Contrary to Bella's wishes, we began meeting with the three werewolves nightly as she slept. They watched me spar with Carlisle and Alice, learning our techniques. Neither of us was willing to spar between our groups; the antagonism of our kinds made it too difficult.
Carlisle made the call to Denali, telling them of our situation. Tanya was sympathetic; she understood why we had run from Volterra and was upset that they were neglecting their duty in an attempt to rid themselves of us. She and her sisters held rules and laws very tightly. They had a special regard for them after losing their mother and baby brother, an immortal child. That the Volturi would be so quick to remove Sasha and Vasilii, and then turn a blind eye on one who exposed herself, infuriated her. She promised she and her sisters would come fight by our side.
"You know we aren't enough, though, Carlisle. Not against an army."
"We know, Tanya. We have some other friends we want you to meet when you arrive."
She was intrigued, but Carlisle would tell her nothing more over the phone.
As the practice schedule didn't interfere with work, I continued to help at the youth shelter in Port Angeles. I let my employers know that I had some family issues that might call me away. They understood, only asking that I give them as much notice as possible. The kids heard as well; nothing could be kept secret in that place.
"You'll let us know if we can do anything, won't you, Jasper?" one girl asked me as we watched movies.
I smiled, wishing there was something they could do. "I will. I don't imagine there is, though. Thanks, Ariel." I brushed her hair with my hand and she smiled. I felt the comfort from her. She was one of many who were here simply looking for someone who cared about them. In their opinions, their families didn't. In some cases this was true, in others not. Either way, a little attention went a long way.
Bella and Alice had plenty of time alone together after school, and Alice and I had time while Bella slept, but I was in desperate need of a little one-on-one time with my human lover. I had no idea how to tell Alice this. The best part about have a precognitive mate? Sometimes you don't have to tell them these things.
"You're taking Bella to the matinee on Saturday in Port Angeles," she informed me. "Charlie will be out all evening with work. I'm going hunting with Carlisle."
"Really?" I asked.
"Yes. I thought that would be for the best. I've loved having you and Bella each to myself, but she needs some time with just you, too. Neither of you can say it. You're both so silly." She shook her head.
I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her. "I love you."
"I know. That's why you should have just said something."
"How did you know?" I asked nuzzling her ear.
She sighed and leaned into me. "The way you look at her. I can tell you are wishing I wasn't there."
"No!" I immediately denied it.
She laughed. "Not like that. I know you aren't upset that I am there. How did you say it to Bella? You were expecting one thing, but you got something else. You aren't unhappy with what you've gotten, but you're still wishing for that other. I understand, Jasper, and it's really fine. Have a day together. If you need another next weekend or the weekend after, just let me know."
I couldn't wrap my head around it. How could she want this?
"Seeing the two of you happy, makes me happy," she tried to explain. "And seeing the two of you making moon eyes at each other is starting to get annoying."
The next day I asked Bella to go to the movies with me on Saturday.
"Like a date?"
"Yeah, like a date."
"With Alice?"
"No, Alice is going hunting with Carlisle."
"Really?" A grin spread across her face, and a gleam appeared in her eye. "I would love to go to the movies with you, Jasper."
Alice had been right; I really shouldn't be surprised by that anymore. I picked Bella up before lunch on Saturday. Charlie was still home and greeted me warmly. I had gone up several notches in his books by taking a full time job.
"No Alice today?" he asked, obviously disappointed.
"No, she's decided to spend the day with Carlisle. They've gone on a hiking trip together."
"That sounds nice. I hope they have a great time. So what are you and Bella doing today?"
"We're going to a matinee, Dad." Bella rolled her eyes with an expression that obviously said, 'butt out'. "You know, the one with the female president."
"Oh yeah? That one supposed to be good?"
"That's what my friends say," Bella told him. "Obviously, I haven't seen it yet."
"The kids who went with Marty loved it," I added.
"Goodbye, Dad," Bella said meaningfully, slinging her purse over her shoulder.
"Drive safely."
It was nice to have Bella to myself again. We chatted during the drive. She caught me up on her classes; I told her more about work. Although I saw her almost every night, we didn't spend a lot of time talking. There wasn't a lot of evening left by the time I got to her weeknights. I could feel her excitement. The only reason I could fathom, was that she was excited to be with me. I reflected a little of that, a little of my own pleasure at having her alone.
Her smile widened, and she leaned over to kiss my cheek, putting her head on my shoulder. "Yes, exactly," she murmured as though I had spoken.
We actually watched the movie. I was a little surprised that Bella didn't take advantage of the dark theater, but after the opening credits, I had no trouble becoming absorbed into the movie, into the reactions of the audience. Bella and I spent the drive home talking about gender roles and how much and how little they had changed. It was a lively discussion, in which I was arguing that things hadn't changed as much as they seemed from the days of corsets and parasols. Women still dressed for men, still allowed men to dictate their worth, made them fit the male model of working members of society. They still marched to the drums of the men. She didn't agree, of course, that's what made the discussion so much fun. She got quite heated at one point and threatened to burn her bra. I only asked that I be the one to remove it.
We were nearing Forks when we passed Charlie at an accident scene. I slowed and rolled down my window.
"Need anything?" I asked.
"Just ask Bella to put supper in the fridge for me. I'm gonna be late tonight."
"Sure thing, Dad. I love you," she called out from the passenger's side.
"Did Alice tell you your Dad would be late tonight?" I asked.
"No." She wasn't feigning her surprise. Then she smirked. "She told you. I wondered why you kept your hands to yourself in the theater."
My eyes boggled. We were far too much alike. "Have I told you how much I adore you?" I asked, nuzzling her ear before focusing on the road again.
"Yes, but it doesn't get old. So, what's for dinner?" she asked.
I snapped my teeth once, but we both knew I wasn't remotely serious. "What are you making Charlie?"
"Hmm, something that can sit in the oven for a while — a casserole. Will you help me?"
I smiled and nodded. I'd never done much in a kitchen before starting at the shelter. I still didn't do any cooking, but I was a lot closer to the preparation of food than ever before. "Just don't expect me to be any good at it."
She laughed.
Bella pulled on an apron as soon as she got into the kitchen. I stood back at first while she worked. It was fascinating to watch. It was easy to tell she'd done this many times before. She pulled leftover meat, fresh vegetables, spices and herbs, cream, bread crumbs, and blended them together into something new.
"What are you making? I asked as she pulled the roasted chicken from the fridge.
"I don't know, a creamy potato casserole. A little of this, a little of that." She never did ask me for much help. I chopped the chicken into bite-sized pieces; that was about it. The rest of the time I stayed out of her way. She knew where everything was, where everything went. She was in her element.
"So, you're making it up?" I asked, perplexed. I hadn't cooked more than roasting meat on an open fire when I was human. "How do you know what it will taste like?"
"I don't. That's why I taste it." She dipped her finger in the cream to demonstrate. "Also, experience. I know what basil and oregano and thyme taste like together. This need salt." She shook some on. "But aside from that..." She shrugged. She put the glass lid on top of the dish and put it in the oven, setting the timer. "There. Now, what will I do with the next three hours?" she asked, looking at the timer over her shoulder.
"I'm sure this is terribly unsanitary." I grabbed her hips and lifted her onto the counter. "But I'm afraid you've made me hungry." I put my lips to her neck, liking the white column. My hands slipped into the waistband of her jeans, toying with the elastic of her panties.
She chuckled and put her fingers in my hair, pulling my face closer. "Somehow I doubt a chicken casserole made you hungry."
"Not the food," I agreed. "You, the way you moved. You commanded this kitchen. Every item in it was placed, moved and used as you dictated. The smooth movement from cupboard, to shelf, to counter to stove. It looked choreographed, like you'd planned every one."
She laughed again and pulled my lips up to hers. "I think you're flattering me."
I shook my head, my hands sliding around the front, unbuttoning and unzipping her jeans. "You looked magnificent. Graceful and elegant."
She snorted and I scowled. I was being honest. "Did you drop anything? Stumble? Reach for something and not put your hand immediately on it?"
She pulled back from my face enough to really see my expression. "Wow."
I lifted her in one hand and pulled down her pants and underwear with the other. She squealed.
"The potato skins left a puddle," she complained, shifting in the cold water.
I put my face between her knees and she stopped complaining quickly. Her hands were still in my hair, and they tightened as my tongue dipped into her, tasting her. Her smell intensified as I stimulated her. Her cooking obviously hadn't turned her on the way it had me. She hadn't seen how spectacular she looked. I ran my tongue along the edge of the outer lip, running against the hair there.
"Why did you let Alice talk you into this?" I asked, running my fingers over the stubble along her bikini line. "You don't wear swimsuits in the winter."
She sighed. "No, but you see me..."
I interrupted her. "I do see you. I see how beautiful you are, how natural. You don't make yourself up, Bell, not for me or any man. Why?"
"Um..." Either I was distracting her or she hadn't thought about it. "You don't like it?"
"It doesn't matter what I like. I love you. I love all of you. This part," I licked the length of her slit, making her gasp. "And this part." I kissed the back of one of her knees. "This part." I used my nose to lift her shirt enough to put my tongue to her navel, circling it. "And especially this part." I put kiss to her left breast, over her shirt, right over her heart.
She smiled sweetly and I felt love pouring from her. I didn't deserve it; I would never deserve it. She gave it so freely. I slid my arms up her back, one twisting her ponytail, the other on the back of her neck pulling her closer. I felt the burn in my throat when our mouths met, but my mind washed it out in gratitude, pleasure, and love of my own. There would never be enough Bella. Even when she was like us, and I didn't have to beware my teeth, when I could bury myself deep inside her without fear of feeding on her by shedding her blood, it still wouldn't be enough. I would want to crawl inside her skin and feel the glory of being her, of being innocent, selfless. I could share her emotions, the definition of empathy, but there was still so much I didn't know.
Her hand was working on my belt and buttons even as I explored her mouth. I felt my pants pool at my ankles and she shifted forward, moving on my bare skin.
"Oh, yes, Jasper, please." I felt myself sliding along her, over her. My cock caught for a second on her entrance and my eyes flew open.
"No, Bella." I said in a rush, pressing her back onto the counter. I stroked her with my fingers, letting my tip rub along the base of her hips spreading our wetness there.
She frowned and whimpered a little. "I want to, Jasper. I want to feel you in me." She thrust her hips forward on my fingers. I was glad it was only two, worrying about how rough she was being.
"No, Bella," I moaned. "I can't. The blood." I begged her to understand, my nose tracing her jaw, my thumb finding her clit now, wanting her to have all that she could. It was my fondest wish to give her more, but Alice had seen how bad that would be. I couldn't stop; I wouldn't be able to restrain myself.
Instead I thrust my fingers harder, rubbing them along the top of her pussy, trying to imitate how I would thrust into her, how her weight would press us together, how I would rub along that wall, my head nudging that spot.
"Oh!" she moaned, her knees closing on me.
"I want to, Bella. You have no idea how much; how much I wish this wasn't my fingers."
"Mmm, Jasper. You are so strong. I wouldn't stop. I would do it anyway." She was mumbling, riding the waves of pleasure I was giving her. She was wrong of course. Bella could deny herself anything for someone else, someone she loved. I loved her enough to deny myself this one, not so small thing.
I slipped my free hand under her shirt, pulling the cup of her bra off her breast and fondling that as well. I ran my thumb over the gentle slope of the top, curled my fingers under, lifting the nipple until my thumb slid over that, too. She shivered before coming on my fingers.
I pulled both my hands free and wrapped her in a hug, her arms circling my neck. "I can't bear the thought of losing you. I can't bear to think of doing anything that could take you from me. Don't leave me, Bella."
"Never," she promised.
I kicked off my boots and stepped out of my pants, carrying her upstairs to enjoy the rest of our evening.
Ariel, I'm sorry, bad things are going to happen to you. Beware being named in my stories! Thanks to Sharebear for the beta.