Bella and I had a rough couple of days as I was absent from school at the beginning of the week. The sun had proven uncooperative for the first time in a long time. I had called Tuesday to tell her that Carlisle and I had opted to take advantage of the weather, but I would be in class the next day.

"I'm really glad you called, Jasper. I was starting to worry that something had happened to you. Charlie said something about bears."

I had to chuckle as that was exactly what I'd been hunting. "No, the bears didn't get me. I outran Carlisle," I joked.

She gasped and then laughed. "Don't tease me."

"I'll try. No promises. What are you doing tonight?"

"I was going to go to Port Angeles with Jessica and Angela, why?

"No reason. I was just finishing unpacking and wondered if you wanted to come over for a while."

"I'd love that! I'll just wait for Jessica to get here and let her know I'm bailing before coming over."

"No rush. I still need to get everything put away." I had nothing to unpack of course, we didn't take much with us hunting, but the sun hadn't quite set and I couldn't meet her until twilight; the clouds were still sparse.

"I'll be there soon," she promised.

"So how was your weekend?" I asked after a kiss in greeting.

"Great! It was sunny!" She sighed and I felt her satisfaction. "It seems so long since I've seen the sun. And the beach was great. Some of the Quileutes acted oddly when I mentioned you. I asked Jacob, a family friend, but he said it was just a bunch of old stories and rumours. Did you know?"

I stood on the step with her, not sure what to say. Instead, I opened the door to the house. I almost stepped on her, lost in my thoughts. She was frozen, staring at Carlisle.

I nearly groaned feeling the waves of excitement rolling off him. His smile was wide enough to look painful. Bella's emotions were not nearly as potent. I tried to pick them out. She was amused, a little intimidated, but mostly startled. Definitely no fear.

"Bella. May I introduce my uncle and adoptive father, Carlisle. Carlisle, this is Bella."

"I am so glad to finally meet you," he nearly ran to take her hand. I shook my head. I thought my eyes or skin were going to give us away. No, it was going to be Carlisle. He was pumping her arm vigorously now. "Jasper can't stop talking about you." My mouth dropped open. It was true, but certainly not something I wanted him telling her. "You certainly have captured his interest."

I continued to gape at him. He finally met my eye and shrugged. I wondered if I could calm him down without affecting Bella.

"He's captured mine too," she murmured. "It is a pleasure to meet you as well Carlisle and to be invited to your home."

"Yes, yes. Come in. Are you going to give her tour, Jasper, or shall I?"

I cringed. If Carlisle's enthusiasm didn't scare Bella off, nothing would. "I did that. Last week. When you were at work," I reminded him.

His face fell. "Right, well."

"Would you like to show me around, Carlisle? I'd love to hear you tell me about your paintings." She had been fascinated with the art hanging on the walls of Carlisle's study. She'd been interested in his collection of books as well.

"You like them?" he asked, taking her hand to lead her up the stairs. For some reason my jealousy sparked. I quickly brushed it aside. That was odd. I stood on her left side while Carlisle chattered from her right, telling her the history of his various pieces, about the artists, the time periods. I hoped she never guessed that he knew so much because he was present at the time. She leaned into Carlisle as he became more animated, putting her hand to his arm or hand occasionally. She took my hand at one point and squeezed.

"Thank you so much, Carlisle. I think I'll head with Jasper to his room now. Leave us something to talk about during my next visit."

He smiled broadly and kissed her cheek. "I look forward to it."

As Bella turned for the door, Carlisle whispered quietly enough that Bella wouldn't hear, "Keep her." Like I had any intention of doing otherwise.

"Sorry. He's not usually like that," I apologized as she flounced onto my bed.

"Really? I liked him. He was so happy."

"Definitely happy," I murmured. "And a little overenthusiastic?" I offered.

"No. At least, I didn't think so. Speaking of overenthusiastic, though." She slid herself closer to me, sitting on the edge of the bed she was flopped on. She crouched on her knees as she put her hands into my hair, pulling my mouth to hers. "Did I mention that I missed you?" She kissed me again. Enthusiasm was definitely not a problem. I put my hand to her back, it found the bottom of her shirt and traced along its hem. My finger slipped underneath and she shivered at my cold touch. She continued to kiss me.

I wished so badly I could relax and enjoy this, but I was constantly fighting my thirst, my strength, my speed. I could have her naked and on her back in less than a second. She could be dead a moment later when I lost all control. It was so frightening. As it was, I did have her on her back. I didn't even notice if she pulled or I pushed, but I was hovering over her now, my hands on her ribs, my thumbs finding the bottom of her breasts. She tasted so good. As I had so often, I wondered if her blood would be the same, only stronger, or different again.

"Jasper," she murmured, her hands on my now bare chest. She was good, I hadn't even noticed her unbuttoning me, but my shirt was completely open.

"Yes, Bella?"

She shook her head, "Don't stop." Then she tipped her head back exposing her throat. I took a second to steel myself, close my thirst in a box and try to shove it out of my mind. Then I put my lips to her neck, over that pulsing artery, pumping hot sweet heaven through this girl's body. I could smell it, I could feel it through my lips. I groaned at the temptation.

She moaned in pleasure. Her lust was paramount. She felt no fear, no reaction to the chill of my touch so close to her vital life-blood. I tested myself further. I put my tongue, wet with the venom nearly spilling from my mouth, against that flow and pressed it gently, feeling the throb press back against me. My mouth started to close on her neck and I quickly pulled tongue and teeth back to seal the kiss.

"That feels so good Jasper." Her fingernails were on my back now and I got a sense of how good I was making her feel as she tried to dig them into me. My mouth trailed down the collar of her shirt into the V of her neckline. Now I was right over that thumping heart. I put my nose into her cleavage and closed my eyes for two seconds, reveling in the sound, the life moving through her. I never wanted to take it from her. She was so beautiful and vibrant and human. I kissed the exposed slope tenderly and felt it heaving as she continued to gasp.

I slid back up to her head and kissed the tip of her nose. "Should we take a break?"

"That's probably a good idea." Her expression said she thought it was a terrible idea.

I smiled and started to chuckle, rolling to her side. "I missed you, Bella."

"Good. It wasn't just me then." She smirked, and I chuckled.

There was a knock on the door before Carlisle opened it. "Hope I'm not interrupting. I just made some popcorn and wondered if you wanted some?"

I held up my hands in question. Why was he doing this? It wasn't as though he ate the popcorn either.

"Actually, that would be great. I wolfed supper and probably should have eaten more." Bella jumped off the bed. I felt her relief. Maybe Carlisle's idea hadn't been a bad one. Maybe we were moving too fast for her. We were quickly reaching the end of what I knew I could do with her safely. Hell, we passed it. I almost bit her neck.

Regardless, I wasn't letting Carlisle get away with this. Once Bella was past him and on the stairs, I touched his arm to stop him. "What are you doing? Should I keep this outside?" If he had a problem with me and Bella, I needed to know. He wasn't upset, still happy and excited.

"I'm ... yeah, I'm jealous." He crossed his arms. He'd been masking it well, but he let his envy rise now. "She's a great girl, Jasper. I would love to be in your shoes. Maybe one day I will." He winked at me and I fought a growl. I really didn't want this to damage our family. I needed Carlisle's support if I was going to keep this lifestyle up.

"How are we going to play this?" I asked, still quiet enough that Bella wouldn't hear us.

He shrugged. "I'm not going to be overt. It's obvious she's interested in you. I really only interrupted because I was worried for her heart."

It had been beating wildly, and she had jumped up at his intrusion. I nodded. "Right, okay. Sorry I jumped to conclusions."

Carlisle smiled at me. "Don't worry about it. Sadly, you've given me ideas. You might have the right conclusions soon." With that he put himself at Bella's elbow, asking if she wanted butter.