The Descent
by Laura Spudzmom
Chapter 21
I sat back, relaxing against Jasper’s side as the guard ushered our guests into the living room.
After being seated, the four Cullens stared Jasper and me down, their expressions closed. Carlisle was the first to speak. “I won’t waste either of our time with social niceties. We’re here because Alice has had some…disturbing visions recently. Visions we as a family find unacceptable.”
I bit back a smirk and kept my expression blank with the exception of a raised brow. “And this concerns me…why?”
His eyes narrowed. “Don’t insult either of our intelligence, Isabella. Even before our visit to Volterra, I knew you were behind Edward’s demise, and now, for whatever reason, you’re after Alice. I will not stand for it. We, as a family, have endured enough because of you.”
I glanced at Peter and Charlotte, who were watching the Cullens closely, and though he hadn’t moved a muscle, I could feel the tension mounting in Jasper. My chosen family was ready for anything, and it gave me a warm feeling knowing they had my back. “You know, I seem to recall Edward being pretty damn instrumental in all the shit that went down, but nice try at blame shifting.
“As far as Alice is concerned, the way I see it, she sealed her fate when she challenged me in Volterra. She’s set her sights on my man, and that just won’t do,” I said while laying a hand on Jasper’s thigh. From the corner of my eye, I saw his lips tilt into a tiny smirk.
“Jasper was hers way before you ever met him!” Rosalie snapped. “If anyone stole someone’s man, it’s you.”
I indulged in a smirk as my hand stroked Jasper’s thigh. “Who has him now, Rosalie?” I leaned forward as she glared. “That’s right, I do, and the only one who can change that is Jasper, himself.” I relaxed back against him and he pulled me close.
“I ain’t goin’ nowhere, darlin’. I’m perfectly happy right where I’m at.”
Carlisle pinched the bridge of his nose. “I believe we’ve gone a bit off topic.” His gaze locked with mine. “You want Alice destroyed, and I can’t allow that to happen.”
My brows rose. “Then I believe we’re at an impasse.”
He arched a brow. “Aro saw fit to release our family, Alice included. Will you now pit yourself against the Volturi?”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “Seeking to hide behind Aro’s cloak now, Carlisle? I think you’ll find him less enthusiastic about that than you realize—at least in this matter.”
He frowned. “What aren’t you saying?”
I waved a hand. “I’ve spoken to him about this issue and let’s just say, as far as Aro’s concerned, poor little Alice is on her own. He will not oppose me in this.”
Esme clutched Carlisle’s hand and he patted it before looking back at me with a deep frown. “I see.”
I felt smug and I know it showed due to the looks I was getting from the Cullens—even Emmett, though I couldn’t find it in myself to care. “Indeed,” was all I said as they struggled to digest their situation. If Alice was on her own, it meant they were too—against the notorious Whitlocks—not an enviable position for any vampire coven to be.
As the silence stretched, I raised a brow. “I believe the ball’s in your court now Carlisle, since I’ve made my position quite clear.”
“And nothing I say will change your mind?”
I frowned as the now familiar spike of pain shot through me when I thought of Caius and what I’d be doing to him, but I squashed it viciously. My course was set, my mind made up, and nothing outside being burned to ash would deter me. “No, it won’t and if you and your coven insist on protecting her, you’ll be nothing more than collateral damage, so consider that before making a final decision.”
“Why, Bella?!” Esme blurted, her expression pleading as she clutched her mate’s hand. “She loved you as a sister and unless I’m mistaken, you loved her too, so why? How can you be so cold?!”
I took a deep breath and released it with a shrug as I tilted my head. “Little Isabella Swan may have loved Edward and Alice, but she’s dead, Esme. She died in the forest behind Charlie Swan’s house. Hell, if you think about it, she died the minute Edward Cullen decided to involve himself with her and you all let him.” I gestured to myself. “The vampire before you feels none of that regard. Zero.” I leaned forward. “But I’ll tell you what I do feel. I feel the need to rid myself of any and all potential threats to my happiness.” I shrugged and leaned back into Jasper’s arms. “Avenging the naïve little girl I was born from while doing so is merely icing on the cake.”
“Cold…” Esme murmured with wide eyes. “So cold… I grieve for you.”
I studied her for a moment, nearly smirking as she flinched away from my cold, red gaze. “Don’t,” I said, “because I don’t.”
She shook her head and I shrugged it off before looking back at Carlisle. “I believe we’re done here, yes? Or would you rather take this outside and get it over with?”
Esme gasped as Emmett and Rose tensed but Carlisle raised a hand while standing. “We’ll not fight you—not until all other avenues have been exhausted. Until then, I implore you to reconsider. We, as a coven, have lost so much already… Please don’t take our daughter from us too.”
My smirk was bitter as our gazes locked, cold red to sorrowful amber. “You called me daughter once and didn’t seem to have a problem turning your backs. I’m sure you’ll get over this too. Unless, of course, you make the mistake of going against me, then you won’t be around long enough to get over anything. Choose wisely this time, Carlisle Cullen.”
He blinked then shook his head. “You’re right, Isabella Marie Swan is dead.”
With a gesture, he ushered his family out and I sagged against Jasper at the sound of the front door closing. He pulled me close, murmuring in my ear, “I’m so damn proud of you.”
“Damn,” Peter muttered with a grin. “Here I thought Jasper was the master of castratin’ someone with words, but you might have him beat, sugar. That was brutal.”
“It was nothing but the truth,” I answered while snuggling into Jasper. I might have held up well while they were here, but doing so had been mentally and emotionally exhausting. Now, all I wanted to do was seek comfort in Jasper’s arms; something he seemed to sense as he quietly stood and carried me to our rooms without a backward glance.
~o0o~
Five days later….
“No, no, no…damn it all, that’s not how it’s done! Now back off while I show you—again—what I like to call the right way, and y’all better be payin’ attention, ‘cause if ya don’t get it this time, I’m gonna personally kick all y’all’s asses!”
I quietly snorted as Peter squared off with the training sergeant, a muscle in his jaw ticking as they went through the complicated combat maneuver once again…slowly, as the group of trainees watched.
They’d been at it for two hours now and Peter was rapidly losing the little patience he still possessed. I knew from experience, the clueless group was minutes away from losing limbs as punishment.
What they didn’t know was how fortunate they were it wasn’t Jasper in the pit with them, otherwise, limbs would have been flying an hour ago, I was sure. If Peter was a demanding task-master, Jasper was down-right ruthless. The Major had zero patience for inattention or incompetence; something these particular trainees had yet to experience.
“Hey girl, how’s it goin’?” Charlotte asked, her tone low as she plunked down next to me.
I scoffed and she smirked as her eyes tracked her mate’s movements. “That good, huh?”
“Let’s just say they better get it this time, or Pete’s gonna start shredding ‘em like confetti.”
Char chuckled. “Good, he’s workin’ up some frustration.” I raised a brow at her and she smirked. “I like it rough, what can I say?”
“All-righty then,” I said with a chuckle. Who am I to question? Hell, I might even file that away to try out on Jasper…
She nudged my shoulder. “I can practically hear the wheels turnin’ in that head a’ yours, but ya might not wanna provoke the Major like that.”
“Pfft,” I said with a grin. “He’s a pussy-cat and like all pussy-cats, you just gotta know how to stroke ‘em.”
Her brows shot up as she scoffed a laugh. “Better thee than me, sugar. That’s all I’ll say on the matter.”
Heat pooled in my gut just thinking about it and I smirked. “Don’t worry, Char. I can handle my man, in all his personas.”
“Is that so?”
As one, Char and I both jumped and I turned to see Jasper, wicked smirk in place as he leaned against the side of a nearby pickup, eyes dark as night as he looked at me.
“Yeah,” I said through a grin. “That’s so.”
“I reckon I’ll go, uh, wash my hair,” Char muttered as she pushed to her feet. “See y’all later.”
She vanished toward the house and Jasper pushed off the truck to take a seat behind me, his long, jean-clad legs on either side of me as he pulled me back against him.
Resting my head on his shoulder, I turned my head, buried a hand in his hair and pulled him into a kiss. “Hi.”
“Hi yourself. What are you doing out here?” he asked while nuzzling his nose in my hair.
I shrugged. “Watching Pete struggle not to kill the newbies—also known as the afternoon training session.”
He chuckled and glanced down into the pit just as his brother cursed and yanked an arm off one of the trainees. “One down, nine to go,” Jasper muttered as Pete cursed and ordered the punished recruit from he pit.
I nodded. “Let’s hope the rest of them were paying attention.”
I felt Jay shrug. “He’s too damn soft on ‘em.”
My eyes went wide and I glanced up at him. “Soft? He just took the poor guy’s arm off.”
Jay nodded. “Yeah, and I would’a took his head.”
“Such a hard-ass,” I muttered.
“Thought you liked my ass,” he mumbled between kisses to my neck. I smiled and tilted my head.
“Oh, believe me, I do,” I breathed. “Gives me something to hold onto when you’re getting nice and deep.”
He growled and nipped his mark on my neck. “Damn woman, keep talkin’ like that and we’ll be taking this to a more private location.”
I grinned. “You finish up what you were working on inside?”
He sighed and rested his forehead on my shoulder. “And there goes a perfectly good hard-on…. Yeah, I finished up all the bills and paperwork, until the shit piles up again.”
I laughed. “I keep telling you to do a little every day, that way it doesn’t stack up, but do you listen?”
He grunted and I bit back a snort at such a typical male response. It was just what Charlie used to do when he didn’t want to admit I was right about something—and just where had that thought come from? It caught me off guard as I hadn’t really thought about my Dad since the first weeks after leaving Forks for good. Huh… Maybe all that talk about poor little Isabella Swan had affected me more than I’d thought…
“Hey,” Jasper murmured, turning my face toward him with a finger under my chin. “Where’d you go? Your emotions are everywhere and you’re a million miles away.”
I shrugged. “Just hit with thoughts of Charlie. It’s only just occurred to me I hadn’t really thought of him since leaving Forks. Then there’s Reneé… God, I haven’t thought about her at all.” I looked at him. “I’m a really shitty daughter.”
In typical Jasper fashion, he gave it to me straight. “Not like you can pick up where you left off with either of ‘em. Best to leave the past in the past, darlin’. I’m sure they’re healing by now, or beginning to, and you seeing them at a distance wouldn’t help you any. Hell, it’d probably only hurt, if anything, so why even think about puttin’ yourself through that?”
What he said made sense, but still, I shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t know. I guess I’d just like to see them moving on with life, you know?”
He groaned, but gave a slow nod before meeting my gaze. “And if they aren’t? What then? Because it ain’t like you can do anything about it, baby doll, you know that, right?”
I laced my fingers with his and nodded. “You’re right, I should let it go, but I can’t help being curious.”
“Tell you what,” he said, lifting and turning me to sit astride him before cupping my cheek. “After this Cullen mess is taken care of, I’ll go check up on ‘em. Will that do?”
“What about the wolves?!” I asked, my panic spiking at the thought of him being mauled or god forbid, destroyed, by the pack.
He arched a brow as his lips tilted into that cocky smirk. “Not a problem, darlin’.”
My eyes narrowed. “What happened to never getting cocky?”
“I ain’t being cocky here, darlin’, just confident. I know my abilities and those of my enemy. The mutts won’t be a problem.” I opened my mouth to protest, but he raised a hand. “However, if it’ll make you feel better, I’ll take Peter with me.”
I bit my lip and looked away as I thought about it before finally looking back at him. “I’m still not sold on the idea. You’re probably right, it’s best to leave the past in the past. Going back there’s just asking for trouble.” I reached up and brushed back a curl that had fallen into his eyes. “I don’t want to risk you, Jay.” I placed a soft kiss to his lips before whispering, “Not for anything in this world. You mean too damn much to me.”
Warm waves of love flooded me, nearly taking my breath away as he rested his head against mine. “Never in a million years did I think I’d feel this way, but here we are,” he whispered, his eyes closed as he held my face in his hands. “You…you’re everything to me, darlin’, and fuck if that doesn’t scare the hell outta me.”
“Shhh,” I said just as quietly. “You never have to be afraid with me, Jay.” I opened my eyes and fell into his gaze, seeing there for the first time all the emotions he was feeling—love and hope, but also the fear he’d spoken of. Only then did I realize he’d dropped all his walls…all those defenses he’d spent decades building after that bitch had burned him so badly, and he’d done it for me.
Threading my fingers through his hair, I whispered, “I love you and only you.”
Just then, the shrieking sound of rending vampire flesh filled the pit behind me and an arm went sailing by to land a few feet away, fingers twitching as Pete loudly chewed out the trainee it belonged to.
Jasper smirked and I chuckled. “I guess we should choose the location of our next heart to heart more carefully, huh?”
He snorted while eyeing the twitching limb. “Can’t argue your logic, sugar, that’s for damn sure.”
I sat back, relaxing against Jasper’s side as the guard ushered our guests into the living room.
After being seated, the four Cullens stared Jasper and me down, their expressions closed. Carlisle was the first to speak. “I won’t waste either of our time with social niceties. We’re here because Alice has had some…disturbing visions recently. Visions we as a family find unacceptable.”
I bit back a smirk and kept my expression blank with the exception of a raised brow. “And this concerns me…why?”
His eyes narrowed. “Don’t insult either of our intelligence, Isabella. Even before our visit to Volterra, I knew you were behind Edward’s demise, and now, for whatever reason, you’re after Alice. I will not stand for it. We, as a family, have endured enough because of you.”
I glanced at Peter and Charlotte, who were watching the Cullens closely, and though he hadn’t moved a muscle, I could feel the tension mounting in Jasper. My chosen family was ready for anything, and it gave me a warm feeling knowing they had my back. “You know, I seem to recall Edward being pretty damn instrumental in all the shit that went down, but nice try at blame shifting.
“As far as Alice is concerned, the way I see it, she sealed her fate when she challenged me in Volterra. She’s set her sights on my man, and that just won’t do,” I said while laying a hand on Jasper’s thigh. From the corner of my eye, I saw his lips tilt into a tiny smirk.
“Jasper was hers way before you ever met him!” Rosalie snapped. “If anyone stole someone’s man, it’s you.”
I indulged in a smirk as my hand stroked Jasper’s thigh. “Who has him now, Rosalie?” I leaned forward as she glared. “That’s right, I do, and the only one who can change that is Jasper, himself.” I relaxed back against him and he pulled me close.
“I ain’t goin’ nowhere, darlin’. I’m perfectly happy right where I’m at.”
Carlisle pinched the bridge of his nose. “I believe we’ve gone a bit off topic.” His gaze locked with mine. “You want Alice destroyed, and I can’t allow that to happen.”
My brows rose. “Then I believe we’re at an impasse.”
He arched a brow. “Aro saw fit to release our family, Alice included. Will you now pit yourself against the Volturi?”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “Seeking to hide behind Aro’s cloak now, Carlisle? I think you’ll find him less enthusiastic about that than you realize—at least in this matter.”
He frowned. “What aren’t you saying?”
I waved a hand. “I’ve spoken to him about this issue and let’s just say, as far as Aro’s concerned, poor little Alice is on her own. He will not oppose me in this.”
Esme clutched Carlisle’s hand and he patted it before looking back at me with a deep frown. “I see.”
I felt smug and I know it showed due to the looks I was getting from the Cullens—even Emmett, though I couldn’t find it in myself to care. “Indeed,” was all I said as they struggled to digest their situation. If Alice was on her own, it meant they were too—against the notorious Whitlocks—not an enviable position for any vampire coven to be.
As the silence stretched, I raised a brow. “I believe the ball’s in your court now Carlisle, since I’ve made my position quite clear.”
“And nothing I say will change your mind?”
I frowned as the now familiar spike of pain shot through me when I thought of Caius and what I’d be doing to him, but I squashed it viciously. My course was set, my mind made up, and nothing outside being burned to ash would deter me. “No, it won’t and if you and your coven insist on protecting her, you’ll be nothing more than collateral damage, so consider that before making a final decision.”
“Why, Bella?!” Esme blurted, her expression pleading as she clutched her mate’s hand. “She loved you as a sister and unless I’m mistaken, you loved her too, so why? How can you be so cold?!”
I took a deep breath and released it with a shrug as I tilted my head. “Little Isabella Swan may have loved Edward and Alice, but she’s dead, Esme. She died in the forest behind Charlie Swan’s house. Hell, if you think about it, she died the minute Edward Cullen decided to involve himself with her and you all let him.” I gestured to myself. “The vampire before you feels none of that regard. Zero.” I leaned forward. “But I’ll tell you what I do feel. I feel the need to rid myself of any and all potential threats to my happiness.” I shrugged and leaned back into Jasper’s arms. “Avenging the naïve little girl I was born from while doing so is merely icing on the cake.”
“Cold…” Esme murmured with wide eyes. “So cold… I grieve for you.”
I studied her for a moment, nearly smirking as she flinched away from my cold, red gaze. “Don’t,” I said, “because I don’t.”
She shook her head and I shrugged it off before looking back at Carlisle. “I believe we’re done here, yes? Or would you rather take this outside and get it over with?”
Esme gasped as Emmett and Rose tensed but Carlisle raised a hand while standing. “We’ll not fight you—not until all other avenues have been exhausted. Until then, I implore you to reconsider. We, as a coven, have lost so much already… Please don’t take our daughter from us too.”
My smirk was bitter as our gazes locked, cold red to sorrowful amber. “You called me daughter once and didn’t seem to have a problem turning your backs. I’m sure you’ll get over this too. Unless, of course, you make the mistake of going against me, then you won’t be around long enough to get over anything. Choose wisely this time, Carlisle Cullen.”
He blinked then shook his head. “You’re right, Isabella Marie Swan is dead.”
With a gesture, he ushered his family out and I sagged against Jasper at the sound of the front door closing. He pulled me close, murmuring in my ear, “I’m so damn proud of you.”
“Damn,” Peter muttered with a grin. “Here I thought Jasper was the master of castratin’ someone with words, but you might have him beat, sugar. That was brutal.”
“It was nothing but the truth,” I answered while snuggling into Jasper. I might have held up well while they were here, but doing so had been mentally and emotionally exhausting. Now, all I wanted to do was seek comfort in Jasper’s arms; something he seemed to sense as he quietly stood and carried me to our rooms without a backward glance.
~o0o~
Five days later….
“No, no, no…damn it all, that’s not how it’s done! Now back off while I show you—again—what I like to call the right way, and y’all better be payin’ attention, ‘cause if ya don’t get it this time, I’m gonna personally kick all y’all’s asses!”
I quietly snorted as Peter squared off with the training sergeant, a muscle in his jaw ticking as they went through the complicated combat maneuver once again…slowly, as the group of trainees watched.
They’d been at it for two hours now and Peter was rapidly losing the little patience he still possessed. I knew from experience, the clueless group was minutes away from losing limbs as punishment.
What they didn’t know was how fortunate they were it wasn’t Jasper in the pit with them, otherwise, limbs would have been flying an hour ago, I was sure. If Peter was a demanding task-master, Jasper was down-right ruthless. The Major had zero patience for inattention or incompetence; something these particular trainees had yet to experience.
“Hey girl, how’s it goin’?” Charlotte asked, her tone low as she plunked down next to me.
I scoffed and she smirked as her eyes tracked her mate’s movements. “That good, huh?”
“Let’s just say they better get it this time, or Pete’s gonna start shredding ‘em like confetti.”
Char chuckled. “Good, he’s workin’ up some frustration.” I raised a brow at her and she smirked. “I like it rough, what can I say?”
“All-righty then,” I said with a chuckle. Who am I to question? Hell, I might even file that away to try out on Jasper…
She nudged my shoulder. “I can practically hear the wheels turnin’ in that head a’ yours, but ya might not wanna provoke the Major like that.”
“Pfft,” I said with a grin. “He’s a pussy-cat and like all pussy-cats, you just gotta know how to stroke ‘em.”
Her brows shot up as she scoffed a laugh. “Better thee than me, sugar. That’s all I’ll say on the matter.”
Heat pooled in my gut just thinking about it and I smirked. “Don’t worry, Char. I can handle my man, in all his personas.”
“Is that so?”
As one, Char and I both jumped and I turned to see Jasper, wicked smirk in place as he leaned against the side of a nearby pickup, eyes dark as night as he looked at me.
“Yeah,” I said through a grin. “That’s so.”
“I reckon I’ll go, uh, wash my hair,” Char muttered as she pushed to her feet. “See y’all later.”
She vanished toward the house and Jasper pushed off the truck to take a seat behind me, his long, jean-clad legs on either side of me as he pulled me back against him.
Resting my head on his shoulder, I turned my head, buried a hand in his hair and pulled him into a kiss. “Hi.”
“Hi yourself. What are you doing out here?” he asked while nuzzling his nose in my hair.
I shrugged. “Watching Pete struggle not to kill the newbies—also known as the afternoon training session.”
He chuckled and glanced down into the pit just as his brother cursed and yanked an arm off one of the trainees. “One down, nine to go,” Jasper muttered as Pete cursed and ordered the punished recruit from he pit.
I nodded. “Let’s hope the rest of them were paying attention.”
I felt Jay shrug. “He’s too damn soft on ‘em.”
My eyes went wide and I glanced up at him. “Soft? He just took the poor guy’s arm off.”
Jay nodded. “Yeah, and I would’a took his head.”
“Such a hard-ass,” I muttered.
“Thought you liked my ass,” he mumbled between kisses to my neck. I smiled and tilted my head.
“Oh, believe me, I do,” I breathed. “Gives me something to hold onto when you’re getting nice and deep.”
He growled and nipped his mark on my neck. “Damn woman, keep talkin’ like that and we’ll be taking this to a more private location.”
I grinned. “You finish up what you were working on inside?”
He sighed and rested his forehead on my shoulder. “And there goes a perfectly good hard-on…. Yeah, I finished up all the bills and paperwork, until the shit piles up again.”
I laughed. “I keep telling you to do a little every day, that way it doesn’t stack up, but do you listen?”
He grunted and I bit back a snort at such a typical male response. It was just what Charlie used to do when he didn’t want to admit I was right about something—and just where had that thought come from? It caught me off guard as I hadn’t really thought about my Dad since the first weeks after leaving Forks for good. Huh… Maybe all that talk about poor little Isabella Swan had affected me more than I’d thought…
“Hey,” Jasper murmured, turning my face toward him with a finger under my chin. “Where’d you go? Your emotions are everywhere and you’re a million miles away.”
I shrugged. “Just hit with thoughts of Charlie. It’s only just occurred to me I hadn’t really thought of him since leaving Forks. Then there’s Reneé… God, I haven’t thought about her at all.” I looked at him. “I’m a really shitty daughter.”
In typical Jasper fashion, he gave it to me straight. “Not like you can pick up where you left off with either of ‘em. Best to leave the past in the past, darlin’. I’m sure they’re healing by now, or beginning to, and you seeing them at a distance wouldn’t help you any. Hell, it’d probably only hurt, if anything, so why even think about puttin’ yourself through that?”
What he said made sense, but still, I shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t know. I guess I’d just like to see them moving on with life, you know?”
He groaned, but gave a slow nod before meeting my gaze. “And if they aren’t? What then? Because it ain’t like you can do anything about it, baby doll, you know that, right?”
I laced my fingers with his and nodded. “You’re right, I should let it go, but I can’t help being curious.”
“Tell you what,” he said, lifting and turning me to sit astride him before cupping my cheek. “After this Cullen mess is taken care of, I’ll go check up on ‘em. Will that do?”
“What about the wolves?!” I asked, my panic spiking at the thought of him being mauled or god forbid, destroyed, by the pack.
He arched a brow as his lips tilted into that cocky smirk. “Not a problem, darlin’.”
My eyes narrowed. “What happened to never getting cocky?”
“I ain’t being cocky here, darlin’, just confident. I know my abilities and those of my enemy. The mutts won’t be a problem.” I opened my mouth to protest, but he raised a hand. “However, if it’ll make you feel better, I’ll take Peter with me.”
I bit my lip and looked away as I thought about it before finally looking back at him. “I’m still not sold on the idea. You’re probably right, it’s best to leave the past in the past. Going back there’s just asking for trouble.” I reached up and brushed back a curl that had fallen into his eyes. “I don’t want to risk you, Jay.” I placed a soft kiss to his lips before whispering, “Not for anything in this world. You mean too damn much to me.”
Warm waves of love flooded me, nearly taking my breath away as he rested his head against mine. “Never in a million years did I think I’d feel this way, but here we are,” he whispered, his eyes closed as he held my face in his hands. “You…you’re everything to me, darlin’, and fuck if that doesn’t scare the hell outta me.”
“Shhh,” I said just as quietly. “You never have to be afraid with me, Jay.” I opened my eyes and fell into his gaze, seeing there for the first time all the emotions he was feeling—love and hope, but also the fear he’d spoken of. Only then did I realize he’d dropped all his walls…all those defenses he’d spent decades building after that bitch had burned him so badly, and he’d done it for me.
Threading my fingers through his hair, I whispered, “I love you and only you.”
Just then, the shrieking sound of rending vampire flesh filled the pit behind me and an arm went sailing by to land a few feet away, fingers twitching as Pete loudly chewed out the trainee it belonged to.
Jasper smirked and I chuckled. “I guess we should choose the location of our next heart to heart more carefully, huh?”
He snorted while eyeing the twitching limb. “Can’t argue your logic, sugar, that’s for damn sure.”
DISCLAIMER: Twilight and its inclusive material is copyright to Stephenie Meyer. Original creation, including but not limited to plot and characters, is copyright to the respective authors of each story. No copyright infringement is intended.