"Bella?"

My mood suddenly brightened as the sound of Jacob's husky – yet somewhat innocent – voice drifted through the open door of the kitchen. I dropped the ladle quicker than I had picked it up and rushed from the heat of the stove to the front door. Jacob had just hung his coat by the door when I jumped into his arms.

He was knocked backward by the full force of my body, but was laughing by the time he'd regained balance. His arms wound tightly around my back as I hooked my legs around his waist. I nuzzled into his neck, breathing in his scent. I was shocked at how much stronger it was after a week of separation. My dreams had not done him justice.

"If this is the reaction I get then I should go away more often!" Jacob explained, kissing the top of my head with hot lips.

I swatted his arm. "Don't you dare!" I growled, but I didn't let his insolence ruin my good mood. I pulled away to get a good look at him, drinking in his young, handsome face, and his short, unruly hair. His eyes, dark and wide, were beautiful as ever. They were the part of him I had missed the most. Oh, and his lips.

I kissed him once, twice, three times on the lips, savoring his tangy taste. One week of Jacob-deprivation had not been good for me. At all. He kissed me back each time, allowing his tongue to gently run along my bottom lip on the third. I moaned.

"Did you miss me?" He whispered against my lips, a tinge of amusement riddled in his deep voice.

I nodded, pressing my forehead against his always too hot one. "Next time the pack wants you to go away to a distant country, I'm going to hand cuff you to the bed." I threatened lightly, clasping my hands around his neck.

He chuckled. "I like the sound of that," he murmured around another kiss.

I sighed, content. "Promise you won't ever go away again." Though my voice was light, there was an edge of pleading in it, and I knew Jacob would pick up on the fact that I was being serious now.

He tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear, smiling at me, his brilliant eyes curved with the lopsided grin I so loved. But he didn't answer, because we both knew he never made promises he couldn't keep. The pack needed him, and his role in his tribe was very important. Though Jacob had sworn it was not as important as his role as my husband, I still insisted that he go with his pack whenever they needed him.

I was allowed to be a masochist, wasn't I? Jacob risked his life everyday, being with me. I was, after all, more accident prone than anyone he knew. He was forever acting as my superman.

He unwound his arms from my back and let me sidle gently to the ground. I still clutched him tightly when my feet hit the floor, and he placed another kiss on my forehead. And then, God bless the wolf, his senses picked up on dinner.

"Spaghetti?" In less than two seconds he had detangled himself from me. By the time I had regained my composure, I looked up to find the space in which Jacob had stood moments before was empty, and I heard the sound of plates clinking together from the next room.

I quickly rushed into the kitchen and snatched the plate from Jacob's hand before he even had a chance to scoop the sauce onto the noodles. "Jake!" I snapped, plonking the plate into the sink and turning to face him sternly.

He pulled his sad face, the one he knew I could never resist. "I'm starving!"

I rolled my eyes, trying to resist. "You're always starving," I mumbled under my breath.

"I haven't had a home cooked meal in a week, Bella."

"Then a little while longer won't hurt you. I've invited Charlie and Billy over for dinner, so you'll have to wait." I put the lid back on the pot and stood in front of it, blocking Jacob's way. Though I knew I couldn't stop him from getting at it if he wanted to, he knew better than to get me angry. Yes, over spaghetti,

Jacob groaned. "You know how to agonise a wolf, Bella."

I grinned. "I know what will cheer you up."

His face suddenly brightened, and I knew I had piqued his interest. "How long?"

I glanced at the oven clock. "Billy's at Charlie's. They're watching the game. I'd give them about an hour."

Without a moment's hesitation, Jacob scooped me up into his arms, and we were in our small bedroom faster than was possible … for a human. Having a mythical husband had its pros.

My back hadn't even hit the bed when Jacob's hot, urgent lips were against mine. It was nothing like the sweet greeting kiss we had shared at the front door. No, this time an entire week of separation had caught up on us. Having been unable to hold Jacob, to kiss Jacob – to just be in his arms – was harder than having to endure the darkness alone. It was darkness. Without Jacob, I was a mess. Because he was my anchor, whenever he went away it seemed my clumsiness amplified. I had not lost my klutz-y characteristics over time.

But what was worse was facing the night alone. Whenever Jacob went away with the pack, I often found myself crossing the street to Emily's house in the middle of the night. At least she understood, because she loved Sam with her whole heart and her whole heart ached when he was away, too, so she put up with my moping and worrying. But I knew it was okay, because inside she was doing the same thing, even if she didn't betray it in her always happy eyes.

I was out of breath when Jacob abandoned my lips. He now attacked my neck with his mouth, leaving a trail of fire in the wake of his lips. I reached up to unbutton his shirt, and after my fourth attempt to open the second button with my clumsy hands, he growled against my throat and shoved my hands away impatiently, undoing them himself. He discarded his shirt on the floor, and I pressed my body into his torso, warming myself against the cold of the winter.

"You smell so good," he murmured huskily into my ear, and then his lips were on my eyebrow, my temple, my jaw … I fought to control my breathing.

"You smell better," I managed to whisper between hyperventilating.

He chuckled. I felt his hand snake up my blouse, and within two seconds he had unclasped my bra at the back. That, too, ended up on the floor with his shirt. After six months of marriage, I still wondered how he did that. I was soon free of my blouse as that also found its way to the ground. His lips were against mine again, his tongue dancing urgently with my own, as I efficiently yanked off my own jeans. Jacob was already naked by the time I reached for my underwear. I felt his boiling excitement against my leg, and suddenly felt very hot myself.

Jacob chuckled, though it was riddled with eagerness and greed, and clasped my hands tightly at my side. I was about to protest, when he covered my mouth with his own once again. "Let me," he murmured against my lips, and his face was gone. I looked down to see him around my navel, and his hands, once in my hair, were now on the waist band of the panties Renée had bought me as a wedding present. Who knew they would have lasted so long, even after the honeymoon?

Jacob took his time with these, sliding them along my thighs, teasing me, taunting me, until I was moaning his name in excited agony. He chuckled again, but heeded to my plea and quickly yanked them from my body. They joined the chunky pile of our clothes that now littered the floor by the bed.

Jacob's face was now by my center, but just before his tongue reached out to me, I gripped his face between my hands, bringing it back up to mine. "No," I whispered intensely, my eyes burning into his, even through the steadily increasing darkness of twilight. "Tonight, I want all of you."

And that was enough for him. With one hard, unexpected thrust, he was inside me, and I yelled out in surrender. I had craved this for an entire week, right from the moment we last made love, when he had promised me he would return soon and that I wouldn't have to wait long. Because I had been denied him for so long, it made the ecstasy that vigorously mounted inside of me with each thrust that much more pleasurable. It was hard to believe I had gone without such satisfaction for seven days.

Jacob's body was fused to mine, and the only time we parted was when he pulled himself out of me, only to plunge himself in again, further and further each time. It was growing inside of me, the volcano, a fuse of our lava, mixed together in a swirl of lust and love. What made it all the more special was that he had been my first, and he would forever be my last.

I was nearing explosion. I kindly waited for Jacob, however, allowing him the time he needed for his own rapture to build. Sometimes it was hard, but I had enough self control to wait for his signal, the one that let me know I didn't have to hold on any longer. I never had to wait long for Jacob – in every aspect of our relationship – and so I was only resisting for a minute or so when he murmured my name with the sweetest voice.

"Bella,"

It carried out over the sound of our moans. It was there, pulling at my center, ready for release. Jacob knew exactly what I wanted – what I needed – and with one final thrust inward, my hips bucked upward to meet his and I screamed out in pure gratification. The explosion lasted for ten long, blissful seconds, before a shuddering Jacob collapsed on the bed beside me, my name still falling tenderly from his shaking lips.

I breathed heavily, my eyes closed against the lust that still lingered in the air around us. I felt Jacob's hot fingers press gently against my shoulder, and I rolled over, into the curve of his arm, loving how perfectly I fit into his embrace. I draped my arm over his blazing chest, pressing myself closer to him, disallowing a single inch of my body to be void of his. Despite the intense heat he offered, I didn't want to be away from him for any length of time.

He was mine.

"I missed you so much," I whispered.

He stroked my hair with a gentle hand. "I love you more than anything."

I smiled into his hot russet skin.