Being There

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

A/N-I would like to give a big thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Nikki :)

Part Ten

Jacob made his way to Bella's house eagerly, dying to see her. He had managed to persuade Jared to start his shift an hour earlier so that he could actually spend a bit more time with Bella without falling asleep through tiredness. He would be taking over from Paul who had been assigned to guard her house until he arrived. Jacob could tell that Lahote was phased but he was being particularly quiet. Normally he would take any opportunity to wind Jacob up but he was holding back for some reason. Maybe he had become bored with throwing pointless jibes at him.

He eventually neared Bella's house and saw Paul hidden within the trees. The large silver grey wolf was standing immobile, waiting for him to come into view. Jacob could sense tension in the air. Maybe Lahote was planning some sort of idiotic trick after all. He approached him cautiously, preparing himself for whatever Paul was going to throw at him.

"Any sign of the red head?"

"No," Paul's tone was sarcastic. "But your leech lover has a visitor."

Jacob growled at him. "Who?"

"A male. She seemed very eager to see him as well. Looks as if she might have been just using you after all." Paul leapt to one side as Jacob launched himself through the air and landed right on top of him.

There was a mad scramble as the two wolves began to fight. Even though Paul had been phased for longer, Jacob was much stronger. He found it much easier to switch between forms and was swifter in his movements than Lahote.

"Don't take your temper out on me," Paul snarled. "I'm only telling you what I saw."

Jacob did not bother to respond. He managed to get a good hold of the scruff of fur around Paul's neck and shook his pack brother back and forth before releasing his hold and taking off for Bella's house.

XXXXXX

Bella looked discreetly at her watch again. An hour had long since passed and she still couldn't get Mike to leave. She cursed the fact that her dad was on another late shift. If he was at home Mike would have been forced to leave ages ago. They hadn't done much studying; it was obvious he had used his ignorance about biology to get her to invite him in. She had been avoiding all his attempts to flirt with her and agree to go out on a date. She had bluntly told him she was already seeing someone, but when he heard it was Jacob, the boy who had accompanied them to the cinema not long ago he had laughed. He thought she was joking and dismissed Jacob as any sort of rival. The boy was only sixteen.

Instead he had bored her to death as he described his prowess on the football field. She had never heard such in depth prose about how many ways there were to play the game. In fact after listening to Mike drone on she was sure she could ace an exam on the subject. She didn't want to be rude but Mike's stubborn pigheadedness was wearing on her nerves. She tried looking blatantly at her watch, he took no notice of the subtle hint. She then began to yawn constantly and say how tired she was feeling. He ignored that obvious hint too. Bella knew she was just going to have to be blunt. Jacob would arrive soon and she didn't want Newton there when he did.

In the end it was taken out of her hands; a loud knock on the door interrupted Mike's ramblings and Bella gratefully fled the room to answer the door. She was shocked to see an irate Jacob standing on her doorstep. His chest was heaving as he took deep breathes to calm himself.

"Where is he?" He demanded.

Bella felt confused. Why was he acting like this? "Mike is in the kitchen. He invited himself over to study and I have been trying to get rid of him for the last hour."

Jacob's whole demeanour changed. His shoulders relaxed and his breathing became even. "Mike Newton? That douche from the cinema. I thought I recognised his scent."

"What's going on, Jake?" Bella asked him suspiciously.

Jacob gave her a sheepish smile. He didn't want to admit that he had let Lahote get under his skin. When Paul had told him that another male was sniffing around his Bella, it had sparked off a surge of jealousy. If he had taken the time to think things through he would probably have recognised that it was just Newton. Bella was always complaining that he was pestering her for a date when she was at school. It seemed that he had stepped his pursuit of her up a gear.

"Why did you let him in, Bells? I know how much he annoys you."

Bella sighed. "Because I am stupid. He said he needed help with his biology assignment and like an idiot I believed him." She whispered.

"Haven't you told him about me?" Jacob asked, letting a hint of annoyance creep into his voice. "Surely that would get him to back off."

Bella put her hands on her hips. "Don't get testy with me. Yes I told him, but this is Mike we're talking about. He thinks you're too young and he's still in with a chance."

"Let me deal with him." Jacob grinned at the thought of teaching Newton a lesson.

Bella narrowed her eyes. "What are you planning on doing?"

"I'll be subtle, don't worry." Jacob leaned down and kissed her passionately on the mouth before pulling away, leaving her breathless. He gave her an endearing grin before slipping past her and joining Mike in the kitchen.

Mike had his back to the door so didn't see who entered. He thought it was Bella until a strong hand clamped down on his shoulder and squeezed.

"What the hell?" Mike babbled as he twisted his head around and stared up at Jacob. "What I...you're that guy."

Jacob let go of his shoulder and slapped Mike on the back instead, making him cough. "Yeah that's me. Bella's guy as in BOYFRIEND. Now she has been very polite in putting up with your crap but your attempts at flirting with her are beginning to get old. If I see you sniffing around her anymore,"he flexed one of his biceps and mimicked punching something. "I might have to teach you a lesson. Are we clear?"

Mike stood up so quickly that his chair fell back with a crash. His head only came to Jacob's shoulder and he gulped as he took in just how well built Bella's boyfriend really was. "Yes, yes I get the message." He mumbled. He gathered his books together and fled the house, tripping over his own feet as he scrambled down the outside steps.

Bella watched him flee the house and tried not to laugh. Jacob came up to her and flung his arm over her shoulder territorially. "I think I made my point," he said with a grin.

Bella gave him a rueful smile. "Yeah, I think you did."

XXXXXX

After Bella made Jacob something to eat they retreated to her room in case Charlie arrived home unexpectedly. They lay back on her bed and held each other close as they shared news about their day. Jacob told her about his conversation with Embry.

"It's the best solution, Bells," he played with her fingers as he spoke. "This way I get to have a decent night's sleep and schedule my school work around my patrol shifts, but if I work extra hard I could graduate the same time as you."

"Wow, you've really thought all this through," Bella rolled onto her stomach and stared up at him.

"Yeah. I want to be able to plan a future, Bells. One day this will all be over and I don't want to find myself with no qualifications and in a dead end job. This way I can support us better." He smiled at her lovingly.

Bella returned his smile weakly. She hadn't given much thought to her future at all. With Victoria still lurking about she was fearful she wouldn't even have one. Jacob seemed to have it all worked out. To distract him from saying anymore about the future, Bella climbed into his lap and straddled him. She could feel his erection pressed between her legs and she smiled as his eyes darkened with lust. Jacob slipped his hand around the back of her neck and gently pulled her head forward so he could kiss her. A soft sigh escaped Bella's lips as she savoured the taste of him. She loved kissing Jacob, his heat and the feel of his strong arms and body wrapped around hers made all her fears vanish.

They gave into their passion once again but this time they were prepared. Jacob pulled out a condom from the pockets of his shorts while Bella showed him the packet she had hidden in her draw. They both laughed as he rolled them over so she was lying beneath him and he began to send her hormones into overdrive as he kissed his way down her neck and the valley between her breasts; teasing her skin with his tongue.

Bella's breaths came in short pants as he continued to caress and massage her sensitised skin with his skill full fingers. Jacob had learned what she liked and he used this knowledge to send her wild. Bella returned the favour by running her hands over his body, exploring each and every groove of his impressive physique. She made him roll onto his back and she straddled him again, leaning forward so that her long hair; now freed from it's braid, teased his skin as she used her mouth and tongue to kiss her way all over his muscled chest and abs.

They were still young and learning about each other. It didn't take long before Jacob had flipped them over again so that he was above her. Bella wrapped her arms and legs around his body as he entered her and began to move slowly; easing the ache that had been building up inside. They made love gently at first until they couldn't take the slow pace anymore and their movements became frenzied as they headed for their release.

"I love you," Jacob gasped as they both fell over the edge. Bella gripped him tighter in her arms as she hid her face in his neck.

XXXXXX

Morning came around faster than either of them expected. Jacob left her house reluctantly telling her he would be back in time to accompany her to school. Bella gave him a sad smile as he slipped out through her window and jumped easily down to the ground. She let out a long held breath when he landed safely. He waved up at her before disappearing within the trees.

After showering Bella got dressed and headed down the stairs to make breakfast for herself and Charlie. When her dad finally emerged into the kitchen, his tired eyes lit up as he surveyed the cooked breakfast she had prepared. "This is great, kiddo, thanks." He said pulling out a chair.

Bella smiled as she took the seat opposite him. "How was work?"

"So so," Charlie buttered his roll and put a bacon slice inside as he spoke. "We had a report come in about a missing college student."

Bella felt the food in her mouth turn to ashes. "Who has gone missing?"

"His name is Riley Biers, he was a promising student who attended Oregon University. He was visiting his parents but never made it back. No one has seen him since." Charlie sighed as he took a bite of his roll. "I know his parents they're good people. He was their only child. They're devastated. I would be exactly the same if you went missing. I would never give up looking, never." He stated adamantly.

A wave of guilt washed over Bella as she remembered just how close he had come to losing her forever. If James had succeeded in his mad plan to kill her then Charlie would be the one grieving. She reached out and took hold of his hand in a rare show of affection. "Thank you dad." She said softly.

Charlie patted her hand. "You mean the world to me, Bells. You know I love you very much."

"I love you too, dad," Bella got up from her chair and hugged him so that he couldn't see the tears spilling out of her eyes.

XXXXXX

Jacob was waiting for Bella by her truck when she left the house. She was so glad to see him again that she ran the short distance between them and threw herself into his arms. He laughed at her enthusiastic greeting. "Good to see you too, honey." He kissed her softly.

It was the last day of school for the week and Bella was glad. She waved goodbye to Jacob reluctantly as he headed for the trees. He was going over to Jared's so he could use his computer to apply for the on-line school programme. Billy had been enthusiastic about the idea and was now pushing for all the pack members who were struggling with school to follow the same route.

The bell sounded and she headed inside. For once Mike Newton avoided her and she had a peaceful journey to her first lesson of the day which was swimming. Bella was not a good swimmer; she was too uncoordinated at the best of times. She persevered and finally the lesson ended without her managing to half drown herself. She was in the changing rooms drying off when Jessica approached her.

"I hear your boyfriend threatened Mike," she said as she lounged against the wall.

Bella rolled her eyes as she began to get dressed. "Jake hardly threatened him. What else has he been saying?"

A sly smile crossed Jessica's face. "He reckons he gave your boyfriend a black eye. Is that true?"

Bella's mouth fell open. "You can't be serious? That's a lie, Jake is..."

Jessica burst out laughing. "You're so easy to wind up. I was joking."

"Ha ha," Bella muttered sarcastically.

"I came here to give you this, actually. It was dropped in at the office." Jessica handed a brown envelope to Bella.

"Who dropped it off?" Bella held the envelope in her hand and studied it curiously.

"How would I know? The school secretary told me to pass it to you. See you later," Jessica sloped off having done as she was asked.

The changing room was nearly empty now as Bella finished getting dressed and sat down on one of the benches and ripped open the envelope. A white piece of A4 paper fell out onto the wet floor and she cursed as she saw the red ink on the paper beginning to run. Picking it up she scanned the page quickly. Bella felt her whole world turning upside down as her hand began to tremble. Written in red ink were the words;

'I am here and I am watching. I will have my revenge. Never relax and always watch your back. I am coming for you.

V'

A/N-Thanks for reading!