This chapter marks a new beginning for our vampires. Bella and Jasper are stronger than ever, the other couples could use a bit of work. We need the family to have a tight bond in order to face the second demon so we'll be giving them a bit of time to work on their issues. Of course, these are my vampires so they'll be enjoying life at the same time.
I'd like to thank each and everyone of you for the support you've given me throughout this story. I truly appreciate every review, message, fave, and alert. You can hang out with your choice of vamp and take in a movie with nose plugs, of course.
This story is AU/OOC.
All characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. She can't have Rex and Amanda though, they're mine. No copyright infringement intended.
Mature readers 18+ only.
Five Years Later...
Riley's POV
Life can change tremendously in five years. That statement was especially true when it came to our family. We were moving today, this time to live and work in the New York City's Tri-State Area. We held out as long as we could in Boston, but we had all been leading our lives there for over thirteen years so it was time for a change. The humans around us were all aging, but our family stayed youthful and vibrant looking.
The family dynamics had changed considerably. For one, Eleazar and Carmen were no longer in the area. They were living in Argentina where they could converse in their native Spanish for a while. They planned on spending half of their time in Argentina and half of their time in this area—they purchased a small apartment in Brooklyn for that purpose.
Rex, Tanya, Garrett, and Kate purchased a house in Fairfield, Connecticut where they would commute to various jobs from. Irina, Laurent, Vicky, and I chose to stay with Carlisle and Esme in the neighboring town of Westport, Connecticut along with Edward, Amanda, Mike, and Alice. Peter and Charlotte and Rose and Emmett each purchased their own homes in New Jersey. Peter and Charlotte opting for Far Hills while Rose and Emmett bought a small house in Fort Lee. Vicky was tickled pink because she herself had been born and bred in neighboring Edgewater, New Jersey as a human.
Then there was Bella and Jasper. The two of them had taken off immediately after they received their master's degrees from Harvard. I missed them tremendously, of course, but I knew they needed to spend time getting to know each other after the rocky first few years of their marriage. They ended up moving to the emirate of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates of all places. We asked them how they could live in such a sunny area and they responded by saying that it was actually quite easy. They simply dressed in traditional Arab robes and head scarves. This covered them from head to toe and allowed them to go out on even the sunniest of days. Most of the parking lots were covered and the windows on their Range Rover were tinted pitch black. Ironically, the two of them felt as if they had more freedom there than anywhere else in the world.
Jasper being Jasper purchased an enormous villa from a sheik that had high security and every amenity imaginable to the mind. Case in point, he even had a helicopter landing pad on the roof. Over the last four years, we all took turns visiting them. The key was coordinating with their schedule so we could catch them when they were in the country. They spent an enormous amount of time traveling around the world and a month each year visiting their friends in India—Emmett and Rose usually joined them there.
I could see why they enjoyed Dubai though. Heck, if I could afford it, I'd live there too. Dubai was a modern, bustling hub of business with an incredible nightlife and one of the most incredible shopping malls in the world. The shopping mall even had an indoor ski slope and an ice skating rink. To top it all off, the desert heat in Dubai actually felt soothing on our frigid, vampire constitutions.
While in Dubai, Jasper decided to concentrate on his assets and investments for fun. Who the hell does that for the sake of fun? According to Peter, he more than doubled his net worth in four years time. I shuddered to think about how much that actually was. Peter said that if it were a race, Jasper could probably run circles around even the Volturi. He played with some of Carlisle's, Peter's, and even the million dollars each that Carlisle was holding for me and Bella plus my 401K. He was able to almost triple our money for us with his shrewd investments.
As much as they enjoyed Dubai, Jasper and Bella missed living in the United States. They were finally coming home sometime this summer. This time, they were going to live in their luxurious Upper East Side house in New York City. I was excited to see them and couldn't wait to give my kid sister a hug.
The last time I saw her was a year and a half ago on the ten year memorial of Charlie's passing. Peter, Bella, and I celebrated his memory by going to a University of Washington Huskies football game then visited his grave site. We were stunned out of our boots when we got there and ran into Billy Black. The conversation that ensued was interesting to say the least.
"Bella, Riley—how are you?" Billy asked us.
"We've been well, thank you, Billy." I responded. "We're just visiting Charlie. It was ten years ago today that we lost him."
"I know—that's why I'm here. He was my best friend from the time we were babies. Our mothers would throw us in a playpen together while they sat and had coffee." Billy said.
"You knew Helen?" Peter asked, hopefully.
"Of course I did. She was like a second mother to me. She was the one that forced me to stay in high school when I wanted to drop out. She was the one that came after me and Charlie with a fly swatter when we were caught smoking cigarettes in high school—not a pleasant experience when she did it in front of our whole football team. Helen was a phenomenal lady. I'm sorry, who are you?"
"My name is Peter. I'm Helen's father." My great-gradfather introduced himself.
Billy Black was stunned silent. He soon recovered and simply said, "You're Peter Piper."
"I am." Peter admitted.
"Charlie used to be so proud of the fact that he was Peter Piper's grandson. Charlie had a speech problem when he was a boy and Helen being a teacher taught him the 'Peter Piper' tongue twister. She'd always tell him to make you proud because you were watching over him from heaven. In fact, when we were growing up, her favorite way of discouraging us from doing something naughty was to tell us that we wouldn't want to disappoint Peter Piper." Billy explained.
"Thank you, Billy." Peter said, gratefully.
"You're welcome. I'm just happy that Bella has her family to look after her for eternity. I was worried about her well being. Now that I know that she's with her great-grandfather and her brother, I can rest easy." Billy said.
Bella came out from behind Peter and gave him a hug. "Thank you, Billy."
"I miss him." Billy cried to her. "He was my best friend. There will never be another Charlie Swan again."
"No, there won't be, but he loved you like a brother, Billy." Bella soothed.
Something miraculous happened then. A ray of sunshine hit Charlie's tombstone and the four of us were blanketed by warmth. Later, Bella told us that she experienced a similar phenomenon when she was visiting Charlie's grave with Jasper. We left Forks after that. Peter and I returned to Boston while Bella flew to Tokyo where Jasper was waiting for her. Neither of us had seen her since then, but we'd talk often on the phone and send frequent emails to each other. All I knew was that I couldn't wait to see Bella.
Bella's POV
"Bella!" My husband was calling me from somewhere in the house.
"I'm in our room!" I called back.
"Oh there you are. Guess what?"
"What?" I asked.
"I went to the laundry room to throw in that load of laundry and we don't have a washer and dryer in our house." Jasper stated.
"Huh. Really? That's odd. I walked downstairs to check it out for myself and sure enough the laundry room was empty. Esme must have forgotten to put them in when she set up this house for us all those years ago.
"Okay, guess we're not doing laundry today. What should we do now? Maybe we should go visit the family." I suggested to my husband. We'd been back in the States for a week and we still hadn't seen the family. Every time I suggested it, he would dance around the subject. It was almost as if he didn't want to see them.
"I have an idea. Let's go purchase a washer and dryer." Jasper suggested with false enthusiasm.
"Jasper, it's four in the morning. There's no way we can purchase a washer and dryer at this hour." I said.
"Well the stores open in five hours. If we walk at human speed. We'll be there just in time."
"And where exactly are you planning on walking to? New Jersey?" I asked. "Jasper, what's wrong? You've been skirting around the issue of seeing the family for a week now."
Jasper sat down and grimaced. "I don't want it to end. I was happy in Dubai with just you."
"I was happy too, but we can't keep avoiding them. Like it or not, they are our family. Besides, we're the only ones that live in New York City. Everyone else lives in Connecticut and New Jersey—we don't have to see them every day." I pulled him in for a hug.
Four years in Dubai was like paradise for us. For the first time, neither of us had to answer to anyone else and we were actually able to spend the time getting to know each other. I mean, really know each other.
Every once in a while, some of the family would come and visit us. Jasper pointed out how nice it was to be able to see them with the knowledge that they were leaving in a couple of weeks. I had to laugh at that one. I also agreed with those sentiments.
"Jasper, things are going to be different this time. Esme and Carlisle live in Connecticut. They don't even have rooms for everyone. Their house is much smaller than the monstrosity she had in Amherst. On top of that, Peter and Char and Rose and Em live all the way over in New Jersey. They're actually two states away from Connecticut. I, for one, don't plan on any overnight visits. I'm through with that." I explained. "Besides, we've been away on our own for four years. I'm sure they aren't expecting things to go back to the way they were before we left."
"You're probably right. It's just that I'm happy being with just you." He said, kissing me. I don't know how it happened, but I was suddenly pinned underneath my mate completely naked with him sheathed inside of me.
"How the fuck did you do that?" I asked.
"Language, Bella." He chuckled, then made love to me.
A few hours later, Jasper and I were scouring the internet and the phone book trying to figure out where to purchase a washer and dryer in New York City. It wasn't an easy feat. There were clothing stores, electronic stores, even toy stores, but finding a place that sold major home appliances seemed next to impossible.
"Don't they have a Sears or something that we can go to?" I asked.
"I found one. It's in Brooklyn." Jasper said. "Let's go."
We found ourselves in the appliance department at Sears talking to an overly helpful salesman who was aching to make a commission off of his sale. "Listen, Harry, we just want a washer and a dryer. It's that simple." Jasper said.
"Well, do you want a top loading washer or a front loading washer?" Harry asked.
"Front" I said at the same time Jasper said, "Top."
So, it began. Jasper and I started having a full blown argument in the middle of Sears as to which type of washing machine to get. I argued that a front loading washer was more energy efficient. Jasper argued that he felt that our clothes got cleaner with a top loading washer. Poor Harry was caught in the middle of our argument. He actually went on lunch break while the two of us were still arguing about which washer to get. By the time Harry got back from his lunch, we had settled the argument. I won this one after I used the argument that a front loading washer was newer technology. I also told him that he could pick whatever brand he wanted. Naturally, Jasper picked some fancy German brand—I would have been happy with just Kenmore, but Jasper being a typical male has to have the best of the best and the newest of the new.
We cashed out of Sears and decided to check out Brooklyn before heading for home. It was an interesting part of the city. Ethnically diverse and extremely eclectic. If I were still human, I would have loved to check out all of the restaurants. This was definitely a place that I'd have to explore with Rex.
"Bella, we have to buy a car." Jasper said. We had sold his Corvette and my truck before we left the United States four years ago.
"Yeah, I know. I don't think we need two vehicles though, do you?" I asked.
"No, we were fine with one vehicle in Dubai and even in Cambridge we took one or the other. What kind of car should we get?" He asked.
"Don't know. Not a stick shift—I hate those." I said.
"How about another Range Rover? You liked the one we had in Dubai." Jasper suggested.
"I'm fine with that. Those were really comfortable to drive. I have a feeling that the only time we're gonna be driving is when we visit the family out of state and when we go on road trips anyway—so I'm fine with anything. We don't have to get anything so fancy." I said.
"Yeah, we do. I like fancy." Jasper admitted.
"Okay." I said. I learned to pick and choose my battles. Arguing about things I could care less about like cars weren't worth the battle with Jasper. I could drive a beat up ol' truck and be happy. Jasper, on the other hand, had his freaking male ego that seemed to make it's presence known at times like these.
A few hours later, we were the owners of a brand new Range Rover with windows tinted to the legal limit and whatever the hell extras that Jasper had put in. It was being delivered to our house in two days time—same as the washer and dryer, after which we were going to visit the family.
Two days later...
Jasper's POV
"Are you ready to go, baby?" I asked my wife. I really didn't feel like going to Connecticut, but she was right. It's been ten days since we've been back in the States and we really couldn't put off seeing the family any longer. We called them yesterday to tell them that we'd be stopping by later today.
We pulled into a beautiful, secluded waterfront estate. This was a change from Esme's norm. She generally picked out homes that were located in the middle of the woods. This was nice, really nice.
We rang the doorbell and were immediately pulled into hugs by Amanda and Vicky. We walked inside and noticed everyone was there to see us. Pete, Char, Rose, and Em had come all the way from New Jersey while Garrett, Katie, Rex, and Tanya had driven from neighboring Fairfield, Connecticut. We all sat in Esme's huge living room to catch up. I pulled Bella onto my lap—I needed to feel her close to me. I don't know what it was, but I was completely nervous being around the family. I actually felt uncomfortable around them. Maybe it was the fact that we'd been away from them for four years. I don't know, it just felt weird being around them.
Garrett broke the ice. "So, Jasper. Rex and I started a new War Room for us at our house in Fairfield. We were just waiting for you to get back to break it in."
"That's awesome, man. When do I get to see it?" I asked.
"Anytime. Rex and I don't work during the summer. It's one of the great perks of teaching." He said.
Everyone was working—well, almost everyone. Rose and Pete had opened up another auto repair shop in New Jersey.
Garrett, Rex, and Vicky were teaching at high schools in Connecticut. Vicky was a math teacher while Rex taught history and P.E. Garrett simply taught history.
Emmett, who had earned his PhD in Computer Science at MIT was now a college professor in that same subject at Rutger's University in New Jersey. I couldn't quite grasp my mind around that image.
Esme had started another design firm in Manhattan—apparently, it was taking off just like the one in Boston had. Carlisle had Vicky suggest to Esme to concentrate more on her design business rather than on being an overprotective mother. It was working wonders. He started this as soon as the master's bite was inflicted and every six months or so, Vicky gives Esme a reminder. Not in a painful, violent way, but she somehow managed to figure out how to work with Esme's subconscious so that she had no idea that the master's bite was actually being utilized. I'd have to ask her how she does this because that's a skill that could come in handy.
Amanda and Tanya had opened up their own clothing boutique in Westport, Connecticut. They sold trendy clothes for men and women and they had a special section with fun t-shirts.
Laurent had opened up his own fitness studio where he taught martial arts, zumba, yoga, and a whole slew of other activities there all day. Katie actually worked for him as an instructor.
Irina found a job at a non-profit organization helping homeless people get back on their feet. She really had a big heart and the job was perfect for her.
Alice worked at Walmart as a store manager. She actually enjoyed it and was hoping to eventually get promoted to district manager.
Charlotte was working at what everyone coined as an upscale adult store in Manhattan. I mean, honestly, how upscale can a sex toy store be? Regardless, she loved her job and that's all that mattered.
Mike and Edward actually opened up a Newton's Olympic Outfitters here in Westport, Connecticut. The business was taking off and people liked the idea of having personal service at an outdoors store instead of the bland, generic feel of somewhere big like Bass Pro Shops. Frank, Mike's partner, wanted to retire and sold his twenty percent share in Newton's Olympic Outfitters back to Mike. Mike then sold a forty percent share in the company to Edward. Apparently, between the two of them, they were constantly flying back and forth between the Pacific Northwest and Connecticut. Newton's Olympic Outfitters was a huge hit on both coasts.
Riley, of course, was now a physician at a hospital in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He was starting out as a young doctor fresh out of residency so he could stay as long as possible. I asked him if he missed being a psychologist.
"Are you kidding?" Riley chuckled. "I'm counseling enough people in our family that I haven't even had a chance to miss it."
We, then, got to Carlisle. Carlisle Cullen—the man who for as long as I've known him has been a physician in the emergency room said, "I'm actually trying to figure out what to do. I want to take a little break. Maybe go to college for once. What about you, Jasper? What are you going to do?"
"Don't laugh, okay? I've actually enrolled in the Building Trades program at Bronx Community College. I'll be learning everything from carpentry to plumbing to electrical—even boiler repair." I admitted.
Of course, my family being who they are all started chuckling. Bella and I had actually discussed this and decided that since it bothered me so much that I wasn't good at home repairs maybe I should take classes in it. It actually was a good idea and I was excited to start in the fall.
"Well, Jasper, I think it's a mighty endeavor you're undertaking." Carlisle said. "I just need to find something for me to do now. Bella, what are you doing?"
"I'm going back to school." Bella said. "I'm majoring in English at Columbia. You know how much I love to read and write. I thought I'd do something about it—take a break from history."
Bella's decision to go back to school had shocked the hell out of me. I thought for sure that she would want to start working considering she had been so adamant about earning her keep in the past. Something happened while we were in Dubai that made her realize that she really didn't have to work. So, when she approached me in May with a tuition bill for Columbia I was rendered speechless. I paid it, happily, of course, but I was still perplexed as to why she'd want to go back to school after insisting that she wanted to work.
I had asked her then and she replied with, "Did you want me to work? I can, if you like."
"No, no." I had said. "I was just curious as to why you want to go back to school all of a sudden."
Bella smiled at me, then. "I think we have more than enough work managing our assets and investments, don't you?"
Finally, she got it. That's what I had been trying to tell her all this time. In Dubai, I had Bella take more responsibility in our finances. I think she finally realized how much time and attention this all took. Not only was I working with our assets, I was helping Carlisle, Pete, and Riley build up theirs as well. It was pretty much a full time job. All I knew is that I was grateful for that MBA I earned about thirty years ago, it sure helped me in managing our finances. Speaking of which, I'd have to send Bella to school for an MBA eventually—maybe I'll go with her. It's a fun course.
Esme decided to take us on a tour of her house. It was beautiful. At 11,000 square feet it was considerably smaller than the Amherst house. She had seven bedrooms—five of which were occupied plus two guest bedrooms. There was a swimming pool and an indoor tennis court and a hot tub outside. Apparently, Rex at one point in his life was a certified tennis pro so he was giving everyone tennis lessons now. He asked Bella and I to join him the next time he taught. I was having enough trouble picturing vampires playing tennis let alone give him an answer. Wouldn't we destroy the tennis balls with just one swing?
Fortunately, Bella stepped in with an answer. "Sure, Rex, it might be fun. Just to let you know, I'm not exactly athletically inclined. I got straight C's in high school gym."
"She's not kidding. Bella sucked in gym." Mike confirmed. "It was nice watching her titties jiggle while she was attempting to play sports though."
"Michael!" Alice whacked him in the head. "I'm sure Bella doesn't want to hear about how you were ogling her breasts during gym class in high school."
"That's okay, Alice, I never paid attention to Mike during gym class. I was too busy staring at Trent Compton's abs." Bella said.
"What?" I asked at the same time as Mike.
"Ooh, I remember him." Alice said. "He was hot for a human."
"Oh, yeah." Rose agreed, licking her lips. "Perfectly chiseled abs and that ass. Kind of made ya want to reach out and spank it."
"You know, I don't understand what was so great about Trent Compton." Edward said. I agreed. What the fuck was so hot about that geezer?
"I didn't notice anything special about him." Emmett piped in.
"Are you kidding? His body was like the male equivalent to Jessica Stanley's tits." Bella stated.
"Yeah, those were great tits." I mused. "Actually, every male who attended Forks High lusted after those tits."
"And my cock's actually been locked in between those melons." Mike said proudly. Alice beat him on the head a couple of times. "Ow! I'm sorry, honey! You don't have to get all violent!"
Mike really was a way better husband to Alice than I ever was. The two had gotten married before we left for Dubai. Would you believe it? Bella was Alice's maid of honor and I was Mike's best man. I thought it was a hoot. Who would have actually thought that we would have reconciled our relationship that much?
Alice had gotten much better with her spending. Earning her own keep at Walmart helped tremendously. She now understood the value of money—ironically, more than I did. Alice now dressed exclusively in clothes from Walmart. She also reworked her designer clothes and made them trendier. Vicky helped her using her stellar sewing skills.
"I don't mean to change the subject, especially since this Jessica Stanley person seems to have magnificent breasts, but Rex and I are going to Philadelphia in a couple of weeks. We're gonna tour all the Revolutionary War Sites and we also have to sign up for next year's Valley Forge Re-enactment while we're there. Are you in?" Garrett asked me.
"I'm in, for sure." I said excitedly.
Bella chuckled at me. I guess I was worried about nothing before coming here.
"Hey, can I tag along?" Emmett asked. "Those re-enactments seem like a lot of fun. I want to give them a try."
"The more the merrier." Rex stated. "The re-enactment isn't until February though. We're just touring Philadelphia."
"So, Bella and I are going out." Rose declared. "We'll be back in three to four hours. Don't follow us."
"Can I come?" Peter asked.
Rose and Bella looked at each other.
"Eh, why not. Come on." Rose said.
The three of them were gonna hustle pool, that's what they were gonna do. I wasn't planning on following them. I learned my lesson about being possessive about eight years ago. Nope, I sure as hell wasn't gonna follow them. Besides, Pete was with them and he would never, ever let any harm come to any woman that was with him—especially his great-grandbaby.
"Come and see the store." Mike said. "Em hasn't seen it yet either. We took a page out of Bass Pro Shops and spiffed up the displays a little. Anyway, I think you'll like our stock. Carlisle just purchased a fishing boat off of us. He's taken to fishing lately."
Well, that's news. I wonder what's up with Carlisle? First he gives up practicing medicine and now he's taken to fishing? It just wasn't like Carlisle to be so...so...relaxed? Would that be the word for it?
The men all decided to check out Mike and Edward's new shop. They had been in business for about close to six weeks and were doing really well. They had spent the six months prior to moving from New Hampshire driving to Westport on the weekends to set up their store.
"Mike, Edward? Why do you guys have a yoga display in your store?" Emmett asked.
"That was actually Laurent's idea. He pointed out that forty percent of his yoga students were male, but there weren't enough man-centered yoga equipment available for purchase in standard stores. Anyway, the yoga equipment is our third best selling merchandise. Camping is first, fishing is second, then yoga, and hunting." Edward explained.
"Yoga beat out hunting?" I was appalled. Apparently so was Emmett cause he had his hands on his hips and he had a deadly scowl on his face.
"You should give it a try." Edward said. "You, Pete, and Em are the only guys in our family that don't do yoga. Even Garrett comes to yoga classes."
Uh, yeah, that's cause Pete, Em, and I are real men. We aren't seeking to be feminized anytime soon. Thank you very much.
"I'll think about it." I said. "Show me your rifles."
Two hours later...
"Carlisle, can we store this stuff in your garage? Bella and Rose will kill us if they found out we purchased this much. They don't like the idea of us hunting anyway." I explained.
"If you knew your wives wouldn't approve, why did you go out and purchase so much of this stuff." Carlisle asked.
Em and I both shrugged. The fact was that whenever either of us saw an outdoor equipment store, we'd go nuts buying everything from left to right without even thinking about it. Fortunately, Mike and Edward sold everything to us wholesale, but still Bella and Rose were gonna flip their shit as soon as they saw this stuff.
"What wouldn't we approve of?" Rosalie narrowed her eyes at us as she walked into the garage with my equally ferocious looking wife.
"How the fuck were you two planning on keeping a fishing boat a secret from us?" Bella asked.
"I don't know." I shrugged my shoulders.
"I don't mind you two fishing, but why all the secrecy?" Rose questioned.
"It's just that you girls got upset the last time we went to Bass Pro Shops and bought a lot of stuff."
"That's cause you two bought hunting gear. We didn't see the point in vegetarian vampires hunting live animals." Bella explained.
Well, fuck, I wasn't about to tell my wife about the two rifles and ammo that Em and I purchased for our next hunting expedition. Hell, Garrett and Rex were coming with us. We'll just stash that shit at their house.
"Nah, honey, we're into fishing now. Just like Carlisle is." I grinned at Bella. She looked suspiciously at me. "In fact, you and Rose should come with us this weekend."
Both of their jaws dropped. "Um, no, Bella and I have plans this weekend." Rose lied.
"Yeah, we're going shopping this weekend. That's right. Shopping." Bella said.
Pfft! Bella willingly shopping? Yeah, right. Since I was lying too and Emmett wasn't exactly admitting to his hunting purchases either, I decided to go with it. "Oh, good. Where were you girls gonna go shopping?"
"At the Short Hills Mall in New Jersey." Rose answered confidently. Yep, things were back to normal alright. Rose and Bella covered each other for the bullshit they spouted just like Em and I did for each other. That's right, Em and I were back to being real men cowering behind our intimidating wives.
"We still have two months left in the summer. Are we going to India soon?" Emmett asked.
Em got along really well with Sahil. The two of them would go on hunting trips that lasted for days. Once, they even ventured all the way into Sri Lanka.
I snapped my fingers then. "Shit. That's what I meant to tell you guys. I just got an email from Amar. They want to come and visit us this summer. Amar and Sahil have been taking the girls out in public more to test out their bloodlust. They're pretty sure they'll be okay. They were even able to hop a flight to Calcutta, do some shopping, then fly back."
The last time we visited our Indian friends, it occurred to me that their women had not been exposed to humans since becoming vampires four hundred years ago. Their bloodlust was completely untested. Amar and Sahil dealt with humans frequently with their tea business, but the girls were completely sheltered and rarely left the palace.
"Well, that'll be cool. They're gonna freak when they see how small our bathrooms are, though." Emmett stated.
"No kidding. I'm not so sure if Amar will understand that he has to actually wash himself." I added.
"I don't understand." Carlisle seemed really confused. The four of us explained how Amar and family kept to the ways of a four hundred year old maharajadom. Is there such a word as maharajadom? Hell, I wasn't the one majoring in English, Bella was. I'll let her figure this shit out.
"Interesting. I'm looking forward to meeting your friends." Carlisle stated. "It's rare for me to be able to meet vampires older than I am."
"So, Dad, why aren't you working?" Bella went straight for the gusto.
Carlisle sighed. "I have no idea. I kind of lost steam somewhere along the line and I realized that I've never really taken time off for myself. Do you realize that I don't even have a single degree?"
"What?" The four of us all shouted at once.
"But you're a doctor. A really good one." Bella said. "I know this for a fact. You were my doctor in Forks."
"It's true. I've never actually been to college or medical school. All of my medical training was done on the job and through observation. Medical schools didn't even exist until the 20th century and by then, I had more knowledge than most of the professors at medical schools."
"Um, I'm going to Columbia in the fall. Maybe you should come to school with me." Bella suggested.
Yeah, maybe that's a good idea. Carlisle needs to get out into the world a little more and he needs all the help he can get. Bella would be perfect for him plus it would give me peace of mind knowing that Carlisle was with her.
"I might just do that." Carlisle nodded his head. "Yes, I just might."
Well good. Just then, I noticed that my mate's eyes were pitch black. It dawned on me that we hadn't been hunting since arriving back in the States.
"Hey, Carlisle, where can we go hunting around here?" I asked. Midtown Manhattan may actually prove to be a problem. It wasn't like Cambridge where we could run to a rural area in no time if we needed to.
As soon as Carlisle told us where to go, I grabbed Bella's hand and took off running. We took down a few deer then shared a bear. I looked in my mate's eyes and they were pitch black—this time with lust. I saw a little pond and carried her to it. I carefully stripped her clothes off then worked on mine. I planned on making love to her slowly, the area was beautiful and picturesque and my naked muse on the ground was doubly so. Her glistening pussy was beckoning me to come in for a taste. I didn't hesitate to do so. I buried my tongue straight between her folds and started lapping up her honey.
"I need you, Jasper. I need you inside of me now." She whispered.
I entered her slowly and moved softly inside of her. I kissed her deeply, passionately. I wanted her to feel how much she meant to me. Four years together had solidified our relationship. We now operated as one. I was absolutely in love with Bella—those turbulent times a few years back brought us closer together. We had to fight with everything we had to make our relationship work.
Neither of us wanted the typical male-centric vampire mating relationship. We wanted equality in our marriage. In order to make it work, we needed total honesty. Our first year in Dubai was spent getting to know each other. We stripped down each and every part of ourselves—more so than we did in London. Back then, we were still wary of losing each other. This time, there were no holds barred. Everything from Bella's lonely, non-childhood spent working to my time with Maria was bared to each other. Each and every relationship we had, from Edward to Tommy and Alice to Amber, was dissected.
We clawed and fought with each other with our whole hearts. We both cried and held each other until we had nothing, but complete honesty between each other. Well, okay, aside from the trivial ones like hunting guns and Bella's inevitable, "I didn't do anything special with Rose."
We both finally understood what Amar meant when he referred to sex as a 'mating ritual'. It wasn't just sex it was a physical baring of the souls. Every touch, every kiss carried a message of warmth, of caring, of security, of love to each other. This was love making in it's purest form—the others had no idea what they were missing out on.
Bella shuddered to an orgasm at the same time I did. I sunk my teeth into her neck, securing our bond and effectively ending our ritual for the night—afterwards we bathed in the freshwater pond by the moonlight. I dressed my mate, then myself, then carried her back to Carlisle and Esme's house. I didn't need to carry her back, I just felt more comfortable with her skin touching mine.
I put her down before we reached the front door and kissed her tenderly.
"Don't you two ever stop?" Peter asked as he came waltzing out of the door.
"No, not really." I answered, smugly.
"So, Char's having a little housewarming party at our house on Friday night. You guys are coming, right?"
"I'll be there." I said. I wasn't about to answer for Bella. She was never able to come to some sort of comfort zone with Peter's mate after her jealousy of Bella was made known. It actually became worse after I explained to Bella exactly what Char and my relationship had been like. Char was remorseful and knew that she was in the wrong, she especially wanted to make amends with Bella since Pete was her great-grandfather, but Bella wasn't giving in. It was going to be a long, road for Char and she knew it.
"Bella?" Peter asked, hopefully. He, more than anyone, wanted that relationship to be repaired, but he wasn't about to force it. He was actually on Bella's side in this situation.
"Sure, I'll be there." Bella muttered.
"Good, that's everyone then. Uh, bring your swimsuits. It's gonna be a pool party." Pete said as he loped back inside the house.
"You don't have to go, you know. You can always cancel." I said.
"Uh-huh and leave you there with her. I trust you completely, her—not so much." Bella said.
The two of us joined the family in the living room for a while longer. Soon, the morning dawned upon us and everyone who had work started filtering out of the house. Since we were already in Connecticut, I decided to visit Rex and Garrett's war room while Bella decided to check out Tanya and Amanda's boutique. I had her take the Range Rover because I knew that once I got to the war room, I wouldn't be leaving for a few hours.
A few hours later, we had our battle plans all laid out and we decided to give the war room a rest. Emmett stopped by and suggested we give our new hunting rifles a test run. Good idea. We donned the hunting camo that we purchased at Newton's, shouldered our new rifles, and set out in Garrett's truck for some nearby hunting grounds. We hiked deep into the woods and found a good spot.
"Shit!" Emmett suddenly jumped up and fired his rifle.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing? You're gonna scare the fucking deer away!" I chastised.
"Uh, can someone help me find my pinky?" Rex asked. "Emmett shot it off when he scared the skunk away."
"I did? Sorry man." Emmett said, apologetically.
"Did you see which direction it went?" Garrett asked.
"No, but he shot from that direction so I'm guessing that the trajectory is somewhere behind me towards the left. We got on all fours and started looking for Rex's pinky.
"I found it!" Emmett yelled. We walked over to Rex and handed him his pinky. It was covered in dirt and twigs.
"Um, maybe we should wash it before reattaching it." I suggested. We found a little pond and rinsed off his pinky.
Rex, who had never had to reattach a limb before asked for help. Since I had the most experience it fell to me. "Spit on it. It'll hurt less if you use your own venom." I said.
"OUCH!" Rex shouted as I fused his pinky back on.
"Were you in the military or what? You need to man up, dude!" Garrett chastised.
"I told you, Garrett. It's the modern military. They don't make soldiers like they used to back in our day." I commented.
"What the fuck do you mean by that? Are you saying that I'm less of a soldier than you are. Let me remind you fuckers about who owned who in paint ball." Rex argued.
Oh, that was a low blow. "That was eight fucking years ago, asshole! Knew you couldn't win in a real gun fight so you had to bring up the only only one that you could win in, huh?" I asked.
"No, shit! Little boy can only use automatic weapons! Give him something that he actually has to reload with bullets and powder and he'd probably falter after the first round!" Garrett sided with me.
"Hey! I did two tours in Iraq, assholes!" Rex yelled.
"Guys! Guys!" Emmett shot his rifle off in the air when he couldn't get our attention.
"What?" Garrett, Rex, and I asked, completely annoyed, simultaneously.
Just as Emmett was about to speak, the four of us were sprayed by two pissed off skunks. It seemed the skunk that Em tried to shoot went and grabbed a friend.
"Not again." I moaned. "Bella's gonna kill me."
"Yeah, well think about how Rose is gonna react. They aren't gonna let us scent them for at least a week." Emmett sighed.
"What the fuck do you mean by we won't be able to scent them for a week? I scent Katie once every two hours when she's home." Garrett sounded appalled.
"Dude, isn't that overdoing it a bit?" This coming from me who scents his mate at least three times a day.
"Nah, can't be too careful. Katie's a beautiful woman. You never know what strange men will approach her." Garrett replied.
"I never really understood this scenting stuff. I think it's a crock of shit." Rex said.
Wrong thing to say to three very male vampires. We sat Rex down and gave him a lecture on Vampire Mating 101. These modern male vampires didn't have a real understanding as to what makes a real man.
"Alright, you archaic fuckers, I get it. Now, whose mate are we going to call about our skunk situation?" Rex asked.
"Not mine." Emmett and I said instantly.
"Definitely not Katie. She'll shock the shit out of us once she gets a whiff of us." Garrett stated.
"Hey, I'll call Tanya. She's pretty understanding." Rex offered.
"Good idea." I said.
Rex called Tanya who asked us to meet them at the house. Gee, I'm beginning to rethink my ways of thinking. Maybe I should be a bit more relaxed in my ways like Rex is. Rex had a smug expression on his face as we sat down and watched 'Commando' on DVD.
The movie ended and Rex popped 'Dodgeball' in next. "Hey, isn't Tanya taking a little long?" Emmett asked.
"Yeah, it's getting to be seven pm already." Garrett commented. "We called her three hours ago."
Just as 'Dodgeball' ended, we heard the sound of cars braking in the driveway.
"Where've you been, honey, we've been waiting for almost five hours?" Rex asked.
The four of us looked up and were met with Katie's fury-filled eyes. "OUT! OUT! Get your skunk stink asses out of my house!"
Oh shit. Not good. If Katie knows, that means...
Rose pulled into the driveway in Peter's truck with Bella riding in the passenger seat. They both climbed out wearing haz-mat suits. I noticed that the bed of the truck was loaded with gallons of some product called Skunk Off and the more familiar baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and dish soap.
Bella reached into the bed of the truck and tossed haz-mat suits to Katie and Tanya. They promptly donned the suits.
My mate approached me. "So, you want to tell us what happened?"
I wasn't about to lie so I explained everything from Emmett shooting Rex's pinky off to it's reattachment and finally to our getting sprayed by two angry skunks. Bella had the nerve to giggle.
Bella and Rose got to mixing. They were, after all, familiar with the process. It was their second time around with this fiasco.
"Did Mike and Edward sell you the guns?" Rose asked, casually.
"Yes, dear." Emmett answered like the good lap dog he was.
Rose looked at Katie who took off in her car. A half an hour later, she came back with Victoria and Esme dragging a howling Edward and Mike. All four of the newcomers were dressed head to toe in protective raingear and rubber gloves.
"You two are going to get the skunk odor out of Katie and Tanya's house." Esme ordered. She handed Mike and Edward scrub brushes and the Skunk Off and started directing them. "That's what you get for selling those idiots hunting gear!"
"Okay, guys, the solution is all mixed. I called a vet and this time we're gonna try the Skunk Off first and then the standard solution." Bella said. "Take your clothes off."
"Right here? I mean, couldn't we find a more private..."
I was interrupted by my female second-in-command who ordered, "You heard her! Strip!"
The four of us ripped our clothes off while our mates began the arduous task of de-skunking us. Naturally, Rex had to rip his clothes off the stripper way. I noticed every single female eye was on him as he ripped his shirt off, then his pants while sensually eyeing each woman around him.
"Fucker! Do you have to be so dramatic?" Emmett asked. "There's nothing sexy about a skunked stripper."
"Yes." Rex answered, wagging his eyebrows..
Vicky removed our wallets and cell phones from the pockets of our clothes and put them to the side while she threw our clothes away in a big black trash bag. I noticed she triple bagged them for security.
"You two couldn't learn your lesson the first time, could you?" Rose asked. "Why is it that Bella and I always have to come out to save your asses after you hunt?"
"Dunno." Emmett shrugged. "I guess we need you more than we realize."
"Yeah, besides, you weren't supposed to find out. Tanya was supposed to keep it a secret." Garrett piped in.
"So, you were going to make poor Tanya scrub all four of you down? Now, that's kind of insensitive of you boys." Bella was trying to make us feel remorse.
Yep, it sure was, but damn it, it was a good plan until someone opened her big mouth.
"So, how did you girls find out about this anyway?" I asked.
"I was standing right next to Tanya when Rex called. I was helping her and Amanda out in their shop." Bella chuckled.
"Naturally, she called me. You see, Bella knew it would be way too big of a job for Tanya to handle herself." Rose smirked.
Bella took a whiff of me. "Hey, Rose, I think the vet's right. This Skunk Off works great. Now all we have to do is douse them with the homemade solution then you can give them their buzz cuts."
"What?" Rex grabbed onto his hair. "Uh, no thank you. I don't want a buzz cut. I had enough of that in the Marines."
"It's not like you have much of a choice. The vet said that most of the odor lingers in your hair. It's either a buzz cut or no touching Tanya for two weeks." Bella explained.
"I pick option B." Rex stated. "No one's touching my hair."
"You also have to live outside with absolutely no comforts of home for two weeks. We'll get you a tent, of course. You'll have to hunt alone and have no contact with any of the family for fourteen days." Rose added. "Oh and being in the outdoors twenty-four, seven puts you at risk for getting skunked again."
Rex sighed. "Alright, give me a buzz cut."
An hour later, we were all skunk odor free. Rose was nice. She gave us all flat tops so at least we had a bit of hair left on top.
Garrett patted the top of his head. "This is another problem with the modern military. The hair. I don't see the purpose in having everyone cut their hair. At least we were able to keep our hair long in the real army—all we had to do was keep it tied back with a ribbon."
"I agree. They're all focused on hair and image instead of providing proper military training." I weighed in with my opinion. God! I missed my hair. Again.
"Not this shit again, you old fuckers. How many times do I have to tell you that with each major war, our military has improved? We learn from the tactical and training errors made in the previous wars so that we don't make the same fucked up mistakes that you did." Rex explained. "The wars you both fought in were archaic at best—Garrett during your war, the army was still in it's infancy stages. Same as the Confederacy during the Civil War."
What the fuck did the little boy just say? "You son of a bitch!" Garrett impaled Rex with a punch to the jaw.
I jumped in there too. "You may know your weapons, boy, but let's see how you do with your fists!"
"Bring it on motherfucker! We learned how to handle to enemy combatants at once in the Marines, something you geriatric fuckers nev..."
Rex was knocked down by one well-placed punch to the face by Emmett. Our big lug of a brother picked up Rex and had a chat with him. "Now, Rex, I have no doubt that you're a stellar fighter, but you've got to show those men respect. They were the forefathers of our country. Without them, America wouldn't be what it is today. They fought in wars that you know you would have been scared shitless to fight in. I sure would have been. Let's go back inside the house and watch 'The Patriot'. I always like the part when Mel Gibson pulls out the ol' stars and stripes and convinces everyone to stay and fight—I mean that's what it's all about, isn't it?"
"That and when Heath Ledger goes out looking to avenge the death of his girl. That was hot." Rosalie added.
"Ahem!" Emmett made like he was clearing his throat. "Honey, I'm on a roll. I know you like the Heath Ledger part, but that's not what we're talking about. We're talking about freedom, pride in your nation, justice."
"And honestly," Bella said, "all of this would have more of an impact if the four of you weren't buck naked."
"Personally speaking, I'm enjoying the view." Tanya added.
"I think we're done in there. We even got Garrett's truck smelling normal again." Edward came out with Mike. They smelled like skunk.
"Can we go home now? I need a shower." Mike stated.
Rose and Bella sighed and started mixing more solution.
"Strip!" Vicky ordered. Poor dudes, all they did was sell us guns. I think we'll have to put off hunting for a few years again. Let the women calm down a bit. Yep, that's definitely what we have to do.
Hasn't Jasper and Bella's relationship improved tenfold? What's going on with Carlisle, though? What did you think of our four hunters? Let me know and I'll write back. You know how much I love hearing from you. XOXO