Renesmee was in no hurry to get home.  She had told the pack that she had found Jacob and he would be staying with her tonight.  It was starting to get dark out, so she told them goodnight.  She even accepted a hug from Paul who once again, said he was sorry.  She accepted his apology because it was Jacob she was really mad at after all.

Jacob.

She was still fuming at the way he had behaved earlier.  Nessie was tired of these games they were playing.  And the pack made it worse, because they used her as bait to get him to phase...and then it didn’t even work.  And Jacob with his secrets and gag order and sending Embry after her.  It would've served him right if she had kissed Embry after all.  Not that she ever would.  Her heart belonged to Jacob...even if he was being an ass.

Renesmee approached the cottage and saw Embry leaning against the lightpost and Seth standing nearby.  “He’s all tucked in,” Seth announced once she got within earshot.

“Yay!” she cheered sarcastically.  “Did my dad see him?”

Embry pushed away from the post and shook his head.  “I don’t think anyone’s home.”

“Thanks for your help, you guys,” Renesmee murmured as Seth reached for her and pulled her into one of his big hugs.

“Night, Nessie.  Don’t be too hard on him, okay?” Seth advised.

Embry held his arms open for a hug too, but was met with Nessie’s flattened palms on his chest instead. “Not so fast, buddy.”

Embry sighed.  “I already know...I’m an idiot.”

“You really are!” she exclaimed as she fake punched him in the gut.  “And if you ever try to kiss me again...it’ll be your funeral, okay?”

Embry laughed deeply and pulled her into a hug anyway. “Okay, Ness, okay.”  When she backed away, he gave her a hard look.  “Do you want some advice?”

Nessie shrugged, “I guess.”

“Make him work for it.”  She looked confused, so he elaborated.  “We all know you’re gonna forgive him.  But he should suffer a little first, dontcha think?”  She noticed a devilish gleam in his eye and nodded. He added, “Just don’t let him off the hook right away.  That’s my two cents.”

“That’s not bad advice, Embry.  There’s hope for you yet,” she teased. 

Embry feigned shock.  “Did Nessie just pay me a compliment?” he gasped.

“Night,” she replied, shoving him away and watching them both disappear into the darkness.
…….
Renesmee entered her darkened bedroom and switched on the small lamp on her bedside table.  She nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Jacob sitting up on the edge of her bed.  “I thought you were asleep.”

Jacob’s head was hanging down, but when he heard her voice, he raised it slowly and gave her one of his killer smiles.  She remembered Embry’s advice and crossed the room to her dresser.  Looking at him now was tempting her to sit with him, hold him and kiss him.  He didn’t deserve that...yet.

Renesmee gathered some clean clothes from her drawer and was heading toward the door when Jacob spoke to her.  “Where are you going?”

“I’m gonna take a bath and get ready for bed.  I’ll be back,” she replied coldly.

“Can you help me to the bathroom first?”
…..
Renesmee stood outside her bathroom door and waited.  When he didn’t come back out, she knocked lightly on the door and waited for him to answer.  “Are you okay?” she asked, cautiously opening the door.

Jacob gripped the edge of the counter and began to sway a little.  She rushed to his side and helped him sit down on the now closed toilet seat.  “Are you dizzy?”

Jacob placed his hands on her shoulders and squeezed his eyes closed.  “Yeah, a little.”

She knelt in front of him and studied him closely.  “Maybe I should go get Carlisle…”

“I’ll be okay...I just need a minute,” he murmured, his eyes opened and he began to grin at the sight of his Nessie, full of concern.

When he leaned in to kiss her, she backed away.  “Let’s get you to bed.”

Jacob sighed.  “Don’t make me go to bed yet.  We should talk about what happened.”

Renesmee scoffed as she rose to stand over him.  “Oh yeah?  So now you wanna talk?  That’s funny...because you didn’t have a damn thing to say when I begged you to tell me the truth.”

“Ness…”

He reached for her but she twisted away.  “Go ahead and say what it is you want to say, but don’t touch me right now.”

Renesmee leaned over him and started her bathwater.  He had to ball his hands up into fists just to keep from pulling her into his lap.  She was close enough that he could smell her hair...his weakness.  He swallowed thickly as she sat on the edge of the tub, back to him, and added bubbles to the water.

She swung around to face him, their knees nearly touching.  “I thought you wanted to talk?” she asked, her expression a little softer now.

“I…” he began, absently reaching for her hand, but jerked away at the last second.  “I’m an idiot.  No excuses.  I want you to forgive me, but I know I have no right to ask.”

Renesmee sighed, her face twisted into a scowl.  She leaned over to shut the water off and her breast brushed against his arm.  She heard the hitch in his breath and felt him shudder slightly.  And that gave her an idea. 

Embry’s advice from earlier repeated in her head.  But he should suffer a little first, dontcha think?

Renesmee kicked her shoes off, flinging them over to the door as she did.  When she stood and grabbed the hem of her shirt,  Jacob gasped, “What are you doing?”

She paused and glared down at him, “My water is getting cold,” she explained flippantly.

When she tugged her shirt off, he hissed, “Jesus, Ness.”

He cast his eyes aside when she reached behind her back and unhooked her bra.  “You can go if you’re uncomfortable,” she challenged.

“I’m totally fine,” he lied as her bra went sailing past his face.  “I could even wash your back, if you want…”

“I told you no touching,” she reminded him as she unzipped her shorts and used her grip on his shoulder to steady herself while she shimmied out of them. 

His mouth gaped open as she tossed her shorts aside and he had to convince himself to keep not looking. “Almost done,” she teased as she slid out of her panties and stepped into the bath.  She moaned softly when the water enveloped her and his head dropped into his hands.

She watched as he clenched and unclenched his jaw, his fingers tugging at his own hair.  She stifled a giggle and tried to maintain a straight face as she murmured, “It’s safe for you to look now.”

Jacob sucked in a deep breath and steeled himself for what his eyes were about to see.  But Renesmee wasn’t prepared at all when he gazed at her.  Suddenly she wished she hadn't ever started this game with him.   He looked at her so intensely, so sexually, that she couldn’t keep looking into his eyes. 

Renesmee’s body was covered by the water and bubbles, all except for her neck and face, but just knowing she was naked under all that, had Jacob’s head in a swim and left his body aching.  Afraid that his body would betray how much he wanted her, he knelt beside the tub, leaning against the edge with his elbows.

She lowered her gaze now.  He was too close, she wanted him too badly and this plan was backfiring.  She was determined not to give in first, so she reached for a sponge, lifted one leg at a time and put all her effort into washing herself.  “I still haven’t heard one good reason for what you did today,” she finally said, reminding him why he was there.

Jacob sighed loudly and leaned back, resting on his backside now.  The urge to touch her was too great and he was shaking from trying to control that urge, but he couldn’t stop looking at her.  “I have no good reason...other than I did what I thought was best for you.”

“Giving up on me was what was best?!  Giving me to Embry like I was some baseball card you didn’t want anymore?  That’s what’s best for me?” she spat.

Jacob cringed when she raised her voice at him.  This was the maddest he had ever seen her.  He heard the heartbreak in her voice and it was killing him.  “I can’t justify what I did.  And I didn’t give you to Embry...I asked him to check on you.  There’s a difference.”

Renesmee cocked her head with attitude and replied, “Well obviously he didn’t get that memo since he…” she paused to look him square in the eye, “tried to kiss me.”

“No way...he wouldn’t.”

“Wasn’t that what you wanted?” she retorted sadly as she reached for his face and showed him what Embry had done.

He held her hand to his cheek and suffered through the vision just to be able to touch her.  But when she showed him how she had broken down crying in her bedroom, he pulled away.  “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he repeated over and over as he leaned over the edge of the tub, his mouth near her ear.

Renesmee pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.  She sobbed softly, partly because of the way he made her feel earlier and partly because of how sincere his apology was now.  She had done what she had set out to do...he was suffering, but it didn’t make her feel good like she thought it would.  Why did she ever think it would?

She leaned against him, wishing she had never told him not to touch her.  He buried his face in her hair, hands gripping the edge of the tub so tightly he feared he would break it.  He knew he had no right to console her, because he was the one who caused her pain. When she gazed up at him with tears in her eyes, he grimaced and walked away.

Renesmee blew out the breath she had been holding when he closed the door behind him.  If she had looked at him for one more second, she would have pulled him right into the bath with her.  This was going to be harder than she thought.
…..
Jacob opened his eyes to find Renesmee standing over him.  Her hair was wet and wavy, she wore a tight fitted baby tee with soft, loose fitting pajama pants that rode low on her hips, allowing the edge of her panties to show.  “Hey,” he whispered, his mind not able to come up with anything else coherent to say.

She nibbled her lower lip as she reached for a pillow and replied, “I think I'm gonna go sleep on the couch…”

“Don’t do that,” he begged softly, tugging gently on the pillow as the corners of his mouth began to turn up.  “It’s your bed, I’ll go out there.”

Renesmee considered it briefly, but decided against it.  “I’ll stay...only if you behave.”

Jacob held his hands up in defeat.  “Of course I will,” he fibbed.

She laughed softly as she tossed the pillow back at him and climbed onto the bed, lying on her stomach, propped up by her elbows.  She dropped her gaze, her hair hung in her face and he longed to brush it away.  When she finally looked at him, her eyes were sad again.

“You really hurt me, Jacob.  You hurt me in a way that only you could do, because I never thought you would.  I thought you wanted to be with me forever?”

Jacob knew he was breaking the rules, but he pulled her close and held her tightly against his chest.  After a moment, she relaxed into him, their bodies fitting together perfectly.  “I don’t know how long our forever is going to last if I don’t phase again, but…” he tipped her chin up to make her face him, “I’ll spend the rest of the time we have together showing you how much I regret hurting you and how much I love you.”

Renesmee nodded quickly and buried her face in the crook of his neck.  She clung to him tightly, breaking her own rules.  And she fell asleep in his arms wishing this day had never happened, because regardless of her games, she intended for him to make good on his promise to love her for however long they had left together.

......
A/N: It's almost time for Jacob to go home! I hope you're still enjoying reading this.  I had to go back to work this week after having the summer off, but I'm still trying to update daily like always.  Please keep leaving comments, they really make my day. Thanks! ♡♡♡