Jana: Thanks so much for considering me your favorite author. I'm flattered and honored. I'm thrilled that you enjoyed the chapter, and have to smile that I rendered you speechless.
Guest(s): Glad you liked it. Hope this came soon enough.
Husna: Yeah, that foreplay was pretty hot. And that was just buildup to the main event. Just saying. Jake certainly hasn't handled things as well as he could/should have, and Bella's not making it easy on him, either. She's not stupid and can see when someone is feeding her BS. You're right that forgiveness has to be earned, and Jake hasn't done that. Meeting is almost here, and then we'll see how Jake handles the reality of the current situation.
Credit to Debbie Collins on Tricky Raven for suggesting Meatloaf's song "Paradise on the Dashboard" as being very descriptive of Bella and Embry's current status, baseball allusion and all. Thanks as well to mc7575 and Feebes86 for their help in idea-bouncing and tweaking of a couple chapter segments.
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Bella POV
I woke up feeling less rested than I would have liked. But the very vivid dreams I'd had last night might explain that, and the fact that my body, pajamas, and sheets were all sweaty. Embry and I seemed to be in a cycle where our activities influenced our dreams which affected our activities. I wasn't complaining, but it could easily become overwhelming if I let myself over-think it. But that was something I was trying hard not to do. Leah had been so right in saying that Embry would look after me—after both of us—and her advice to do what felt right had been more than pleasurable. Pleasure...I began to feel once more that feeling of arousal I was growing ever more familiar with as I remembered yesterday—most specifically Embry saying that if he'd had more than one condom with him, that we probably would have gone further than we had, even for that baseball-referencing 'Grand Slam'.
As I spent a long time in the bathroom, in a more involved morning routine than usual, I thought about Embry. It amazed me how special and important he'd become to me over this summer, starting with that first day where he'd saved me from a tumble down the stairs and tricked me into that eating contest. Maybe that old saying about watching out for the quiet ones had truth to it: Embry had somehow inserted himself into my life in ways that I didn't understand even as I enjoyed them. He was so caring but not weak, calm yet intense, and sexy above all. Maybe that was something else we'd each given the other in recent weeks: self-confidence, and the powerful awareness of being wanted. And I did want Embry. I wanted him in ways and to a depth that Edward had never ever evoked in me. I had thought I'd loved my vampire...but I hadn't known what love really was. With Embry, I did. He'd learned—or known instinctively—something that Edward hadn't been able to grasp after over a century: how to say 'no' and 'not yet' without making me feel lessened for having asked. And now those answers had become 'yes' and 'soon', and was about to be 'now'. Perhaps even today, which explained why I was currently spending so much time shaving, applying lotion, and giving my hair an extra conditioning treatment. If it did happen, I wanted to be ready on the outside like I now was on the inside.
Prepped for my day-whatever it might hold-I pulled some food together, including the cookies I'd made last night in my temper-cooling cook-fest. Embry arrived just as I finished. As soon as he was inside, he had me pushed against the wall, lifted up to a height convenient for the intense kisses he began to deliver and that I quickly started to return.
I writhed against Embry, seeking something. He groaned, let me reconnect with the floor, and flipped away from me to rest against the wall at my side.
"Fuck, Bella," he swore, breathing deeply several times. "If we're going out looking for that meadow again, we need to do it now, or we won't be leaving this house at all today."
It was obvious what Embry meant, and I did think about it. It was very tempting to just stay and see what happened, but I'd had this idea of finding the meadow in my head for a while now, and I just really wanted the satisfaction of knowing that I'd taken my new boyfriend to Edward's favorite sanctuary. And if said boyfriend and I happened to engage in some relationship affirmation that would thoroughly scandalize a prudish vampire, then so much the better.
"Delayed gratification is said to be quite rewarding," I commented. "And considering how we unwound after not finding the meadow yesterday…after we do see it today…"
"Guess we'll see, won't we? Are you ready to leave?"
"I've just got to get the water bottles out of the fridge. If you'd like…Charlie does have an air mattress up in the attic for those long fishing trips he takes…" I trailed off, waiting to see what Embry would do with the hinting reminder.
"I'll be right back," and he vanished up the stairs. Soon, the sound of the mattress' motor drifted down to me; Embry was clearly setting the airbed up now. Within minutes, we were out the door and on his bike again for the trip out of town.
Much like yesterday, I handled the hiking part of our expedition much better than I would have expected. Not that I was complaining about being more coordinated than usual. I didn't remember the route, but then again the only times I'd ever traveled it had been on the back of a speeding vampire, and trying to look at anything while he'd carried me would just have given me motion sickness. But between our advance work and Embry's skills in the woods, we ended up approaching an area that somehow seemed familiar. Holding hands, we stepped out of the trees into an open meadow—into Edward's meadow. The early spring flowers of my last visit had exploded into a full summer profusion of color and scent.
"Is this it?" Embry asked.
I nodded.
"Guess it would be a nice place to come and visit, but…this was seriously his favorite place to come and be alone?"
"Yeah."
"Man, he must've really needed the isolation. This is a heck of a long hike even from their place north of Forks."
"They really liked hiking and camping and stuff. Dr. and Mrs. Cullen pulled their kids out of school all the time for family trips—at least, that's what Jessica said once."
"Lucky."
"I guess so. All of them were adopted as teenagers, and with the others all paired off like they were, Edward probably did need a place they wouldn't find him easily."
Further conversation was forestalled by both of our rumbling stomachs. Embry pulled a light picnic cloth out of the backpack, and we settled onto it to enjoy the lunch I'd packed. Bites of food were interspersed with kisses and cuddles. The warm sun shone down from a clear sky, heating my blood like water slowly being brought to a boil. I'd only just begun to wonder if Embry had a condom in his pocket again, when his body stiffened next to mine.
"What is it?"
"I don't know. I thought I heard something, or someone," Embry jumped to his feet and pulled me up after him.
I looked around, trying to catch whatever Embry had noticed. Suddenly, I did—and my heart stopped. On the other side of the meadow, a figure with long dark dreadlocks had seemingly appeared out of thin air. It was someone I knew, but hadn't expected or wanted to ever see again. In contrast to the golden leather jacket and jeans he'd worn the first time, he had a plum-colored suit jacket and dress pants on this time. The big difference from the last time I'd seen him was that one sleeve on the jacket had been cut away at the shoulder—not needed since there wasn't an arm there. And when he used vampire speed to move closer in the instant between one blink and the next, I saw that his eyes were the same crimson color as before.
But he's supposed to be with the vegetarians in Alaska… I tried to puzzle it out. He told the Cullens he wanted to try the lifestyle. His eyes ought to be yellow. But they weren't. So either the Alaskans had fallen off the wagon, or Laurent had. Either way, it was very bad news for both me and for Embry. And I cursed myself for having the damn-fool idea of finding this meadow in the first place.
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Narrator POV
The pack had been spread out across a good portion of the Olympic Forest when Paul had skidded to a stop and thrown back his head in a howl. Bloodsucker!
Which one? More than one? Do you know it? Sam was instantly hard-focused.
Just dreadlocks. Just him.
Track it, the Alpha ordered. Everyone, sweep in.
The four other wolves were instantly on the move, using their mental link to hone in on Paul's location and the threat they were designed to eliminate.
Whew. It's getting really strong, Quil grimaced.
Wait! What's that? Jake's voice carried a growing note of panic. The others cast about with their senses, and caught other scents besides that of the vampire, and both familiar and unfamiliar voices.
"I went to the Cullens' place. I was surprised to find them gone. Weren't you something of a pet of theirs?" the unknown voice asked, with a tone right out of an episode of "Swamp People".
"Something like that," Bella's voice admitted.
"Do they visit often?" he asked next
"Why are you asking me that, Laurent? You moved in with their cousins the last I heard. Why wouldn't they have told you the Cullens moved to Los Angeles?" Bella scoffed.
The wolves crept to the edge of the forest, still unnoticed by those standing in the middle of the meadow.
Sam! Jake mentally screamed. He's gonna—
We don't know what he's going to do. It's obvious she knows him somehow.
"Ah, well, I actually moved on a few months ago," the vampire sighed with obviously false regret. "We just didn't turn out to be compatible housemates."
"That's too bad," Bella offered, seeming to edge close to panic with each passing moment, and just as clearly trying to hide it. "But I guess sometimes things just don't work out. Like me and Edward, for instance. He moved, and I've moved on."
"What?" the leech, Laurent, sounded surprised. "But he was—"
Embry spoke for the first time. "He was an idiot who didn't appreciate what he had. Believe me, I won't be making that mistake. And who exactly are you and what are you doing here?"
"You have moved on?" confusion still filled the vampire's voice; he seemed focused completely on Bella, and didn't even acknowledge Embry or his questions. "He is your mate, Bella."
"That's a load of crap," she denied. "If I meant that much to him, would he have moved over a thousand miles away?"
"If he'd cared," added Embry, "he wouldn't have destroyed her the way he did. Like Bella said, she's moved on—with me."
Laurent sighed heavily. "This is unfortunate. I'm afraid that Victoria isn't going to like this. And I'm sorry to say that I don't think she'll believe you, dear Bella. She is convinced that you are Edward Cullen's mate. What did he say to make you think otherwise?"
"Well, the whole 'I don't want you anymore, you're no good for me' and then abandoning me in the middle of the forest at night were pretty big clues, I'd say," she retorted.
"He lied, then. You will be his mate for as long as you both exist. And she is counting on that."
"Victoria?" Bella gasped. "Why would she care whether or not Edward and I are together?"
"What the hell is going on here? Who's Victoria, and why does she care about Edward's ex-girlfriend?" Embry spoke to the vampire again.
"I actually came here as a favor to her. She wants revenge. You see, Bella, Victoria blames Edward for the death of her mate, James, and she will kill you slowly and painfully so that he suffers as much as she does." He was now standing very close to the teens. "But, I can promise to kill you more quickly than Victoria would. She won't be happy about me killing you." He didn't seem too regretful about the idea. "Regrettably, young man, you seem to be in the wrong place and with the wrong girl, which is unfortunate for you as well."
"So because she's got a 'woman scorned' thing going on here, she sent you to try and kill Bella? How screwed up is that?" Embry scoffed. "And honestly, what does that say about you? The two of you must be really good friends if you drop everything to come here and check on things."
Bella picked up the distraction game then. "Are you sure she isn't testing you? I mean, all you'd have had to do was make nice with those Alaskan cousins of the Cullen family again to find out that they moved away from here at the beginning of the summer. 'Not happy with you' is probably going to be an understatement. Are you sure it's worth it?"
"You are so tempting, Bella. Yes, you just might be worth risking Victoria's anger."
See, Sam! He's going to kill her. He's going to kill Bella! Jake was almost beyond any control or restraint.
Embry doesn't deserve to die, either! Come on! They won't be able to keep distracting him for much longer, Quil begged.
Move in.
The pack stepped out from the cover of the forest, flanking their Alpha to either side. The trio in the meadow all seemed to see the wolves at the same moment.
Impossible, Laurent gasped.
Both Bella and Embry stood frozen and speechless.
Get her out of here, idiot, Jake screamed at Embry, in that moment not caring that he was sending his soon-to-be imprint away with his rival. Run!
In the next instant, everyone was moving. Laurent shot away to the side, racing to escape the encircling pack of wolves. The wolves put on speed and tore after the vampire. And Embry grabbed Bella's hand, turned, and ran hard.
Try to kill my Bella? Jake demanded. Like hell you will. This ends now.
In a synchronous movement, the five wolves of the La Push pack tore across the meadow after the fleeing vampire.
Paul, Jared, swing around to each side and we'll flank him. Quil, Jake, keep on his heels. Don't give him the chance to get into the trees again. Sam shot out orders. The wolves pounded through the trees, intent on catching this vampire once and for all. He wasn't quite as crazy good as the redhead, but sheer panic made him pretty inventive just the same—and the missing arm meant one less way that a wolf could grab hold of him.
Don't let him get close to the water.
Watch it! Nothing fancy, just run him down.
Finally, after they'd chased him more than halfway across the state, Jared got a lucky grip around the leech's dreadlocks and jerked him right off his feet, sending him flying through the air into the jaws of Jake and Paul. Two violent tugs later, and Laurent was a pile of vampire parts. Sam phased back human and pulled out a lighter from his ankle pouch, directing Quil to check to ensure they hadn't missed any of the pieces.
"Kill Bella?" a now-human Jacob hissed at the bloodsucker. "You are about to burn. You'll never be a threat to her ever again."
The pack watched in silence as the vampire was incinerated into a cloud of sickening purple smoke. Once he was completely gone, and the area checked for any fire risk, the Alpha ordered his wolves to head for home.
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Embry POV
From Bella trying to kill me with pleasure earlier, to this strange sparkling black guy telling me I was really about to die, this day was going downhill fast. I figured out pretty quick that Bella had met this guy sometime with the Cullens. I had no idea who this Victoria he mentioned was, but the way he kept calling my Bella the 'mate' of that bastard Cullen-like they were bound together somehow-just pissed me off. And how exactly was he planning to kill us? He didn't have a gun that I could see, so what was his plan? I was only seventeen—I didn't want to die yet, especially not at the hands of some crazy person. The whole idea made me mad. But mixed in with my anger was fear.
People don't sparkle, not unless they took a glitter shower. Maybe this guy swings that way-look at how he's dressed-but I don't think so. My mind started gibbering with random crap. The way he talked, how fast he moved...everything about him screamed 'wrong'. A smell like a combination of rotten bleach and burnt sugar flooded my nostrils, making me want to gag. The crazy hungry look in his blood red eyes—who wears contacts like those unless they're dressed up like a vampire forHalloween?—made me shiver. Fast, crazy, evil, killer…can't be. Not real.
Bella was getting freaked out by all of this, and so was I. And then, as if things couldn't possibly get any worse, they did. A pack of massive horse-sized wolves emerged from the forest. Now I knew we were about to buy the farm. No wolves get that big! Hell, I don't want to die a virgin! My body was shaking, my pores were oozing sweat, and my mind was completely blank of any escape plans-what was the point? Besides, I knew enough about wolves to know that running was probably the worst idea a person could come up with. Wolves were predators, and predators loved nothing better than easy prey, like a runner.
The wolves seemed to be ignoring Bella and me, though. Their dark eyes were focused on whoever—whatever—this Laurent guy was. All except one wolf: a reddish one who looked at Bella possessively—how can a wolf look at someone possessively?-and then at me with a 'what the hell are you still standing around here for?' look in his gaze—eyes that somehow, impossibly looked familiar. I must be going crazy! Why am I thinking that a wolf has eyes just like Jake's? As insane as it was to be taking advice from an animal, running seemed like a good idea if we had a shot of getting away. Just then, we got just that: the sparkly black guy took off in a blur, and I grabbed Bella and started to run, backpack and blanket forgotten. Snarls and howls behind us made me hope that the wolves really were on our side and that the crazy guy wouldn't be chasing us down.
Panic gave me super-human speed-or at least that's how it felt. Quicker than I thought, and yet not soon enough, we were back where we'd parked my bike. I tore my pocket yanking my key out, and it took a few attempts to get it in the ignition with how badly I was shaking.
"Don't let go," I ordered Bella, and opened the throttle up full.
My chest heaved and I really had to concentrate hard to keep the bike firmly on the road and getting us out of there. By the time we got back to Forks, I'd barely calmed down at all. The rotation of the tires on my bike had kept a refrain of 'you could have died', 'Bella could have died', 'you're virgins', on an endless cycle in my brain. And that wolf...the echoes of Jake were enough to make me get pissed off again. Coming to a stop in Bella's driveway, only habit and pride in my bike kept me from letting it drop as I swung off, bringing Bella with me. The second we were inside the house, I had her sandwiched between my body and the wall again, devouring her with fear-fueled lust.
"We almost died today," I growled. "Him-them-we almost died. I don't know what that was, but we almost died."
"I know," Bella shook against me. "I don't want to die. I want..."
"What do you want, Bella?"
"I want you. Us. Everything."
At that, I ran up the stairs, Bella held tightly against my chest.
Setting her down on the floor of her bedroom next to the air mattress, I felt an equal mixture of anticipation, lust, and nerves-emotions Bella seemed to be sharing. Things had been building up to this practically from day one, we both wanted this, yet it still felt like we were about to take a flying leap off a really tall cliff. All the research in the world couldn't really prepare for the reality.
"'Even the longest journey must begin where you stand'," Bella seemed to be quoting something.
It seemed to be good advice, especially now. I bent over and kissed her again, more gently than I'd done downstairs. The soft contact of our lips and tongues segued into equally careful caresses of hands over arms, shoulders, and sides. Shirts were hindrances to be pulled off and tossed away without thought. I pushed her gently to sit on her bed and bent down to remove her boots and socks. Bella herself lay back and lifted her hips off the bed to allow her jeans to be pulled off as well. Viewing her nearly naked form had me leaning over her for more contact. Bella's foot dangled over the edge of the bed and brushed against my hip.
"One of us is decidedly overdressed," she announced.
With a growl of-agreement, irritation, I didn't know what-I reared backward, stood up, and quickly stripped off my remaining clothing. Bella matched me and also got to her feet. My head started to roll backward and my heart to pound when Bella's small hands spread wide over my stomach and then up to my chest. She pressed a kiss to my skin while one of her hands rested over my heart.
"I want you," Bella repeated what she'd told me downstairs.
"And I want you," I replied. "I think I always have, and I know I always will." My hands covered hers, claimed them, and used the contact to pull her the few steps to the air mattress, steadying Bella on her way down. I stayed on my feet, retrieving the small handful of condom wrappers from my abandoned jeans. "Just in case," my lips quirked apologetically.
Bella watched intently as I rolled the condom over my steel-rod of a cock and then eased down onto the mattress next to her. Facing each other on our sides, we flowed together, a hand on each of our backs encouraging full contact. When Bella's hand drifted down to stroke and then squeeze my butt, my body reflexively bucked up into her. I could feel-and I swear, smell-her reaction to that. My hand shifted down and around to rest between her legs. She was already wet, but I wanted her even wetter first. If Paul's tips were trustworthy—which they had been so far—it would be ever better if I could make her come first, before we had sex. So I trailed my fingers through her curls, along the damp folds that beckoned me into her. After rubbing over her clit, I let my fingers follow that summons, dipping just insider her, rubbing, pressing...Bella's hips began to move, her internal muscles starting to clench around my digits. I looked up then, to see her eyes staring back at me, as wide open as the 'o' of her mouth.
"Oh, oh, OH!" and she tipped over the edge.
I couldn't wait to follow suit, and shifted up onto my hands and knees and moving until I was straddling her prone form.
"I'll be as gentle as I can," I promised. "Tell me if I need to stop or wait or anything, okay?" I hoped her head bob was a nod of agreement, because my body was telling me I needed to do something, and soon. I used one hand to guide my covered cock to the juncture of Bella's legs, and to stroke back and forth through her moisture. Then, slowly and carefully, I started to ease inside, moving just a fraction at a time. "Never, ever, under any circumstances, use the band-aid method the first time. Take it slow and easy. Watch her and feel her; she'll show you what she needs even if she can't say it." The advice I'd been given guided my movements. I pulled back, then in again, back and forth, until I came up against a barrier. I knew I'd have to just push through, but I hated making Bella hurt, even if just for a few seconds.
"Sorry," the word whispered out of my lips. I pulled back one more and pushed in harder, all the way in, breaking through the proof that I was the first—intended to be the only—man with her. A cry of pain escaped Bella's lips, and a pair of tears tracked down her cheeks. As I'd promised, I froze instantly, my body weight anchoring her to the bed. Bella's hands dug into my arms, and breaths hissed through her lips. I lifted my torso up slightly and moved my hand to tip Bella's head so that I could claim her mouth again. My tongue in her mouth echoed our other physical joining, trying to spin us both higher and above any pain. It seemed to work, as Bella began to try and rub against me.
"O-o-k-kay," she managed. "Try..." And I retreated a little, then advanced into her again, starting slow and then moving faster and faster, coming almost all the way out and then pushing all the way back in. With each stroke, the discomfort was farther and farther removed from Bella's eyes and face. Remembering how good it had felt for both of us before, my fingers again found their way between Bella's legs to caress her. Feeling my touch on her skin just where my cock was pumping in and out of her body truly ignited an inferno in me-and in Bella as well. She began to jerk underneath me, and the vise-like tightening of her muscles around my cock...Bella screamed my name as she exploded into orgasm. Feel, sound, sight...everything was a white blur to me. The grip my Bella had upon my body almost instantly bucked me into her one final time before my own orgasm erupted into the condom and my shout into the air. My lungs were empty and my limbs boneless; I collapsed down onto the mattress-onto Bella-as complete dead weight.
Time was irrelevant while we both attempted to process what had just happened. I would never regret that we had taken our time getting to this milestone in our relationship, but now that I knew what this was really like, I couldn't help but think If I'd known how good this was going to feel, there's no way we would have waited this long. Belatedly realizing that I had to be squashing my girlfriend, I locked my arms and legs and carefully eased my softening cock up out of her body, going onto my knees to pull off the condom and toss it into the nearby trashcan.
Bella hadn't moved from her spot on the mattress, other than to wince a little when I'd pulled out. Somehow I managed to get to my feet, and walked naked out of her room to the bathroom. I grabbed a couple wash clothes, used one to swiftly wipe myself clean, and ran the other under warm water to take back to Bella. I didn't interrupt the silence in her bedroom as I ran the damp cloth gently over her face, neck, breasts, stomach, and finally between her legs. She flinched away from even that light contact of the rag against her sensitive opening. The blood that came away on the rag told me why, and I felt terrible again that I'd hurt her, even unwillingly.
"I'm sorry, Bella," my words were barely a whisper.
"Why?" she murmured. "Why are you sorry?"
"I hurt you. I didn't mean to, but-"
She opened her eyes and looked down the length of her body to where I sat crouched, still naked, between her legs. "I knew it would hurt some—the books and magazines were right about that. But you did everything right, Embry. You waiting until I was comfortable to start moving again, you touched me, looked after me...it was wonderful. I didn't really understand what it would be like."
"So, you liked it?" I carefully relocated to my former spot next to her on the mattress.
A soft smile. "I did. I'll need some time before we do that again, I think, but I liked it. I'm humbled and amazed that you wanted to share this with me."
"And you, with me. You're the only girl I've ever dreamed of being with this way." After a pause, I continued, "I don't want this to come out wrong, but...what now?"
"I don't think I'm up to doing anything at all," Bella confessed. "With everything today, I'm almost too sore to move."
Today. Now that the post-sex haze was starting to clear, everything that had led up to it flooded back into my mind. It was almost too much to handle-pretty much like coming inside Bella had been. We'd talked some about the one; did we want to talk about the other now? So I asked.
"Do you want to?" she turned the question back on me.
"I know we need to," I began, "but I'm not sure how. There's just too much to process, and my brain just got turned to mush."
"Later tonight, or tomorrow?" Bella suggested.
"Tomorrow. This way I can think about it all tonight and figure out what my questions ought to be."
"I'll tell you everything I can," she promised. "And I wasn't deliberately trying to hide it from you up till now-so much of it is things that aren't mine to share."
"I believe you," I assured her. "We'll talk tomorrow. As for the rest of today..."
"Can we just stay here for a little while," then she giggled, "or maybe up on the bed-I think we gave this air mattress quite a beating, because it's going flat."
"Then it died in a good cause," I shrugged, but scooted off the mattress all the same and picked Bella up to move her. I made sure she was covered by the bedsheet and crawled up next to her.
"Mmm," Bella sighed, snuggling close. "You're like a hot water bottle or a heating pad. It feels good to me...but are you okay?"
"I feel fine. Better than fine, honestly."
"Not to mention smug, right?"
"Well..." I dropped a kiss on her temple, and rested one hand over her belly.
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Bella POV
I probably could have stayed right there forever and been happy. But my body's soreness needed something more than Embry's heated hand could provide.
"I think I might feel better if I soaked in the tub for a while."
"That sounds good. I'll let you do that and head on home."
"Why?"
"Time to think, remember? Plus, I don't think I'd have a prayer of being around your dad tonight and keeping what we did this afternoon off my face."
"Argh," my head tried to burrow into my pillow. I'd completely forgotten about that. Was my dad going to be able to tell that I wasn't a virgin anymore? He wasn't stupid, and every always said that my face was an open book. If Embry was concerned about spilling the secret himself, then I probably ought to be terrified. "Okay," I sighed. "I guess you're right."
Embry seemed to know what had me worried now. "Hey, I'm going to end up facing my parent, too, regardless of when I go home. We'll just have to tell them both-only if the topic comes up-that we're both old enough and responsible enough to make this decision, and that we took care of precautions a while ago." He seemed to be trying to convince himself as much as me, but I appreciated the gesture anyway.
"Alright. You'd better go before we get busted."
"I'll get your bath running and then head out."
Alone in my house, I sank into the tub with an audible moan. Cuddling with Embry had been really good, but this literally hit the spot just now. I soaked in the scented bubble-covered water until it started to cool, then climbed out of the tub with another groan, and got dressed in a new outfit. Grabbing my dirty clothes, and the sheets from the air mattress and my bed, I started the laundry after treating the small blood spots with stain remover. As I worked, my mind drifted back to the meadow, the events there, and just what I could possibly say to Embry about it all. That I would have to say something wasn't in question, but the specifics...
A loud and lengthy hammering on the front door jolted me from my thoughts. I walked to answer it, proud of myself that I wasn't showing any discomfort. I threw the door open and stared at the back of my unexpected visitor. Even without seeing his face, I knew who this had to be.
"Jacob." My voice was as flat as it had been last night when he'd caught me on the phone. I looked past him and spotted Quil and Paul standing down on the edge of the driveway and front yard.
"Why have you been avoiding me, Bells?" Jacob had turned back around while I'd been looking at his friends.
"Why did you avoid me?"
"Bells, it-"
"Jacob Black, if you're planning on saying anything like you did last night, about how it wasn't your fault, or you didn't want to do it, or how I have to forgive you, then please, save your breath and me the irritation. My answer is the same now as then: it was, you did, and I don't. All you're proving is that you still don't understand and that nothing has changed."
His hands-which I was watching instead of looking up at him-clenched briefly into fists before deliberately relaxing.
"Okay, maybe you're right. But, Bells, you're not gonna know what's been going on unless you let me actually explain it-then you'll understand. Will you give me a chance?"
I sighed heavily. I didn't really want to, not on top of everything else I'd been through today, but my dad had had a good point that I wouldn't be able to justly decide if Jake deserved forgiveness or not unless I actually heard him out. "Fine." I stepped back and left the door open. Footfalls indicated that Jake, and probably the other two as well, was following me into the house.
"Okay, Jake. You want to try and explain this, go right ahead. Try to make me understand how you could avoid me and Embry like we had the plague. Explain what you think gives you the right to pass judgment on us and our choices."
"First, you tell me, Bella: what made you make the choice to start dating one of my best friends when you knew-you had to know-how I felt about you, how I've always felt about you?"
"It's not about you, Jake. He liked me, I liked him; he asked me, I said yes. Just like practically every other couple on the planet who decide to start dating."
"So, what, it never meant anything? The connection we've always had?"
"You've been one of my best friends for a long time, Jake, but that's all you've ever been to me," I kept my gaze focused on the hands folded in my lap. "I'm thankful for how much you helped me this summer, and Quil, too. Embry just helped me more, and differently."
"How is it different?" he cried out. I couldn't help looking upward then, finally meeting Jake's eyes.
"I don't know how it's different, just that it is. It's not that one of you is better than the other, just that I feel that Embry is the right one for me."
Jake's fists were clenched again and he was breathing heavily even while he refused to break our eye contact. The breathing was almost like what Embry did when I tested his self-control, but different. Even though this wasn't really the time, my body automatically reacted to my new line of thinking.
"What the hell is that smell?" Quil cut in; maybe he was trying to break the tension like he'd often done in the past. If that was his plan, though, it didn't work very well.
Paul laughed. "That, my friend, is the wondrous Eau de Sex."
My embarrassment warred with confusion. Just because Embry and I had just had sex today didn't mean I wanted everyone-anyone-to know about it. And how in the world would Paul be able to tell? How could he possibly smell that?
Jake's black gaze bore into me. "Is it true, Bella? Did Embry have sex with you? Take advantage of you?"
"Shut the hell up, Jacob Black. How dare you think you have any right to ask me a question like that? It's none of your damn business what I do or who I do it with!"
"Answer the damn question, Bella!"
"Yes!" I flung the word at him defiantly. "Yes, I did have sex with Embry. He's my boyfriend, I love him, and we both wanted this. You're a real jerk and an idiot to think that Embry would ever take advantage of me, or that I'd let him. I'm a cop's daughter, damn it. I know how to defend myself. Get it through your stone skull, Jake: I wanted to have sex with Embry-and that's just what I did."
Jake's burning stare made me shrink back involuntarily into my chair, away from the heat and fury, attempting to put distance between myself and this hulking shaking stranger that had once been my friend. His trembling seemed to alarm Quil and Paul just as much as it did me. Quil grabbed hold of Jake's arm and began to bodily haul him from the living room, Paul pushing him from behind. They went into the kitchen, and from the sound of it, out the back door. With my usual lack of self-preservation, I followed them, getting to the door just in time to see Quil push Jacob into the woods that bordered the backyard. Paul was waiting on the small back patio, warily watching me. He started to follow the others, but stopped and turned back.
"Whatever happens, Bella, stick to your guns, okay? Don't second-guess yourself, or what you want. And don't doubt Embry, either."
More confused than ever, I watched in silence as the forest swallowed him up, too. I remained motionless for several minutes before turning back into the house. As I reached to shut the back door, a fierce howl echoed outward from the depths of the forest, making me shiver.
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Narrator POV
Quil had barely gotten Jake out of sight-and himself out of range-before the youth phased in a violent explosion of clothing fragments. Without pausing, Jake dug his claws into the forest loam and tore in the direction of home. His thoughts were chaotic and enraged.
Bella-Embry-mine-no imprint-why-sex-wrong-why-mine-Bella-EMBRY!
He ignored Quil's shouts of his name, focused now on venting his fury on the appropriate target.
Sam! Paul shouted mentally, adding a vocal howl to the urgent summons.
What?
Jake's beyond pissed off that Bella and Embry did the deed today before he got here. You and Jared better get moving. He's heading straight for Embry's place, I figure, and looking to tear into him once he gets there.
Shit! Damn it! Shit! Sam vented indiscriminately, and without specifying which bit of news he was predominantly reacting to. Paul, you and Quil keep up with him as best you can. Jared and I will be waiting in the woods behind Embry's house.
Paul didn't answer, putting all his energy into trying to catch up to the wolf running with murder on the mind.
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Embry POV
Back at home, I headed straight for the kitchen and specifically the freezer. I grabbed the entire ice bin and both of the freezer blocks. The ice cubes went into a big ziploc bag and the ice blocks into smaller baggies. I turned the fans on as high as they would go and arranged the bags of ice under my arms and on my neck. I felt like I was on fire and that an entire ant colony was marching through my veins. I thought about grabbing the thermometer to check my temperature, but I couldn't make myself move. So I just sat on the couch and tried to make sense of all the stuff that had happened today.
"EMBRY!" Jake's familiar voice screamed my name, but it was distorted almost to incomprehensibility. "Embry, you bastard!"
Fury erupted from deep in my gut. How dare that jerk finally decide to come back around, and throw my mysterious paternity into my face in the bargain? The icepacks were forgotten as I stormed out the back door, to find Jake and the rest of Sam's gang standing in my yard.
"I might be the bastard technically, but you're the one who's acting like it, Jacob," I snarled, focusing on him and ignoring the others. "What the hell gives you the right to come over here-after weeks of ignoring me-and say something like that?"
"You had sex with Bella!" he screamed, actually shaking with his anger.
How the fuck would he know that? Well, he had to have heard it from someone, and if it hadn't been me... "She told you that, huh?" I smirked, arrogant satisfaction rampant in my expression and posture.
"She was supposed to be mine!"
"Bella's her own person, Jake, and makes her own choices. It's just 'too bad, so sad'-for you-that she chose me. Guess it's true what they say: 'if you snooze, you lose'."
"That's not helping the situation, Embry," Sam Uley addressed me.
"And why in the world would I care about helping your situation?" I retorted. "Seems like this is between Jake and me. Not my fault if he's got a major case of sour grapes."
"When did you become such a smartass, Embry?"
"Shut up and butt out, Quil. You've obviously picked your side, so just deal with it."
"I didn't want to have to chose," he groaned.
"But you did it anyway. And, hey, I got a sexy girlfriend out of it, so maybe I should be thanking you both for dropping us like we were some kind of poison. Who knows, I might not have gotten up the nerve to make a move on Bella without it." I knew that I was doing just what Sam didn't want me to do-egg Jake on even more-but I just didn't care one little bit.
"You bastard! I'm gonna kill you!" Jake screamed, and flung himself out of the grip that Jared and Paul had him in, tearing across the yard toward me. With a yell and some kind of silent explosion, Jake vanished to be replaced by a red wolf-the same wolf from the meadow, my mind had time to register-that kept racing toward me, clearly intent on carrying out the just-issued death threat.
My own trembling escalated into equally violent convulsions, and the fire combusted me from the inside out. The world turned upside down as my body involuntarily rearranged itself. I didn't know what had just happened, and didn't have time to care, not with Jake getting closer by the second.
Not if I kill you first, I screamed in reply.
What the fuck?!
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Bella's quote is a variation on the well-known phrase "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step", by Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu.
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AN: Okay, all, yes, it's finally happened (both the sex and the phase). Really hope you enjoyed this. I've been looking forward to the story getting to this point for quite a while, and I really put a lot into getting this to turn out just right. Can't wait to see your reactions, and we'll get the characters' responses in the next installment. I'd hoped to have this up for you last night, but I was under contract for a one-shot for the Tricky Raven Author/Artist Silent Auction and had to see that posted last night, so between that and my nap on the couch, I just didn't have time to do it all. But on the upshot, I got to spend a little more time polishing this up and I think it was a good thing. I hope that this chapter—which I've been looking forward to writing since I began this story—lives up to all of you, and my, expectations. I really hope you like this and can't wait to see what you think.