid my palms over her, feeling her nipples tighten with the feeling. Her groan turned a sharp gasp followed by a moaned, "Oh, god." I gently massaged my hands over her and her back bowed, pushing her harder into my hands.

If I'd thought other stretches of her skin were soft, the skin here was downright heaven. Ok, I couldn't help it. I needed to taste her. So I experimented and moved my lips down to her collarbone. When she didn't object, I moved to the other side, to the mark over her heart. She still didn't protest and I knew that she knew what I was up to. She'd told me to pay attention to her body. Well, her body was telling me not to stop.

That was the thought that got me hot and made me replace my hand with my mouth, sealing my lips over her with a growl. She let out a surprised gasp and her hips bucked up. She bowed her back even more into my mouth, digging her nails further into my shoulders. This was so much more different than having a shirt between us.

The difference was that the shirt didn't taste near as delicious as she did. Minted honey and something that was just Nessie. A sweet tanginess.

I groaned and then growled when her nails dug into my shoulders, going deep. But I didn't care. Slowly, I brought my tongue into contact, and that was my last straw on the patience. Wrapping my arms around her waist, I kept my mouth sucking on her as I picked her up and laid her back down so that she was flat to the bed. Her legs spread out and I lay between them. My upper stomach pressed to the center of her body and her hips moved, creating a friction.

"Jacob! Oh, god, Jake! Please," she gasped out, snaking her nails up into my hair, pushing my head toward her chest.

While I was busy with one breast, I brought my hand up to explore the other. Instinctively, my fingers played over her nipple. It was tight and taut. And it was strange to think that something I had looked at in the mirror every morning without a shirt was the one thing that I had felt was forbidden about her when she'd seen my chest nearly every day of her life. Not to mention that this just seemed so natural.

But I wanted to experiment, so I bit down slightly. Not enough to make a mark, but enough to put some pressure there. Her body bucked hard and it was her turn to growl. It was time to back off a little. I didn't want to get too carried away. We had yet to discuss how much was too much in the pain area. So I lifted up and pressed a kiss over her.

Looking at her breast got me thinking about the fact that we also had that in common. Sitting up a little, I managed to get my shirt off and look down at my own chest. Really the only difference between us was color. Again, it struck me as odd that I'd felt like it should have been something different, something that I'd never seen in my life, but really I'd been seeing it every day.

"What's wrong?" she panted. Her chest heaved with uneven breaths.

I couldn't help myself. I laughed. "Nothing. We have something in common. You were right."

Her brows came down in confusion until I reached down to stroke my thumb over her nipple and used my other hand to stroke over my own. Understanding crossed her face. She reached up to scrape her nails over me, making me hiss and growl.

"See? Now you know," she said.

Since her nails had found a new home on my chest, I bent down to her other breast, taking it into my mouth and giving it the same attention. Those nails sank into my skin as I sucked her into my mouth, playing my tongue over her. Again, I groaned at the taste.

My hands traveled over her exposed torso, playing with the waistband of her jeans. I wanted so badly to pull them off and explore her. Man, my mouth was getting brave. I decided to cash in my payback, kissing her breast as I had the other one and started moving down.

When I got to the top of her stomach though, she tugged on my hair.

"Stop. Jake, stop." She laughed as I looked up at her with a question. "It's ok, I'm fine. It's just too much to take in. If you keep going I won't be able to handle it without going all the way. Your mouth on my breasts was just so much more amazing than I was anticipating."

That hit me with affection. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Stopping us. I was so caught up that I probably would have gone all the way."

She nodded and smiled. "I know. And I also know that you want to wait." She sat up and took my hands in hers. "Jacob, just because I say that I'm ok with us finishing it doesn't mean that I want to do it right this second. We have time to explore. I'm not trying to rush you by saying I'm comfortable. I'm telling you that so that you know that if you want to explore me, I don't mind."

All I could do was stare at her. "How the hell did I get so lucky? Good god, I love you, woman."

A giggle escaped her. "I love you, too, my big bad wolf." She squirmed out from under me and crawled to the end of the bed. "Now, let's get ready for bed. I'm pretty sure you wore me out."

I was off the bed in two point five seconds, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Stay here. Don't do anything."

Her eyebrows shot up in confusion. "Ok?" The bra in her hand dropped to the floor.

I shot into the closet, quickly stripped down, and pulled on a pair of black boxers. When I went back into the room, she was standing there, her arms wrapped around her stomach. Her breasts were a little pink from all the attention I'd given them. A growl of appreciation and cockiness escaped me with a smirk.

When I stepped up to her, she placed her hands on my chest. "Can I get dressed now?" I shook my head and slid down to my knees, her hands sliding over my skin. "Jacob, what are you doing?"

I wanted to kiss her stomach so bad, but I was keeping to what she said even though we weren't caught up in the moment anymore. But I did reach up and unbuttoned her jeans while I met her eyes. She caught what I was trying to do and her hands went to the back of her panties so that they wouldn't come down with me tugging on her tight jeans. When I got them down to her knees, her hands went to my shoulders so that she could step out of them.

My eyes followed her legs all the way up her body. They stopped briefly at her breasts and then moved up to her smiling face.

"There. Now you're ready for bed," I whispered.

She stroked my face. "But what if Leila wakes up?"

"There's a robe hanging on the closet door or I could go get her."

She leaned down and pressed a kiss to my lips. "I love you so very much, Jacob Black."

"I love you, too, future-Mrs.-Black."

She grinned at me before I rose up and scooped her into my arms, making her squeal. On the way to the bed, I played my mouth over her chest. She playfully slapped the back of my head.

"Jacob! I knew that was a bad idea letting you do that."

"Mmmm," I murmured against her skin before I laid her down.

I pulled the sheets out from under her and put them over her. Then I went to the fireplace. It was always nice to sleep to it so I put some more wood in even though it really didn't need it. Hopefully, that would help it last closer to morning. We'd be up early anyway with Leila. One of us could tend to it then. Turning out the lights, I was even more grateful for the fire. Even with my eyes, I couldn't see in pitch black.

While I was tending the fire, Nessie had been checking the baby monitor, turning up the volume. She and I both were rock-like sleepers, so we needed the volume.

"Everything ok?" I asked as I slipped under the sheets, reaching for her waist.

She set it back on the table. "Yup, still out." Stroking her hand up my arm, she let me pull her up against my body.

I kissed her shoulder, her neck, her cheek, and when she turned to me, her lips. "Love you."

"Love you, too."

Again, I couldn't help myself. I slid my hand up her stomach to grip her breast. I grinned in the darkness against her hair.

She sighed. "This is why you didn't want me in a shirt, isn't it?"

Chuckling, I slid my hand further up to the side of her face so that I could turn her back to me for another, deeper kiss. She rolled over so that she was facing me and got her revenge in digging her nails into my chest as she deepened the kiss even further.

When I groaned, she leaned back with a grin. "Hands to yourself, Jacob, and there will be no need to tease you."

I laughed against her lips. "You little fox. Ok, you win. Let's go to sleep before dawn comes and Leila wakes up."

"Us sleeping is all up to you, dear."

I kissed the tip of her nose. "I'll be good, I promise."

Sighing, she cuddled up to my chest and slipped a leg between mine. She'd been doing that lately to get closer to me. But I didn't mind as long as she didn't start dreaming of playing soccer or karate kicking something. Then, we'd have to have a talk after I relearned how to breathe.

She must have been more exhausted than I'd thought because within moments she was out. Her breathing had evened out and deepened. The tension in her muscles had disappeared. When she shivered, she scooted closer to me, her chest pressing into my upper stomach. That made me shiver, but I reached down to pull the heavy comforter over us. I'd get warm and kick it off during the night, but she wouldn't so I bundled it around her more than me so that I wouldn't kick it off of her.

Not five minutes after she fell asleep, I followed her with the scent of mint and honey enveloping me.

Soooooo, was that enough steam for you guys? It was for me, whew. I had to wipe off my glasses. Teeheehee. Anywhozzle, please let me know what ya think. Reviews help me write faster and they make me happy. xoxoxoxoxo