Bella stared out the window and into the darkness of the forest as Jasper drove down the roads leading back to the Cullen's home. The trees were a blurred mess of evergreen and midnight as the moon quickly replaced the setting sun. A blanket of stars shining above the trees surrounding their small town.

Jasper was silent the whole way, tension rolling off his shoulders and anger boiling just below the surface. Bella didn't have to question why that was after what had transpired between them moments ago. What that kiss meant to both of them and why it was more than two people liking each other. She'd had a glimpse into him the moment his lips touched hers. The canal of emotions flooding her every senses as he held her to him, kissing her until her head spun and butterflies filled her belly. As if he'd allowed her to see a part of his soul that was absolutely precious.

However, what was supposed to be the most unforgettable day of her life—a day meant for her and Jasper—was quickly becoming a nightmare. One that she and Jasper would be dragged into soon enough.

Edward was coming back.

Her reflection on the passenger side window revealed just how terrible she looked even though she felt calm, so calm there was nothing but silence in her mind. And yet, dread swirled inside her chest on and off, like a poison. The memory of cold hands gripping her shoulder, bruises left behind where he'd touched her repeatedly plague her—

A calm came over her once more, alleviating and subtle, and she recognized it wasn't her own. Of course it wasn't. Bella took a deep breath as she glanced at Jasper, smiling softly even as he kept his gaze fixed ahead, hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.

Jasper didn't want to bring her to his home where Edward would be there, in fact he and Alice had a long argument about why that was out of the question. However, Alice said it would be better if they were where the family was to ensure Bella's safety. That and Bella had ultimately agreed before Jasper could suggest another alternative.

"I'll go with you," she'd murmured, tearing Jasper and Alice away from their heated standoff. "If being together is what she says we need to do, then it's for a reason, right?" Alice had merely nodded with compassion and lament in her golden eyes.

Whatever Jasper saw on her face in that moment made him clench his jaw before his stone-cold gaze softened. He nodded once before turning to Alice and telling her they'd be there. Then they took off. He might not be happy about it, but he respected her decision anyway. He didn't take that from her, the choice to choose and make her own decisions. That wasn't something Jasper did.

"The second you want to leave you tell me," Jasper said tersely as he continued driving, going at an oddly slow speed that was typically what a normal human would drive on these roads, not something the Cullens did often. A clear indication that he was prolonging the inevitable and Bella liked him even more for it, anxious as she was.

His amber eyes met hers as the headlights of a car passing by brushed across his face before fading away, "I mean it, Bella. No matter what happens. No matter what it is, we'll leave. You just say the word."

Bella bit her lip, staring at him for a long moment before slowly stretching her hand out towards his which rested on the center console. Jasper noticed and the corner of his lips quirked up slightly though his expression was still grim. Then he was moving to take her hand in his own.

"If I tell you something will you promise not to laugh?" She asked in a low tone, as if scared the world would hear her confession. Jasper waited for her answer while giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm scared of what he'll do. What he'll say. But mostly, I'm scared that you'll all see me the way he does. This weak thing that he threw away so easily. I'm scared you'll look at me the way he did that day."

Her words were torn away from her as Jasper suddenly brought their hands up to his lips and she watched as he kissed the back of her hand, slow as if savoring the fact that he can kiss her now. That he can have this with her now. His lips though cold, were soft and left her shuddering in pleasure. It was the oddest thing, the way her body and heart reacted to him whenever he touched her. As if she could only feel alive when he was touching her.

I'm scared this will all change once he's back. Is what her main worry was becoming, growing with every second they got closer to the house.

Without warning, Jasper eased the car off to the side of the road and put it in park, the only sound heard in the silence being the tick, tick, tick of the hazard lights he turned on without her noticing. Bella was about to ask him what he was doing when he spoke.

"Isabella, I swear to you, I won't let him lay another hand on you. I'd sooner rip him to shreds than allow that to happen ever again. You having to come here with me tonight and seeing him is more than what should have been asked of you. For you not to run away the moment he was mentioned, it shows you have courage. Believe me or not, that's how I feel about you, how I see you. It shows you didn't let him break you because you're still here, living. Don't let him take that from you ever again.

"I want to tell you that when you're scared, I can protect you. But that can only go so far, I think you know that which is why you're trying not to rely on me so much and wouldn't be if I hadn't insisted. Darlin'," she looked up as he slowly turned to face her and cupped her cheek in his hand. "I'm not Edward, I won't ever be him. You don't have to put up a front for me when we both know that won't work. I won't belittle you for feeling how you do because like it or not, you're human and humans are fragile by nature. Be kind to yourself Bella, the way you're kind to me. The way you accept me despite all my wrong doings that still haunt me to this day."

"You say all these things so easily." She shook her head.

"Because I believe them," he said, "I believe you. I see you and only you, not what you should be or what I made you up to be in my mind like Edward did."

Bella pressed her cheek into his hand, nuzzling his palm as he brushed his thumb over her warm skin.

"You've always seen me, haven't you?" She asked timidly, tears stinging her eyes, "Long before we became friends, you've always been there. Saving me."

Jasper leaned forward, his lips hovering over hers as he whispered, "I think it's you who's saved me, Bella. A long time ago. I'm just sorry it's taken me so long to figure it out."

"Jasper..."

"Shh," He whispered, capturing her face in both his hands this time. His breath fanned her flushed cheeks as he grazed his lips across them, "You're mine now, darlin'. I'd be damned if I let anything let you think otherwise. I'm not letting you go now that I have you, Bella. Not ever."

She whimpered into his kiss as emotion built in her throat, tears wetting her lashes. As he kissed her, Jasper took his time. Drawing out soft gasps from her mouth, listening to her pounding heartbeat that fueled his desire. Lips melding together, tongues caressing each other until he broke away only to kiss down the column of her throat. Bella's arms wrapped around his shoulders and he leaned closer. The flashing lights of cars passing them by caressed the two, basking them in shadow and light, but the world simply didn't matter anymore.

Not as they were both lost, not in a lustful kiss shared between two teenagers new to intimacy. Not even close. No, what they shared was unparalleled to something so mundane.

This was a lover's embrace.

Something intimate in more than merely the physical sort.

"Bella. Bella," Jasper whispered over and over again as if in prayer. As if begging for her never to leave him, to never deprive him of such a feeling. A need so deep it crushed her and healed her all at once.

His fingers ran through her long hair, pulling on the strands just enough to make her moan. His teeth nipped her lips before soothing the skin with his tongue, a sweet and seductive act that made her feel all sorts of ways. All of them good and wholly overwhelming. "Baby, you don't know what you do to me. I'm burning from the inside out," he said in between kissing her now plump lips, "You've bewitched me."

Bella released a breathless laugh bordering on a sob, still overwhelmed and beyond delighted to hear his sincere words. This was too much, should be too much for one person to experience such pleasure from mere words and gentle caresses.

"Jasper, I'm yours. Please, let me be yours." She gazed into his eyes, brushing his hair back with her hands. And in his eyes, she saw such raw emotion it made her knees weak.

"You already are. You've always been." He said softly as he pulled her to him, holding her close this time until she let emotion win and finally all the numbness she'd felt moments ago was washed away and replaced with love. So much love it brought her to tears and left her trembling. If Jasper were human, maybe he would have been crying too, she thought as he pressed his forehead against her shoulder.

Edward could show up whenever he pleased, but right now in this moment, the world didn't exist. It melted away. Leaving only the two lovers to have this time together, not knowing what the night will bring.


Thanks for reading x

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Also, if anyone's a fan of Dramione fanfics, I have one i'm working on titled Threads of Power and Past that I'm pretty happy to be working on.