A/N: Ok, ok, ok, I deserve a smack for leaving it so long between updates, especially with how I left the end of the previous chapter. I hate that I seem to be starting all of these notes with excuses and such, but I feel the need to explain. From my profile, and some of these author notes, you will know that I am teacher, which keeps me crazy busy during usual times. However, at this point I have some extra-curriculum programs that I am running that are taking up so much of my time. They will be over and done with in a month's time, so here's hoping that life settles enough to allow me to post on a more regular basis.
So, thank you to everybody for your patience with me- to those who continue to read this story, and those who add it as a favourite of theirs. But most of all, to those amazing people who take the time to let me know what they are thinking about this fic. I could be having the worst day and your reviews will automatically cheer me up.
Now, the general consensus from the reviews was that Emily was going to turn around and spead the news of what she had just seen. I suppose you should all read on and see whether that is the case...
Music: The Sum of Every Part- The Grates, Make It Last- Kate Miller-Heidke, A Nest for Two- Blinker the Star, No Other- Urthboy
"Please....more....Jake....oh....oh....oh." Leah's thrusts grew more frantic, and he could feel her start to tighten around her fingers. He kept his pace, pushing and rubbing. He watched face contort slightly before she cried out. "Oh fuck!" She thrust against him, milking the climax for all that it was worth. "Jake....oh....god...." She let out a loud sigh, bringing her head down to rest in the crook of his neck. "I think that—"
"Oops!" A familiar voice interrupted whatever she was about to say. "Sorry...I didn't....nobody..." they stammered before stopping short. "Leah? Jacob?"
Leah looked up and her stomach dropped when her eyes met the shocked ones of Emily Young.
It looked like that the secret might be out.
"Oh fuck," Jacob muttered, reaching up to pull down Leah's shirt, as she fumbled with her skirt. "Fuck, fuck, fuck..."
"Oh god...I am so sorry," Emily stuttered. "I just...not enough room...inside," she quickly walked to the spare fridge in the garage and placed a couple of bottles inside. "I'm...uh...leaving," she turned back towards the door.
"No, wait," Leah called out. "Em, please wait." When Emily stopped and turned back around, Leah looked at Jacob, placing a hand on his cheek. "Give us a moment?" Jacob nodded shortly, and walked quickly out the door, unable to look at Emily.
When he had gone, Leah slid off the bench and took a step towards Emily. "I am sorry that you had to see that," she said quietly.
Emily was staring at her, studying her. "How long have you been together?" she asked.
"Um," Leah raked a hand through her hair and moved closer to her. "Well, that depends..."
"Depends on what?"
"Well, we've been 'together' a little over a month, but we have been getting together since your wedding."
Emily's eyes widened slightly. "What?"
Leah sighed as she leaned against the fridge and slid to the ground. She gestured to the spot beside her and Emily followed suit. "This whole thing just started off as a distraction for both of us. A way for us to forget everything else that was going on. I was determined that it was going to stay that way- no complications, no concerns, but...."
"It evolved into something more," Emily finished and Leah nodded. "So, did things evolve naturally, or was there are catalyst?"
"It was Jake," Leah replied. "I would have never...but he opened up to me and I was stupid enough to run. I almost lost him because of that."
Emily's brow furrowed. "Ok, I am assuming that the recent change in you is Jacob related, so he obviously makes you happy. Why would you run?"
"He hasn't imprinted, Emily."
Understanding dawned on Emily's face. "You feared a repeat of Sam."
Leah nodded. "I did." She paused. "A part of me still does," she admitted.
"And yet you are still with him?" Emily inquired. Leah looked at her. There was nothing in her expression except for compassion. Emily was talking to her only as a friend.
"Yes, I am," Leah said. "Like you said, he makes me happy. We understand each other and I trust that he will not deliberately hurt. I know that the two of us together seems crazy—"
"It doesn't seem crazy," Emily interrupted. "Surprising, maybe, but definitely not crazy."
"It's not crazy that I am with a person who I feel will eventually leave me for someone else?"
"We are all scared of something. No relationship is perfect, Leah."
Leah scoffed. "Yeah right," she said, looking pointedly at Emily.
"No relationship," Emily replied firmly. "Not even imprint couples."
"But...but, you and Sam make it look so easy."
"Yes, it is so easy to be with him...and that it part of it," Emily said, tucking a strand of hair behind her. "Sometimes, I wonder what my life would be like had Sam not imprinted on me."
Leah stared at her, agape. "What?" she breathed.
"Don't get me wrong, I love Sam and I love the life that we have together. I would not want to give that up. But, everything just fell into place. There was no excitement, there was no risk. We didn't get the chance to fall in love. Right from the start there was an instantaneous connection, contentment and love. I am not complaining, but sometimes I wonder, what life would be like, had things been different." She looked at Leah. "You and Jacob get to have that. You have your beginning and you get to dictate where you go."
Leah could not help but smile. "I have never thought about it in that way."
"Do you know where the two of you are heading yet?"
Leah shook her head. "We haven't talked about it. Right now, we are just living for now, trying to find time alone. It hasn't been easy."
"I can imagine," Emily said. "It sounds like the two of you need to get away for a few days. What about a camping trip- you always loved camping."
Leah's stomach gave an excited turn at the thought of being alone with Jacob for an extended period time, but it soon dissipated. "And how are we supposed to explain our disappearance to everyone?"
"Well," Emily started slowly. "I'm going out of town in a couple of weeks, to visit some friends. We could tell people that you are coming with me."
Leah's hopes rose slightly. "And what about Jacob?"
"He can just tell people he is going camping alone for a couple of days," Emily said.
"I..." Leah hesitated. "Why are you doing this? Why are you helping me? I haven't exactly been a friend to you."
Emily stood up, offering a hand to Leah. "You had your reasons. Why don't we just call this our new beginning?"
Leah reached out, allowing Emily to help her up. "Thank you...but I am going to have to ask you another favour."
Emily nodded. "What?"
"Jake and I want...we need to keep this between us for now. We're not ready for the reservation to know. I hate asking you to keep a secret, especially from Sam, but—"
"Leah, you don't have to ask," Emily said. "Nobody will know unless you and Jacob want them to."
XXXXX
Leah ran, her four legs pounding the ground, as she concentrated on following Jacob's scent. When she had raised the camping trip idea to him, he had immediately agreed, stating that he knew of place that was perfect- secluded and miles from any area of inhabitation.
Thinking of him waiting for her at the site, Leah sped up, making sure that she kept a tight grip on the leather strap in her mouth. She was enjoying this. It had been too long since she had allowed herself to run like this and she made a note not to deprive herself ever again. The sense of freedom that her sped brought was only thing she liked about being a wolf.
Up ahead she spotted a large blue tent sitting in a small clearing and she slowed herself to a stop. She dropped the bag from her mouth and drew in a deep breath, phasing back into human form. Anxious to see Jacob, she hurriedly threw on a t-shirt and pair of shorts, and walked towards the tent.
There was no one there. She stood on the spot, turning around, taking in the water of the river a few feet away, the fire pit set up near the tent, the esky of food...but there was no Jacob.
"Jake?" she called out, and was suddenly thrown off balance as two arms wrapped around her, crushing her with their force. "Oomph!"
"Hey," Jacob murmured in her ear and she felt his body press up against her back.
"Jake! You scared the shit out of me."
"Sorry," he replied, not sounding the least bit. "I was excited. Can you believe that it is just going to be us for the next two days? No sneaking, no hiding, just us?"
Leah sighed, leaning back into him, a smile breaking out on her face. If only it could be like that all the time. "Now that sounds fucking amazing."
"Damn straight," Jacob replied, turning her around. "Now how about we start making the most of this time that we have together?"
Leah sighed, closing her eyes as she titled her face up towards him. "What did you have in mind?" she asked, anticipating the feel of his lips on hers. But instead, all she felt was the ground beneath her disappear as he swept her up in his arms. Her eyes flew open and she saw that he had taken off in direction of the water. "Jacob, don't you fucking—"
Leah cut off as Jacob hurtled the two of them into the river. A few steps in he let go, tossing her into the freezing water.
When Leah broke through the surface, coughing and spluttering, with her hair covering her face, all she could hear was Jacob's laughter.
"Jacob Black!" she yelled, swiping furiously at her hair. "I ought to..."
"You ought to what?" Jacob laughed even harder, pulling himself through the water so that he could get closer to her.
"Kick your ass, strangle you, withhold certain privileges..." she shot back.
At the last suggestion Jacob stuck out his bottom lip in an exaggerated pout. "Hang on; if you do that, you will not only be punishing me, you'll be punishing yourself."
Leah raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "Not really, I wouldn't be missing out on all that much."
Jacob let out a growl as he grabbed her shirt, pulling her body closer to his. "Not missing much," he said, his voice low and she nodded. He responded by cupping a hand over one of her breasts. Leah fought to keep a straight face, but he started to move his hand slightly, massaging her flesh through her wet t-shirt. His thumb and index finger pinched around her nipple, squeezing it and Leah could not help but inhale sharply. As soon as she did, Jacob released his grip, dropping his hand into the water. "So then I guess you won't miss that..." he said, a sly grin forming on his face.
Leah considered her options for several moments. She wasn't about to let to let him win that easily. So, after giving Jacob a quick wink, she ducked down under the water. Reaching out, she gripped her hands around his Jacob's knees and yanked towards her. As she had hoped, Jacob lost his footing, crashing down under the water. Grinning, Leah broke the surface and waited a few seconds for Jacob to do the same, coughing and spluttering as she had done.
"Good," she said, as he wiped the water out of his eyes. "Now we are even." She clasped her hands behind his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist.
"Uh uh," Jacob shook his head. "Now quite even. Not until you take back that 'not missing much' comment."
"Such a sensitive boy," Leah laughed, as she ground her hips against Jacob, causing him to groan. "But," she dipped her head so that she could whisper into his ear, "you're a sensitive boy who makes me feel fucking amazing. If I could I would apend the rest of my life having you touch me in some way or another."
She heard him inhale sharply, and then his lips brushed across her ear. "Ditto," he said, before angling his head so that he could press his lips into hers.
"Now this," Leah murmured against his lips, "is what I had in mind for this weekend." She ran her tongue along his bottom lip before pushing it into his mouth. Jacob responded eagerly with his own and wrapped his arms around her back. He ran his hands down her spine, before sliding them into the waistband of her shorts. Leah unwound her legs, allowing him to remove them and then reached to the button on his own. She could feel him, hard, beneath the fabric, and moved quickly to undo the fly. She pulled the shorts down, using her feet to help, and then wrapped her legs back around his waist.
Jacob broke away from her lips as he grabbed her hem of her t-shirt. Knowing what he wanted to do, Leah raised her arms up, allowing him to remove her it. In almost the same movement he removed his own shirt. Leah's thoughts briefly crossed to the fact that their clothes were floating away, but she was too far engrossed in the person with her to care.
She trailed her lips along his jaw, making her way to his ear and nibbling lightly on the lobe. "Jacob," she whispered and he shivered. From her breath, she knew, and not the water surrounding him. She pulled back slightly, so that she could look into his eyes. "Fuck me."
Jacob's eyes darkened and he brought his hands to the back of her head, pulling her mouth roughly to his. Leah moaned, revelling in the raw passion behind his movements. She felt Jacob's hands move under her buttocks and left her slightly, allowing him to slide into her.
Leah pulled back from his mouth, and grasped her hands around the back of his neck, to allow herself leverage as she started to move against him. She watched Jacob's face contort with pleasure, as his hands dug into her ass and moved his hips to meet each of her movements with a hard and deep thrust. She loved having him like this- it made her feel so alive. She tilted her head back, allowing herself to be consumed by the sound of Jacob's breaths. Focusing only on the fact that he was filling her wholly, completely.
Thinking that what she had said before was entirely true- that she wanted to spend the rest of her life having him touch her in some way or another. But in the heat of the moment, she failed to recognise the enormity of those words.
All that mattered was him, and her, and their moment together.
XXXXX
"Hmm," Jacob sighed later that evening, as the two of them settled down in the tent. "I think that camping should become a weekly event."
Leah grinned, as she pressed herself up against his body, the sleeping bags they had joined together covering them. Being able to spend an entire night with Jacob was a rare occasion and she was going to savour every moment of this. "I agree, but how do you think we'll go at coming up with excuses every weekend?"
"You raise a good point, Clearwater," he said, "but, there will eventually be a day when we won't be a secret. There will be no need to come up with excuses."
Leah leaned up and pressed her lips onto his jawline. The idea of them being out in the open excited her infinitely, but she knew that neither of them were ready for that step just yet.
"But for now," Jacob continued, "I am happy to live out my fantasies in entirely secret situations."
Leah laughed. "Your fantasies, hey?" she asked and he nodded. "And what fantasies have we lived out today?"
"Well, let's see- you asked me to fuck you. You have never said that, and until today, I didn't even know that I wanted it. But know...just to let you know, you have opened a can of worms. I am thinking about all the places and—"
"Jake!" Leah slapped him lightly on the chest. "Are you going all perv on me?"
He simply looked down at her, a cocky expression on his face. "Are you telling me that your mind is completely clean and G-rated at the moment?"
Leah grinned. "There is no such thing as G-rated when I am around you," she said and he let out a laugh. "And since that is the case, keep going. Has any other fantasy been achieved?"
He nodded, and looked down at her, nothing but pure adoration on his face. "The water. I have wanted to have you wrapped around me in water ever since you made that first 'suggestion'. Now, First Beach is the goal at the moment, but today was a pretty fucking good warm up."
Leah propped herself up on an elbow, one of her hands splayed against his chest. "So, what other little fantasies have you got stored in that head of yours?"
"Oh, the usual- you tying me up, me tying you up, food, toys...threesome with some hot actress from Hollywood..."
"Hmm, they all seem pretty vanilla to me," Leah teased, running a finger up and down his sternum. "Thought that you would want to be a little more adventurous."
"Ok then- you tell me yours," Jacob challenged.
"Well, there is this one," Leah started slowly. Jacob raised his eyebrows at her, egging her to continue. She did not reply straight away and instead manoeuvred herself so that she was straddled across his stomach. From that position, she smiled down at him, biting her bottom lip. She wasn't entirely sure how he was going to respond to this.
"You chickening out on me, Leah?" Jacob asked.
"Never," she shot back.
"Then..."
"Well," Leah placed both her hands on his shoulders, leaning forward slightly. "It involves you...and me..." she leaned down even further, so that her lips were brushing against his ear, "...in wolf form."
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Jacob let out, grabbing her by the upper arms and pushing her up so that he could look at her. Shock was written all over his face.
"What?" Leah let out, irritated by his reaction. "Are you going to honestly tell me that it has never even crossed your mind?"
"Of course it's fucking crossed my mind!" Jacob exclaimed. "I just thought you would rip my head off if I even dared to suggest it."
Leah suddenly realised that his shock at her admission was not out of disgust, but excitement. She felt him let lessen his grip on her, and wrap his arms around her back, pulling her down so that her head was pillowed on his chest. She closed her eyes, listening to the sound of his heart echo underneath her.
"Why did it take us so fucking long to get our acts together?" he asked quietly. "So much time wasted on other people and insecurities and whatever other bullshit was going on."
"Who cares," Leah murmured. "We're both idiots- we know that more than anyone. But now we are here and there is nobody judging or commenting or making suggestions on how we should live. Let's not worry about wasted time- let's just be thankful that we got our acts together at all."
XXXXX
The following evening was tinged with a hint of melancholy. Jacob sat by the fire, staring at the crackling flames. He and Leah would have to return home the following morning and two days of nothing but each other's company was going to make it incredibly hard. The weekend had shown him just how much he loved being in her company...and just how much he wanted this thing with her to last.
"Hey," Leah said, sitting down next to him. He lifted an arm, allowing her to nestle in close. "You have your thinking face on."
"Just mulling things over...the cogs are turning, trying to think of ways for us to meet when we get back home."
Leah groaned. "How about we just run away forever. Just the two of us and nobody else. We can live like fugitives for the rest of our lives."
While his expression did not show it, Jacob was surprised, as he had been several times on this trip. In their time together Leah had rarely mentioned a future between them. He was more than aware why and he supported her by trying to keep things between them as much in the present as possible. But, in the short time they had been away, Leah had said several things that lent to the idea of them having a future together. Even if she was joking, as she was now, it still gave him hope.
"Leah," he looked down at her. "What do you want to do with your life?"
She blinked, the seriousness of the question stumping her slightly. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, what do you want to do as a career, where do you want to go, what do you want to experience?"
In that instant Leah's eyes started dancing with excitement. "Everything. I want to do everything."
"Everything?"
She laughed lightly. "Not literally, but I don't want to be one thing," she started to explain. "First of all, I need to get off La Push, out of Washington...out of the United States. I've always wanted to travel the world, working my way around, experiencing and learning everything I can. I want to be a bar tender in London and a fruit picker in Queensland. I want to drink vodka in Moscow and eat a croissant in Paris. I want to learn to say 'hello', 'goodbye' and 'thank you' in dozens of languages. I want to study meditation techniques whenever I can, because let's face it; I do need to learn to calm down. There is such a big world out there, and I want to experience every part of it before it's too late." She paused. "That is what I have always wanted to do...the plan was to leave as soon as possible."
Jacob couldn't help but smile as he listened to her talk. "What stopped you from leaving then? You could have been long gone by now."
Leah shrugged. "Sam was never going to leave La Push. It was his life. I was so in love that I convinced myself that it was just a pipe dream. When he left me, I fell apart. I didn't want to leave in such a miserable state- imagine what that would have done to my experience. Then dad started having some health problems and mum was so worried, I couldn't leave her. And well, then the whole wolf thing put a kibosh on the plan. I mean, could you imagine if I was on a plane and got angry at the hostess or something? Phasing mid air sounds like a plot line from a B-grade horror film."
"But you are controlling yourself now, Leah," Jacob pointed out. "You could manage it."
"I know," Leah admitted. "But you see, lately, the plan has kind of evolved."
"How do you mean?"
She looked down at the ground, unable to face him. "I don't see myself doing this alone...I see myself doing this with you." She drew in a deep breath. "Sometimes I see us doing other things- staying on the rez, living in another state...but whatever it is, you are there with me, Jacob."
Jacob placed a finger under her chin, tilting it upwards so that he could look her in the eyes. "I am not just saying this, but I have always wanted to travel. Granted, the lure for me was looking at and getting into different cars in different countries, but I never envisioned that I would stay here forever. And I would fucking love to see you picking fruit."
Leah's eyes widened. "You would do that with me. You think that we could do that together."
"Leah," Jacob said, lowering his lips to hers. "We can do whatever the hell we want."
She was still smiling when their mouths pressed together. For the first time, the thought of a future with Jacob actually brought hope.
