“You know,” came a lilting voice, audible to both Bella and Charlie, “for a town named after cutlery, this place is about as sharp as a spoon.” Bella suppressed a snort, glancing at the iridescent dragon perched on her shoulder.
Continue reading →Jasper stood motionless at the edge of a frozen lake, the aurora borealis casting ghostly hues across the snow. The emotions of his family swirled in his mind: Rosalie’s fury, Emmett’s frustration, Alice’s guilt, Edward’s self-loathing. Each one clawed at his control, amplifying the guilt he already carried. His golden eyes traced the icy expanse, seeking solace but finding none. “Maybe I need to walk away,” he muttered, the words vaporizing into the cold air. The stillness mocked him, a reminder that even in isolation, he couldn’t escape the weight of his gift—or the consequences of their fractured unity.
Continue reading →“We don’t have to…” he gestured upward. “Emmett’s games don’t have to mean anything.”
But something in his eyes told me they could mean everything, if we wanted them to. The choice, as always with Jasper, was mine to make.
I took a step closer to him, watching his eyes darken slightly. “What if I want them to?”
The air between us seemed to crackle with electricity. Jasper’s eyes searched mine, and I felt waves of his emotions – hope, desire, and underneath it all, a touch of uncertainty.
“Bella,” he breathed my name like a prayer. “Are you sure? Because once I kiss you…”
“Once you kiss me?” I stepped even closer, surprising myself with my boldness.
His hand came up to cup my cheek, thumb brushing softly across my skin. “Once I kiss you, darlin’, there’s no going back.
The ballet, Leavenworth, days spent exploring with Jasper… For the first time in a long time, Bella Swan felt like she was on the cusp of a real adventure – one that was entirely her own. Little did she know, the best was yet to come.
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