Chapter 16 - Supplication
When she emerged, clad in those old sweatpants, wearing a t-shirt stretched too tightly around her body, Jacob couldn't help the smile that stretched automatically across his face. It was the girl he remembered, the Bella of his youth and at least if he only had this night, the heavenly smell of her skin would linger for some time to come.
Bella stood at the bottom of the stairs, seemingly apprehensive about what to say or where to begin. "They still fit, sorta." Jacob wasn't sure if it was her nervous laughter or the way she twisted the hem of the shirt between her fingertips, but he fell in love with her a little more in that second.
"You want something to drink?" he offered. "Water, tea, some more wine..."
The small joke seemed to be enough to break the tension in the room. Bella smiled wryly. "Uh, no more alcohol. Water would be nice."
"Sure." Jacob disappeared into the kitchen and Bella took the opportunity to assess her surroundings.
The walls of his home were painted in a rich blend of mocha and gray, its sueded texture changing with the flickering lights of the fire. The huge stone fireplace was laid with natural rock from the surrounding forest. The contrasting mantle was bleached, much like the color of bones left in the sun too long. Driftwood salvaged from the rugged beaches of La Push. Set upon it were chipped, rusty mason jars full of white sand and ocean rock. The black grains of Rialto and pebbles of Second Beach filled the others. Amongst them stood several faded photographs, lovingly framed in hand-rubbed golden wood.
Faces from the past jumped out at Bella like paintings in a book. An image of Sarah Black, snapped when she thought nobody was looking. A pretty, demure smile played on her rosy lips while the long, dark tresses of her hair blew in the ocean wind. Pictures of Billy and Jacob as a child. A proud father watching while his son brandished a greasy wrench in his pudgy, little hand. There were pictures of his sisters, wearing pigtails and braids, each of their identical faces full of mischief and laughter. Newer, but still old were the photographs of the pack. The wolves standing together like a small band of strong-armed brothers, ready to take on the challenges of the world.
As her eyes travelled over them, voyaging through time, one photo in particular stood out. A polaroid, edges worn and wrinkled at the corners, Bella's gaze lingered long on its fabled story. Carefully taking it from its resting place on the mantle, she traced the faces lovingly with her fingertips. Two teenagers side by side, the young boy's arm over the girl's shoulder while he gazed down at her with the most pure form of love and affection. Her pink lips were curved into a smile, laughing gleefully but her eyes held the shadow of sadness in them. A life in pain. Jacob... he had wanted so much to fix her back then. To mend the pieces of her broken heart and keep it for his own.
Bella sighed, remembering how many times he picked her up off the floor, wiping away the tears of sorrow and confusion that littered her teenage soul. At seventeen Bella thought she knew what love was. Edward's departure had left her shattered beyond recognition. Now six years later, she understood the difference between fascination, obsession and the true gifts of the heart. Part of her wished that she could visit that sad girl, to tell her that there is hope, that the sadness she felt would soon pass away. Bella wanted to shake her former self and tell her to look at what was right in front of her. Yet, perhaps it was better this way. Time healed those wounds, strengthening her soul and gave her the perspective that was needed to become the person she was now.
"I always wanted to see you smile like that, you know." Jacob's low voice ghosted over her shoulder. "You were never very happy, but I knew that you could be. All I wanted back then, even more than to hold you in my arms, was for you to be whole again."
Bella leaned backward, resting her head on his chest, allowing him to slip an arm around her in comfort. "You did, much more than you know. You made me happy, Jacob."
"Then why didn't you stay?" It was the question that plagued his heart for many long years, the one that ate at his soul like dripping battery acid.
Her eyes closed in memory. The ghosts of the past hidden in the shadows of her mind crept forward to remind her of a time when she couldn't breathe. "I couldn't. Jake, I was so messed up back then. I don't think I really even knew then what was wrong with me. I needed to leave, to have a life away from all of this."
"And now?" he asked.
"This is home," she sighed, the truth of her words a brand that never left her heart. "It always has been."
She could feel the shudder in Jacob's chest. The relaxation that flowed beneath the mass of muscle and tissue softened it like a warm pillow. Bella placed the photograph back on the mantle and then turned in his arms. The gentle, staccato rhythm of his beating heart sang to her like the sweetest lullaby. They had a long road ahead of them, so many things that had been left unsaid in the intervening years since that picture had been taken. Yet, right now, all she wanted to do was stay wrapped in his embrace. Home was not Forks or Port Angeles, nor the Washington Forests or blue ocean waves of La Push.
For Bella Swan, home was Jacob Black.
"As much as I'd like to stay like this all night, we really do need to talk."
Swallowing hard, he nodded his head in agreement, fighting back the knot of dread that weighed heavily in his stomach. "I know. I already called Seth. He and Leah are going to go over and help Charlie."
Suddenly, she clapped one hand over her mouth in horror. "Oh shit! Matt! I need to call him."
At the mention of Matt's name, the wolf reared his ugly head, clawing and scratching at the surface to rise up and claim. "I told you, get rid of him, Bella. You're mine."
Bella felt the tension resume in his shoulders, his grip tightened on her arms, and just like that, the gentle stillness of the moment was gone."Settle down, Jake." She knew that she should be furious, but then again, she hadn't been very forthcoming about the nature of her relationship with Matt.
"Are you kidding me?" he asked, brows pulling together, tongue dripping with animosity. "You bring your boyfriend here, have sex with me, then want to go back to him and you're telling me to settle down? That's rich, Bella."
"Gay, Jake. He's gay," she stated emphatically. "He's also my boss and one of my best friends."
Taken aback at the revelation, Jacob cocked a brow at her. "You're serious?" he asked, trying to reconcile the outwardly tough man he met in Charlie's kitchen with that lifestyle. In their small corner of Washington, being homosexual was a rarity and those men who were, simply were not covered with heavy muscles or graphic tattoos like the ones Matt wore so carelessly.
"Very," she emphasized, biting her lip and dragging the word out slowly.
All-consuming relief washed over him in tidal waves. Without seeking permission, Jacob hungrily claimed her mouth, dictating ownership and pleasure in it.
Bella could almost feel the bruises forming on her lips. She wanted him, but not like this. Pushing him away angrily, she shouted, "Stop it! You can't keep doing this! It's about time you tell me what is going on, Jake. I'm not yours. In case you've forgotten, I never was in the first place."
The wolf inside seethed, growling in protest. "You've always been mine, Bella."
Taking two steps back, narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest, Bella stood firm; resolute that whatever it was that caused him to be so possessive would not dictate the entire night. "Popping my cherry and fucking me on your Harley in the middle of nowhere does not make a relationship." Jacob loomed large over her, but she refused to be afraid, not of him, not even when when his fists balled up in fury at his sides or she noticed the subtle blur of his body threatening to spin out of control.
Jacob's nostrils flared. "Are you saying you regret it? Is that it?"
"What?" Bella tossed her hands up in the air, then pulled at her hair in frustration. "No! I'm saying you owe me an explanation and you need to take it down a notch. I don't know what this whole feral wolf thing is that you have going on, but he better back off. Six years, Jacob," she reminded him, holding up her fingers like a smart-ass so that he could count them lest he'd forgotten just how long that was. "That's exactly how long it has been since I last saw you. You hardly returned any of my letters and we haven't talked at all. That doesn't make a relationship. Hell, you don't even know who I am anymore or what I'm doing here!"
"You're right. I don't know who you are. You up and left and all you sent over the years were damn postcards," he accused.
"At least I wrote."
Jacob stormed out of the room and Bella could hear the slamming of drawers echo throughout the house. Less than a minute later he emerged carrying an oversize shoebox. "Here. Six years worth of letters. Three hundred and fifteen weeks and four days." Jacob turned it over, dumping scrawling pages of white and yellow all over the floor. Lined notebook, napkins, scraps, receipts... it seemed he put a pen on anything and everything as the mood struck.
"I wrote to you all the goddamn time! You wanna read them or should I just recite them out loud? They're all pretty much the same." He snatched one up at random, not bothering to look at the words. "'Dear Bella, I miss the fuck out of you . Why don't you ever call? I still love you. I'm waiting for you to come tear my heart out again.'" He reached for another, brandishing the paper like a razor-sharp knife. "'Dear Bella, I feel lost inside. I wish I could see you. I miss your voice. I'm waiting for you to come home.' You want another one, or is that enough?"
A twist of pain shot straight through her heart over the obvious bitterness of his words. Bella had never known that her leaving would hurt him quite so much. Tears rolled down her cheeks and a sadness crept into her trembling voice that he had never heard before when she spoke. "Jake, I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I thought you understood that I needed to go."
"I did understand, Bella. What I didn't know was that I'd be losing my best friend. That fucking sucked! Then this shit with the pack... my wolf, everything is so messed up. Things have changed." Jacob sank dejectedly into the sofa, wiping his hands over his face in frustration, the rage he had kept bottled up inside for so long dissipating into anguish and despair. "Nothing is the same anymore."
She sat down quietly beside him, perching her chin on his shoulder. "So, tell me about it. I'm here, Jake. I'll still be your best friend if you'll let me."
He shook his head, not daring to look at her face. He wondered how they would get past this. If it was possible to overcome all the distrust and anger brewing between them. "You're gonna hate me after tonight."
But Bella wrapped her arms around him like a true friend, refusing to let him keep this to himself for another minute. "I don't think that's possible. I love you too much to ever hate you."
"I've made so many mistakes, Bella."
"Jake, I'm one big walking mistake," she said dryly. "Hello? Dated a vampire... we all make mistakes. It's part of what makes us human. You taught me that."
A rueful smile crossed over his face. "I wish I were human."
Bella caressed his cheek, forcing him to see her. "You are human. Flesh and blood, a beating heart. Human, Jake. It's a beautiful thing."
He caught her wrist, noticing for the first time that she wore the same leather cuff he had made as a boy. "You still have this."
"I don't wear it that often anymore," she explained. "The bindings are getting worn."
An idea formed in his head, one that would keep his hands busy and show her a new part of himself. A small way to let her into his life. The first step in healing and if he was lucky, forgiveness. Jacob stood up from the sofa and held his hand out to her. "Come with me."
Bella looked up at him expectantly with a wry grin turning up the corners of her pink lips. "Um, I'm not exactly dressed to go anywhere right now."
"Don't worry. We're not leaving the house."
Grasping her by the hand, Jacob walked outside, tugging Bella along behind him like a stumbling child. Marching through the dewy grass and into his garage, he flicked on the lights, then waited anxiously for her response.
Walking through the doorway, Bella stopped short in unexpected surprise. All around her were shelves lined with beautiful carvings made from pine and cedar. Handsome tables and chairs crafted with painstaking precision, waiting to be stained. A long workbench stood beneath the brightest of several overhead lights, covered in tools and pieces of treated leather. The sharp, woody smell of this space was so different from the oil and dirt that had been Jacob's haven as a youth.
He watched her reaction carefully, surging with unmatched pride when her eyes lit with wonder. Bella traced her fingers carefully over the smooth pieces of wood, appreciative of their charm and beauty. "Is all this yours?"
"Yeah. It was just a hobby, but it's turned into a good business." Jacob shrugged modestly. "It relaxes me. Keeps my hands busy when I'm not out running."
"What happened to fixing cars?" If his stone silence wasn't answer enough, the look on his face would have been. She knew what he was saying without a single word being spoken. Memories of the two of them, of lazy summer days watching him work, the laughter of Embry and Quil while they teased each other and warm sodas floated through her mind. If I'd only known then... she thought, feeling a fresh surge of guilt well up inside of her.
"Not your fault, Bella." He looked steadily into her eyes, hoping to convey some sort of peace and understanding. "You did what you needed to do. I wanted that for you. Back then, we were just kids that got pushed into this whole world of supernatural garbage. You needed that time and so did I." Jacob leaned down and pressed his forehead against hers, rubbing noses in an eskimo kiss. "No guilt, Bells."
"So, let's fix your cuff and talk, alright?" Jacob led her over to the bench, gesturing for her to sit on one of the high stools. Then laying her arm on the table, he carefully unlaced the bindings from her wrist, viewing Bella's scars for the first time since he was seventeen. Although he did not show it, a part of him recoiled at the sight, recalling the night he found her covered in blood and venom, half mad and delusional from months of depression and fear. The raised web of white was an outward reminder of internal wounds long since healed. Jacob wished he could erase them from her body, much like he had hidden them so long ago when he first crafted the leather cuff.
"After you left, I was a little lost. Sad, mostly. I missed you a lot. I'd sit around wondering what you were doing, if you were happy. I worried about you." The roughened tips of his fingers traced the puckered web of scars on her wrist, as if they were the key pieces to an unfinished puzzle. "That night when my dad pulled what was left of the venom out of you, I nearly went crazy. I wanted to be with you so bad, but the wolf wouldn't let me. The smell... they were all afraid I'd hurt you. That's the only time I've ever really been scared of what I'd do when I was around you. But, I still wanted to be next to you. It was like a tug-of-war going on inside my head. It took Embry, Paul and Sam to keep me from going in there to be next to you."
"When it was over, some part of me knew. I came inside and you were laying on Charlie's kitchen table, a complete and utter mess, passed out cold from the pain." Jacob concentrated hard on the bits of leather in front of him, painstakingly cutting them to size as if trying to organize and measure his thoughts the same way. "There was always a pull to you. Nobody ever understood it. Jared had thought that maybe I imprinted on you without realizing it. That's how consumed I was with you. Hunting down Victoria was an obsession. I had to destroy her for you. Back then I barely slept, not that I needed it that badly. All of my time was spent either with you or chasing down that red-headed bitch."
Jacob paused for a moment, cautiously untangling the braided rope of his thoughts so that Bella might understand the dynamic of pack life and the way such things affected not only himself but the group as a whole. "The others thought that maybe if we got her, that my worry would ease up. Since you were always in my head, you were in theirs too. Anyway, when I saw that stuff coming out of you, the wolf went ape. Then it was gone and all he wanted was you. To be next to you, to take care of you. If he could have climbed out of me and into your skin, he would have. It was as strong as the way Sam felt about Emily, the way Jared was with Kim. Kind of like the instinctual urge Quil had to take care of Claire. I had to be near you. The pull magnified. Almost as if you put a bug underneath a glass. It was so enlarged the others couldn't understand since it wasn't an imprint. For awhile, I thought maybe there was something wrong with me. Maybe I couldn't imprint. Maybe because I loathed it so much I'd actually willed it away. The only person I wanted it with was you and it never happened."
Tears stung the corners of her eyes, but she swallowed hard, forcing them back. "You don't know how many times I'd wished... Jacob I wanted so much to be with you. But even if I was, it wouldn't have been right back then. Everything about me was so messed up. You would've only ended up hating me, or worse, resenting me."
Jacob smiled touching her cheek softly. "I don't think I could ever hate you."
Bella toyed with a scrap of leather, rolling it between the tips of her fingers like worry beads. "I missed you too, you know. Those first few months in Florida, I hardly left the house. I'd just sit there in the dark, doing nothing but think over every single mistake I made. My regrets nearly swallowed me whole. At least when the venom was in me, I had an excuse."
"Renee yelled at me once. Slapped some common sense into me. It hurt, but it was what I needed. Leah, she called a lot. Phoenix was lonely. All that baking heat that I thought I missed... it wasn't what I needed. It only reminded me of you. Moving to Seattle was sort of like coming home. Leah wouldn't let me wallow. She made me get out and not study quite so much."
Jacob's lips spread into a wide thin smile. "Sounds like Embry. He dragged me out to bars and clubs trying to get me to quit moping around. You shoulda seen the fake ID's he made thinking we needed them."
Bella laughed lightly, imagining Embry bent over a table, deep in a sort of wicked concentration with with a pair of pinking shears and some crazy glue. "Yeah, Leah did that to me too. I think it was good for her though. Cathartic, really. She started putting herself out there a bit more. At first I think she was still trying to get even with Sam, but after awhile it was like she figured out who she was and everything she wanted in life. It was as if a whole new side to her opened up. One night she dragged me out and we ended up at this art gallery opening. That was when we both met Matt. In a lot of ways, he reminds me you."
Jacob sarcastically raised an eyebrow at her. "Okay, maybe except for the gay part," she conceded. "He's a really good guy, Jake. You'd like him if you gave him half a chance. He's brokered a lot of deals with the tribes in the Northwest for pieces of art and it's given them tons of funding. He was the one who pushed me to come back here."
"So, what do you do for him, exactly?" he asked, already hating Matt for every single moment he got to share with Bella that he, himself did not.
"I majored in anthropology and art history, so he hired me to be the liaison with the tribes. Basically, I cut the deals for him now. Leah, though, she's got the real talent for design. She manages most of the shows and we're working together on the layout for a new store. It's why I'm here. Well, Charlie's why I'm here," she amended, "but I would have come in a few weeks anyway. Matt's opening up another gallery in Port Angeles and we'll be running it for him. So, I'm moving to P.A. after Charlie's better."
"You're really staying?" he asked cautiously, afraid to get his hopes up. Bella being here, in his garage still felt like a dream and any minute he could wake up, alone in his bed with only the woods for company.
"That's the plan."
A sort of peace came over his features, something akin to contentment. Bella realized it had much to do with her, but there were still things she had to learn if there was any hope for them to have the faintest resemblance of a real friendship, let alone a relationship. "So, why don't you finish telling me about what happened after I left? I know there's more to the story."
Just like that... the peace vanished from his face, replaced by uncertainty. "There is, but I'm not sure you're really gonna like it."
"Like it or not, I need some answers," she stated firmly. "I feel like everyone's been having a conversation that I'm not part of. Embry was all skittish when he came by, Paul acted like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and even Leah's been avoiding me. To top it off, I've been having these dreams and tonight, Billy basically told me that they were real. I think I have the right to a few answers."
Breathing deeply, Jacob began to slowly unravel the story of the last few years. Becoming Alpha, the seclusion and loneliness that he felt, the way his chest hurt without her. He talked about becoming a hunter, throwing himself into battle and the way the pack functioned under his tight control. Finally, with great trepidation and a pounding heart, he told her about the desperate night he visited Old Quil. Jacob remembered everything with vivid detail. The sticky-sweet smell of the tea, the soft dog hair blanket and the springs groaning inside the old couch beneath his weight. "When I closed my eyes, the air was rushing beneath my feet. I had no idea where I was going... but I could feel you. Almost like an invisible string was pulling me toward you."
Astounded, Bella recalled it all in clear detail along with him, as if reliving that night. "You stood outside my window, throwing pebbles... Jake, it was real, wasn't it? We stayed up all night talking. I remember. I didn't want to fall asleep because I was afraid you'd be gone in the morning."
His face was earnest but when he spoke, Jacob's voice was rich with suffering. "You looked so beautiful, Bella. You were happy. That was all I had ever wanted for you, but I wasn't there to watch it happen."
"But, I wasn't," she assured him. "Not really. I needed you so much. I wanted you with me. I suppose at the time I didn't realize it, but I was slowly working my way back home."
Jacob's brows pulled together, nodding his head in comprehension. The rest began to spill from his lips in a rush, words that needed to be released before he lost the nerve to tell her. "After that night, I kept drinking the tea. My dad and Old Quil tried to warn me, but I wouldn't listen to anything they had to say. In fact, I never even let them get the words out. I was like a miser, or worse, a junkie, rationing the leaves like a drug." Jacob's eyes squeezed tightly closed, the fingers of his left hand curling into a fist as though he wanted to fight the ghost of himself in order to ease the weight of his guilt and the demons which had possessed him. "When it was gone, I freaked out, went on a rampage demanding Old Quil give me more. I needed to be able to see you. He wouldn't do it. I was a madman that night, tearing up the forest, going nuts. All I wanted to do was run wolf and exhaust myself so that I wouldn't miss the dreams. When I did finally sleep, I was shocked to figure out that I could do it on my own."
The old fear crept in. The one that had haunted Jacob from the very first shift. The one that whispered he was less human and more animal than anything else. That one day he would lose himself to it. Already the signs were there. Feeling like a lost sixteen-year-old boy again, he needed her reassurances to believe that there was still more to him than the wolf and all that went with it. "Spirit walking is something that nobody else in the tribe can do. It's a part of our legends, but that's all we ever really thought it was. Nothing more than a myth."
"I'm so sorry, Bella. I should have explained it to you. I should have driven to Seattle and told you everything. I was so determined that you needed to come to me. The wolf wanted you to come to me. I didn't want to take away your choice. Now that you're here, I don't know if I can let you leave."
Jacob waited while she absorbed it all, expecting for her to storm out in anger for blatantly violating the trust between them many times.
Finally she spoke. "So, you're telling me that we, that those times that..."
"Yeah, but not..." Jacob buried his face in his hands, thumbs rubbing his temples as though easing a headache. "God, this is so screwed up."
"I'm sorry, I guess I just don't know what to say. I mean, part of it makes sense. Leah would always phase on those nights that you came to me. It was like she could sense it. Whatever you were feeling... it's really hard to explain. You should talk to her about it. But Jake, if you were suffering, I wish I would have known. I would have come. Instead, I figured you moved on or that you hated me. Not hearing a word from you sucked. All this time I thought you had found your imprint or just forgotten about me."
At that statement, Jacob looked straight at her, his brow wrinkled but completely resolute. "Not for a second. I could never forget you. I loved you then and I still love you."
Grappling with her own feelings, Bella struggled with the next words she spoke. "You say that, but you don't really know me anymore. How can you love a person without knowing who they are?"
Jacob took her hand in his, holding them both over his heart. "You know me in here, where it counts." Then he placed his other hand over her heart. "I know you here. That's what counts, Bells. It's all that matters."
When she didn't say anything in response, he dropped his hands, defeated, then finished feeding the new laces on the cuff. Placing it over her wrist, he secured the bindings while telling her what was in his heart and mind. "I'm not asking you to live with me. I'm not asking for anything really except for us to spend some time together again. I won't stop you if you want to see other people. I'm not gonna lie. The wolf won't like it and neither will I. But, I need you in my life, Bella. Having you here, it helps."
"Jacob, why didn't you come to the hospital? I wanted to see you so much. Everyone stayed away. Then Leah showed up with my truck and I knew it had to have been you who sent it. Why? I was terrified about Charlie and you didn't come."
He swallowed hard with guilt and shame. One more confession that he needed to make, a sickening one at that. "I did come. That first night. Leah phased and I saw you were there. I picked through the images in her mind and saw you..." he trailed off, ashamed of his foolish pride. "I saw things that were none of my business. I was wild. Pissed off. I jumped on my bike and sat in that parking lot in the pouring rain. I could pinpoint exactly which window was Charlie's. I could see your shadow moving inside. I sat there for hours, just waiting to get a glimpse of you. I couldn't do it. I was afraid, Bella. I wanted you to come to me of your own free will. My head has been so screwed up. The pack, they didn't want your scent near me. They thought it would drive me nuts. Hell, they were probably right," he admitted. "I was being so damn territorial. Acting like a damn animal, running patrols past your house at all hours. Then when I saw him there today, I went berserk. I got jealous and stormed in there today like an asshole."
"Yeah, you kinda did," she agreed, laughing a little now that she was removed from it. Besides, he was being so petulant, more like an awkward teenager than a man, that she could almost forgive him anything if he asked it of her.
"I really am sorry," he replied. "Then that shit tonight... you deserve better than me screwing you on my bike and shredding your clothes."
"Jake, we were both there," she reminded him. "I didn't exactly say no, did I?"
"Still, I should've known better. I just... Bella, I wanted you so badly. I wanted to feel you again. You're not just some random fuck for me. You need to know that."
Bella leaned her head on his shoulder in reassurance. "I do know that or it wouldn't have happened."
"So where do we go from here?" he asked timidly.
"Bed?" Bella yawned even as the word came out of her mouth. "I'm tired Jacob. This is probably enough for tonight. We can talk some more tomorrow."
"Do you want me to take you home?" he asked, silently praying at the same time he offered that she wouldn't actually leave. "You don't have to stay, Bells. I'd understand if you want a little space."
"No. It's late, I'm not going anywhere."
Bella paused when Jacob led her up the stairs to the bedroom. The thought occurred to her that she wasn't the only woman he'd been with and even though she'd had other men in her life, none of them had ever lain down in her bed. Maybe it was a stupid notion, but it was something she couldn't bring herself to do. "Jake, I'm not going to rob you of your mattress. I'll sleep on the sofa."
He looked at her skeptically, deciphering in an instant what was bothering her. Edward might have complained that he couldn't read her thoughts, that she was a mystery to him, but with Jacob, everything was an open book. One look and he could sense exactly what was bothering her. "Hey, it's alright. I won't lie and say it's only been you, but no other woman has ever been in my bed. In fact, none of them have ever been in my home. Only you."
He tucked her in that night, kissed her forehead, pausing briefly at the top of the stairs to turn out the light. "Night, Bells."
It felt wrong. All of it.
"Jake? Stay with me?" Even in the darkness, Bella could see the outline of his body relax with the offer. The truth was, she needed him next to her. No matter how far apart they'd been, no matter what had passed between them, Jacob Black was her support, comfort and home.
The bed concaved when he crawled in beside her seconds later. She'd watched in the dark while he undressed, the muscles of his back flexing when he peeled off his t-shirt and then unbuckled his jeans, sliding them down his long legs. Jacob was just as beautiful as she remembered all those years ago. Without hesitation, Bella rested her head on his chest, draping an arm over his stomach, curling into his warmth.
Kissing the crown of her hair, he listened to the soft fluttering of her heart and gentle, even breathing long after she had fallen asleep. He laid there that night, afraid to close his eyes, afraid that it might all be just another dream and she'd slip through his fingers once more.
So... what do you think? Have they both grown enough to understand life and love? Can they move forward? Jacob, though sweet, is definitively laying a claim. Thank you all for the reviews. I apologize for not answering them since I was on vacation. I'm back now and ready to dive in again!