Surrender, a twilight fanfic

To Go Amongst Mad People

Title: Surrender

Pairing: Alice & Jasper

Warning and/or Summary: Why does an attempt to make your dreams come true have to be so difficult? A tale of want, schemes, lust, manipulation, and desire. Written for the "To Go Amongst Mad People" Contest.

To see other entries in the To Go Amongst Mad People contest, please visit the Contest's FanFiction page:
http:// www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net / u /2128870/

***

Surrender

Alice watched as four gorgeously ripped men filed into the lift of her new New York penthouse apartment, carrying boxes of her most treasured possessions. It was the most beautiful apartment she had ever seen: two bedroom, single story, open plan living and dining area with one entire wall made of glass windows. It looked right over Central Park and took her breath away every time. The remaining walls were white, making the place look even bigger than its already large size.

Her family owned the whole building, well co-owned, and she had had her eye on it ever since she first visited the apartment with her Dad three years ago when they bought the place. She was eighteen then, and hoping he was showing it to her as a birthday present. Unfortunately, an elderly woman had been living here for five years, and they didn't want to kick her out because of the change of ownership. The woman had recently passed and the apartment was now available. God rest her soul. Alice tried to be unhappy about the old lady's death, but she could only feel anxious and excited that her dream was finally coming true.

However, not everything was going as she would like in her beautiful apartment; another person wanted the apartment just as much as Alice did. Now, you would think that since Alice's family owned half the building she would have no competition, but unfortunately, her rival's family owned the other half, and Jasper Whitlock was moving in too.

There had been a heated argument involving the two, and their families, over who had the right to live here. It was essentially up to their parents since they were the owners, and the decision made Alice's heart sink; they would share it. Specifically, they would have to share the apartment on a trial run basis for thirty days. And, if they couldn't find a way to either work it out so one, the other, or both of them could live and get along after that time, neither of them would get it. It really was an unfair situation in Alice's eyes, and she knew by the look on Jasper's face that he wasn't happy about it either. So now Alice and Jasper were moving in together. The most gorgeous apartment she could dream up and she had to share it with the one person she despised.

The elevator dinged, announcing they had arrived at the top floor. Alice led the men toward the door and reached for the handle to open her new apartment, but was surprised when the door opened before her automatically. Her look of shock soon turned to anger as she narrowed her eyes at the person standing before her, Jasper Whitlock.

"We said we were both meeting here at eight," she snapped at him.

He looked down at his fancy watch and read the time. Alice knew she was early, she had planned it that way in order to get the best bedroom. Both rooms had bathrooms, but the one she wanted had the light up walk-in closet, and the Jacuzzi bathtub. The other room was nice and had almost the same amenities, but it just didn't compare.

"By my reckon it's only 7:30," he replied.

She looked down sheepishly, trying to form a retort in her mind. "Well, now that we're both here, we can figure out the living arrangements. Frankly, I'd rather put you on the roof with the pigeons, but since you have to live here, I get the room with white walls and yellow accenting."

Jasper rolled his eyes at her "pigeon" comment, and Alice began to lead her moving men in the direction of the room when she felt a hand grab her arm.

"Now hold up a minute there, sweetheart."

Alice pulled herself from his grasp and turned on him.

"I am most definitely NOT your sweetheart, and how dare you put your filthy hands on me!" she exclaimed.

Jasper held both hands up in the air innocently and muttered "frigid bitch" underneath his breath.

"What did you call me?" She didn't wait for an answer before continuing. "No, to hell with that! Let's get one thing straight here, playboy." Alice knew of his reputation and had seen more than enough over the years during family outings to confirm it. "This should be my apartment, and by the end of this godforsaken month it will be. You stay out of my way, and I'll try to pretend your pretentious ass isn't taking up my precious space. Now, if you don't mind, I am going to go put my things in my room."

Jasper stepped aside to let Alice and the men walk by him, an amused smile gracing his lips. He followed behind the procession to the room Alice had claimed to be hers and waited for the eruption that was bound to come as soon as she walked in and found his belongings already occupying the room. His smile grew when he heard the frustrated scream and the click-clack of her heels on the hardwood as she stomped over to him.

"What the hell is that?" she yelled and pointed toward the room.

Jasper sought to infuriate her more by peeking around her shoulder and looking at where she was pointing, making her wait as she tapped her pretty little heels in irritation.

"I believe that would be my room," he replied calmly.

"No! I told you that room was mine."

"You snooze, you lose, doll face."

"GAH!" she screamed again, throwing her hands up in exasperation and stomping over to the other room, her moving boys trailing her like lost puppies.

Jasper waited until she was out of the room before letting his cool exterior fall, replacing it with the anger and irritation he was feeling on the inside.

As the two unpacked their things and avoided one another the best they could, they were both thinking the same thing: this was going to be a very, very long month.

***

It had been two days since Alice and Jasper moved in, and already Alice thought she was going to go insane from putting up with all of Jasper's disgusting man habits. He had resorted to wearing his iPod around the house, unable to stand having to listen to anymore of Alice's music. In his opinion, Lady Gaga was the one with a disco stick!

As far as the apartment went, it was perfect; both of them were completely in love with it. The only problem was how to get the other out of there, Alice had already devised a plan with the help of her best friend, Rosalie, and stage one was about to commence.

It was a regular thing for Jasper to sit in his favorite chair on Sundays with a beer and watch a football game. This was going to be the first time he would get to do it in his brand new apartment, so he was really looking forward to it. From her bedroom door, Alice could see Jasper sitting lazily in the living room; his long, lean legs stretched out in front of him. He reached his arms high above his head, exposing the happy trail on his belly. Alice's breath caught in her throat for a moment as she admired his body. A feeling stirred inside her that she usually felt for other men; men that she found attractive, men that she slept with. She shook her head and composed herself, then went into her bedroom to change for her plan.

The Giants were in the lead, and it was only the second quarter. Jasper was enjoying himself. He only wished his best friend, Emmett, was here to watch the game with him, but he was content with only his Budweiser for company.

"Hey, Jasper, would you like another beer?" Alice called from the direction of the kitchen. Well that was nice of her, Jasper thought, finishing off the bottle of beer in his hand.

"Yeah, that would be great. Thanks, Alice," he replied, his gratitude sincere, but the surprise in his voice was evident.

Alice grabbed the beer out of the fridge, then sashayed her body into the living room, and walked the long way around so that Jasper had the chance to take in her outfit. She was dressed in tight black yoga pants that showed off her butt perfectly. Her top was a size too small, showing off her flat stomach and made the top of her breasts poke out. She didn't normally wear it, but it usually worked a like a charm when she saw someone at the gym that she liked.

Jasper had certainly sat up and taken notice. He never really realized what a great body Alice had. She was quite short, so he figured her body shape would be more like one belonging to that of a nine-year-old boy, but Alice was anything but. A long, slim waist, an ass you could eat off of, soft curves with a defined tummy, and her breasts, well, Jasper could see that her nipples were hard and couldn't stop his mind from wandering. He thought about how perfect they would fit in his hands. He also thought about the noises she might make if he were to take one of her nipples into his mouth.

Jesus fuckin' Christ, he thought as his dick began to twitch and grow inside his pants. He grabbed a pillow off the nearby couch to hopefully, nonchalantly, hide his condition. The announcer on the TV pulled him out of his lust-induced haze, and he quickly averted his eyes back to the scene and tried to focus.

Alice, meanwhile, was doing her best to hide her smirk. She knew she was having an effect on him, and she hadn't even begun to do her workout. She rolled out her mat and began her warm up, stretching her muscles and occasionally moaning when the stretch felt good. None of this went unnoticed by Jasper, as he half-watched the game and half-watched Alice out the corner of his eye. The more turned on he got, the more irritated he became. Did she have to do that here? While he was clearly trying to watch the game? he thought, and voiced his questions aloud.

Alice hid her smirk again, seeing he was clearly aggravated, just the desired effect she was looking for.

"I'm sorry Jasper, am I in your way?" she asked in an innocent voice, trying to sound like she was actually concerned about his opinion. He glared and then sighed heavily.

"No, you're fine, carry on," he grumbled.

Alice turned her back to him and let the grin break out across her face, unable to hide it any longer. She moved her body into what was called the "Dolphin" pose. Her head was rested on her forearms as she lifted her butt into the air, leaving her feet on the ground and keeping her legs straight. From between her legs she had a great view of Jasper.

His mouth was hanging open as he stared at Alice's ass. With the position she was in, all he could think about was ripping her yoga pants off and ramming his turgid cock into her from behind.

If he had a semi before, he certainly had a raging hard-on now. He completely abandoned his football game and watched in awe as Alice twisted and stretched her body into many different positions.

"Is something wrong, Jasper?" she asked him naively, batting her eyelashes while in the "Cobra" pose. Giving him the most fantastic view of her breasts.

"Err, um... no... Everything's fine... I just have stuff to do, excuse me."

With that, flustered Jasper left the room, unable to stand the tension in his boxers any longer. He needed to get away from her. Get away from her alluring breasts and tight ass. Jasper jumped into a cold shower to try and dissuade his erection. Unfortunately, even ice cold water couldn't kill it, so he resorted to jacking off. Three times. Every time thinking about Alice fucking Cullen.

When he got out of the shower he saw he had three missed calls, two from Emmett. He scrolled through his contacts, found "Emmett McCarty" and hit send.

"Dude, where ya been?" Emmett asked as he answered his phone.

"Don't ask," Jasper groaned, toweling off and grabbing some clean clothes out of his closet.

"So you missed the last quarter of the game? Oh, man, I thought for sure you'd seen it. Fuck, you missed out on the play of the season!"

Jasper huffed in annoyance as Emmett proceeded to tell him exactly what it was he hadn't gotten to see due to Alice and her little yoga stunt.

"So, why didn't you see it anyway?" Emmett asked. "I thought you had it all planned out to watch the game in your new apartment."

Jasper muttered something about "stupid bitch" and "yoga" and "having to leave the room," and Emmett was able to piece together most of what happened.

"Fuck, man, we really need to do something about that chick. I mean, it must have been a nice show and all, but you can't be afraid to walk around in your own apartment, and she certainly can't be allowed to get away with making you miss that fuckin' game!

"Let's go grab some drinks tonight. I think I've got a plan," Emmett said.

Jasper, curious as to what his friend was planning, agreed and hung up the phone. He felt ridiculous as he poked his head out of his room, and searched around for the girl who had ruined his afternoon. When he didn't see her, he headed for the kitchen to grab something to eat before he and Emmett went out. His dick was a little raw from rubbing it so hard in the shower, and he was looking forward to going out, knowing he'd probably land himself in some chick's bed. He needed to get Alice, with her tight ass and perky tits, out of his fucking head.

***

Alice enjoyed having the apartment to herself last night. She watched girly movies, took a long, hot bath, and listened to some of her favorite music on the main sound system in the living room. She also decided that the rest of the apartment was in desperate need of a makeover. Knowing full well how annoyed Jasper would be, Alice scattered about the apartment all the things she would put in there if she had it to herself: photos of her family, some of her favorite prints on the walls, vases of flowers and some scattered cushions on the sofa. She even put out some scented sticks and let the smell of lavender permeate the room. By the time she was done, the room looked like it had never seen a man. She went to sleep content that her plan was working, and, if she was lucky, Jasper would be out by the end of the week.

***

Jasper was right; a night out with Emmett and away from Alice was just what he needed. Emmett helped him come up with some great ways to get back at Alice. He had decided that two can play at that game and it was starting tonight.

Jasper had been chatting to this girl at the bar for quite some time. When they danced she had rubbed her sexy little body all over him. She was just what he thought he needed to get his mind off Alice: big breasts, long blonde hair, blue eyes, and legs for days. She had already agreed to go back to his place with him on the promise that he would show her the city via his penthouse apartment. Emmett's words echoed in Jasper's mind as they walked out: "Girls got off on that shit."

High on alcohol and lust, they made-out in the lift and staggered into the apartment, not even making it to the bedroom before they started ripping each other's clothes off. Literally. Jasper thought he smelled something that reminded him of his grandma but couldn't quite place it. He paused from trying to take her jeans off to turn on a light and was not pleased with what he saw. Actually, that was an understatement.

"What the mother fuck?" he yelled, staring around the room, his mouth agape.

"Hey, Jazz, are you like, married or something?" The blond, whose name he couldn't quite remember, asked.

"No! There is a woman staying here but it's supposed to be temporary," he growled out.

Fucking Alice. He couldn't wait to get her back, starting right now. He put all his focus back on the half-naked girl and resumed taking off the rest of her clothes.

"I can't wait to make you scream, baby. I can't wait to make you scream my name," he murmured seductively as he kissed along her neck. Yeah, and I hope it keeps that bitch awake. I can go all night if I have to.

Alice woke around half past one in the morning to what sounded like someone being murdered. She sat bolt-upright in her bed, terrified that an axe murderer would come bursting in at any moment to kill her. She wondered if Jasper was home yet and if he was all right. A sick feeling settled in her stomach as she thought he might already be dead. Those feelings of worry and fear quickly dissipated once she realized that what she first thought were screams were actually moans of pleasure. Alice was furious as she jumped out of bed and marched into the living room.

She was stunned, horrified, and a little turned on by what she saw. Jasper was fucking the screaming girl from behind, up against the glass window. Alice could already see the marks she was going to have to clean tomorrow. It was disgusting. Jasper's ass, on the other hand... firm... toned... edible.

The girl let out another scream, drawing Alice's attention away from Jasper's delectable buns. She realized how creepy it was just standing there and watching them fuck. She moved to go back into her bedroom, but, before she turned, she saw Jasper's reflection in the glass. He was looking right at her. Jasper smirked as he saw Alice watching the scene, her face one of disgust and horror. She'll be out by the end of the week, he thought.

Alice didn't get back to sleep for another couple of hours. It was even worse when they finally moved into the bedroom and were banging the bed against the wall, making Alice feel like the place was falling down around her. He better not be making any marks in my walls. When she finally drifted off, with her head under the pillow, it was to the rhythmic thudding and moans.

She arose early, like always, but not really feeling herself after only having half a night's sleep. After making fruit salad she went out for her morning jog around Central Park. She ran faster than normal and twice the distance, and tried to let her frustrations out on the asphalt rather than let them show to Jasper.

The truth was she felt rather jealous of that girl. Why wasn't she getting fantastic sex like that? Why couldn't Jasper make her scream? Was it Jasper she wanted? After thinking harder about it, she chalked that thought up to her rather inactive sex life lately. It's just the sex, not Jasper himself... she tried to convince herself in her jumbled thoughts.

After a nice long shower, she pulled out the cleaning supplies and cleaned the living area from top to bottom, paying close attention to any location that may have been defiled by Jasper's sexcapade last night. She saved the window for last, and, just as she was doing it, Jasper emerged from his bedroom. A smug, satisfied grin graced his lips at the sight of Alice cleaning the window.

"Good night last night?" she asked nonchalantly, polishing the glass harder than before.

"Oh excellent, thank you. And yours? I see you did a little decorating." Actually my night was only ok, and the girl wasn't actually that great in bed. The screaming got a little annoying after a while and my dick is killing from the rather painful blow job she tried to give me. The decorating pissed me off too, but I'm not going to tell you that, he thought sullenly.

"Yes I did. I hope you didn't mind. I just wanted to add a few feminine touches to the room," Alice said with a fake smile. She certainly wasn't going to let his behavior get the better of her.

"No, not at all." He matched her fake smile and strolled into the kitchen to fix some breakfast. He noticed that Alice had already made a huge bowl of delicious looking fruit salad. She'd stuck a little Post-it note on it that said, "Help yourself." He smiled at her sweetness considering he thought she didn't even like him. She could have just made enough for one, but instead she made enough for everyone, including the girl who kept her up all night and gave her the dark circles under her eyes.

He made up a bowl and went and sat down on the sofa, removing one of the many throw cushions that were in his way. Damn things! What the hell are they for anyway?

"Thanks for the fruit salad," he said politely. He may have fucked a girl every which way last night, but he still had manners.

"Oh, seriously don't mention it. The fruit needed to be eaten up anyway, and I didn't want to have to throw it away," she said, her tone laced with annoyance.

"Well, even if that's true, I still appreciate it," he told her and smiled at her graciously.

She was caught off guard and captivated by the way the smile made his eyes twinkle, and she noticed that it was actually kinda crooked, making him seem even more lovable. Jasper stared right back, feeling guilty about causing her to have dark circles as it made her look sad, and the one thing he always liked about Alice was how happy she always seemed to be. Her happiness was usually infectious, making everyone else around her happy. He never really understood that before, until now.

"You're welcome," she said quietly and hurried from the room like a frightened little mouse, terrified by the feelings beginning to stir inside of her.

Things returned to normal over the next couple of days. Alice cut down on the girly decor in the living room because even she wasn't sure if even she could stand so many cushions, and Jasper didn't have any more women over. They both seemed to be at a bit of a standstill with each other, neither outright trying to annoy the other, but they were both rarely in the apartment at the same time these days anyway, so that may have been it.

Alice was reminded of her task when grabbing coffee with Rosalie on Friday morning. She had already told her friend about the stunt Jasper pulled on Sunday night, and how things have been pretty mellow during the week.

"So do you still want the asshole out?" Rosalie asked, sipping on her latte.

Alice hesitated before replying, "Of course, he's a jerk, and I can't wait until that place is all mine."

"Well, then you have to hit him where it hurts. What are the three things guys feel are important?"

She gave Rosalie a questioning look.

"Girls, beer, and sports. You already messed with his sports. It's time to go a little deeper."

"Ok, but how?" Alice asked.

The girls then began to lay out a plan while enjoying their coffee. Once they were finished, she was confident that Jasper really would be gone this time.

She went back home, friend in tow, and arrived to find her apartment empty. Perfect, she thought. They both went to the fridge and proceeded to grab the majority of Jasper's beer -save a few - and pulled his Patron out of the cabinet. After they had all the alcohol on the counter, Rosalie showed her how to just barely crack open the beer can, so a small stream could be released when tipped upside down, but it still looked as if it were unopened.

Alice followed Rosalie's lead, and they began to pour the beer down the sink before refilling the cans with water from the tap. After placing the one-fourth beer, three-fourths water cans back in the fridge and arranging them so it looked as if they'd never been touched, Rosalie grabbed the bottle of tequila. Luckily, Jasper's favorite brand was clear, so they could easily refill the bottle with water without it being noticed.

Alice felt a little bad at such a waste, so they poured it into a few empty water bottles and hid them before replacing over half of it with water and returning it. Luckily he doesn't keep it in the freezer, Alice thought, remembering a time in high school when a friend of hers used her father's stash and replaced it with water, only to have it freeze. Her dad instantly knew what she had done because only half of the liquid had frozen.

"Now, let's see about those girls," Rosalie said and winked.

They both pulled out their cells and dialed all of the hottest females in their contacts, and invited them over for a night of movies and margaritas. They also told them of Alice's situation, that they should dress in slightly-revealing clothing and that no matter how hard he tried, or how charming Jasper was, they were to completely ignore him. This will hit his ego hard, Alice thought.

Around seven, Jasper came home. To Alice's surprise, he had brought his friend Emmett McCarty with him. She had met Emmett once or twice and didn't really have anything against the guy. She knew he and Jasper were really good friends as he usually tagged along at their duel-family outings when they were younger. He was hot and really muscular, as she could recall from the lake trip a few summers back, but he wasn't really her type.

"Oh, this is going to be perfect," Rosalie whispered in Alice's ear as she saw the two guys enter.

Alice turned to her friend, curious as to her thoughts, but saw that Rosalie was typing away on her phone and not paying any attention. A few seconds later, Alice's phone vibrated against the counter top. She looked at it and smiled; she saw Rosalie had texted her a message, instead of speaking it aloud and possibly being overheard. She opened it up.

Tell the girls to hit on only his friend, but ignore Jasper altogether. Guys can't resist an attempt to show up one another around so many girls. It will drive him crazy, the text read.

Alice nodded nonchalantly, a silent acquiesce to what Rosalie had sent.

The guys came in the living room where Alice and Rosalie sat and introductions were made. Jasper knew Rosalie, but neither she nor Emmett knew each other. Alice could tell they were sizing one another up, Emmett practically eye-fucking Rosalie as she took in his toned biceps and dimpled grin.

Jasper offered Emmett a beer after a minute and he agreed. Alice saw Jasper heading to the kitchen, and her eyes widened.

"I'll get it, Jasper," Alice said in a rushed voice, jumping off the couch and practically running.

He looked at her suspiciously for a moment before asking, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it's no problem. I have to grab a few things anyway."

He stood there for a minute before finally moving toward his chair. Alice took this as an approval and went into the kitchen. She pulled out one good beer and one watered-down beer, along with some chips and a couple waters. After dumping the chips into a bowl and grabbing the salsa, she went back to the living room.

"Whoa, Ali, let me help you," Emmett said after seeing Alice almost drop the salsa because her hands were filled with the drinks and snacks.

She thanked him and allowed him to grab the chips and dip from her. She walked over to Jasper, and handed him the watery beer before giving Emmett the regular one, then gave Rosalie a water and motioned toward the chips Emmett had set on the glass coffee table.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jasper open his beer and immediately shoved a few chips in her mouth to hide the giggle threatening to escape from the look on his face as he took a large gulp.

Meanwhile, Emmett had cracked open his own beer and guzzled half of it.

"Hey, Em, this beer taste funny to you?" Alice choked on another mouthful of chips, and Rosalie gave her a warning look, barely able to conceal her own grin.

Emmett took a sip and frowned. "Nah, man, tastes all right. Why?"

"Huh, I don't know. It just tastes... off. I'm gonna go grab another."

After he left the room, Alice had to bite her lip to keep her laughter at bay. Emmett was still in the room, flipping through the channels, and if she just started laughing randomly he would become suspicious. Emmett finally settled on ESPN's game highlights when they heard a loud noise come from the kitchen followed by cursing.

"Goddamn it. Mother fuckin' shit!"

Alice quickly looked over to Rosalie, eyes wide as she began to panic a little.

"Hey, Ali, wanna go to your room?"

She nodded her head and stood up, but Jasper returned before she could make her escape.

"What the fuck did you do to my beer?" he roared.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, feigning innocence and struggling to keep a calm expression on her face when on the inside she was panicking, her fight or flight instinct strongly urging her to run from the furious man before her. He looked like he was ready to punch someone. He was breathing so heavily that his shoulders rose with each intake of air and fell with each exhale.

His nostrils flared as he said, "Don't give me that. You did something. I opened four cans in a row and they all taste like piss."

"Maybe that's just the way your beer tastes," she retorted, no longer scared. The anger she felt whenever she was around Jasper was bubbling to the surface.

"Bullshit!" he shouted, and she flinched at the volume. "I can tell the tops are tampered with. What. The. Fuck. Did. You. Do?" He enunciated every word, each time taking a step closer to her. By the time he finished, he was only a few inches away from her face. She could see the anger seething in his eyes, his nostrils flaring with every rough breath he took.

Alice instinctively bit her lip at his proximity, the sudden movement causing Jasper to momentarily flick his eyes downward. He was so close she could feel his hot breath as it expelled from his slightly parted lips, and she smelled the faint hint of beer mixed with something sweet in it. She thought about what could have caused the sweet scent, how it would taste, how soft his lips looked and how they might feel. Jasper licked his lips when he saw her eyes on them, his head unknowingly tilted toward hers. She felt herself leaning in as well, trapped in his gaze, a million questions running through her mind before one blaring question popped in her head.

It was something Jasper had asked her earlier in the week, and she focused on it while pulling herself out of the trance she had found herself in. "When are you going to just give up and let me win?" she remembered him asking. What the hell was she thinking? She couldn't kiss Jasper! For all she knew this was just another one of his tricks. She shifted herself away from him, a smug smile coming to her lips.

"I put water in it," she admitted proudly.

"What?" he asked, shaking his head a little to clear it.

It took a few seconds for her words to sink in and for him to realize what she was referring to. When it did, his anger returned tenfold.

"You watered down my beer?" his voice raising once more.

"Yup," she said simply.

"What the fuck, Alice?" He ran a hand through his hair in frustration, wanting to slap the smile off her face. He suddenly felt revolted because he had almost kissed her a minute before. "Why the hell would you do that?"

"Three words. My. Apartment. Asshole." She counted each word off on her fingers to prove her point and turned to walk into her room; she made sure to slam the door behind her.

After the girls were gone Emmett couldn't help it, he started busting up laughing, having seen the whole exchange. Jasper looked at him in shock.

"What the hell just happened?"

"I'll tell you what happened. You just got schooled! That's what fucking happened." He continued to laugh.

"Not helping, Em," Jasper groaned.

"Yeah, yeah, all right. So, what are you gonna do?" he asked once his laughter finally subsided.

"I don't know, but she isn't going to get away with that shit," Jasper replied and slouched in his chair.

The two guys sat in comfortable silence, and enjoyed sports highlights until a knock on the door about an hour later. Jasper got up and opened it; his jaw dropping when he saw what awaited him.

"Hi, is Alice here?" a tall girl with strawberry blonde hair asked. She wore a low-cut top that perfectly accentuated her abundant cleavage. Jasper was stunned as he watched her and the two others walk through the doorway. He had a hard time looking away from the three girls as they entered his apartment when he stepped aside for them and pointed to Alice's bedroom door.

"Thanks," one of the girls said, lightly brushing his shoulder with her hand and giving him an incredible smile.

She had long, brunette hair was wearing a short, denim mini-skirt. Her tanned legs looked even longer than they were due to her hot pink heels that automatically had Jasper playing out fantasies in his mind. She looked slightly familiar to him, but his mind was too overwhelmed by the three beauties that had just walked into his apartment that he couldn't figure out where he'd seen her before.

Both guys watched in longing as the three girls disappeared into Alice's room, and closed the door behind them. After a moment, they heard giggling and laughter and turned to look at each other.

"Who the hell are they?" Emmett asked, the awe apparent in his voice.

"No clue, Em. Friends of Alice, I suppose."

"Yeah, hot friends."

Jasper shrugged and settled back into his chair, turning his attention to the TV to try and get the scantily-clad women out of his head. She's trying to fucking kill me, he thought.

***

It wasn't much later that Alice and her four friends emerged from her bedroom. She had informed them all of the plan, and now they were ready to put it into action. They went into the kitchen to make margaritas, refilling the pitcher with a reserve batch after pouring the first round into their glasses, and went into the living room.

Alice saw Jasper and Emmett still watching TV and smiled since she knew how much this was going to piss him off.

"Ok, girls, what should we watch?" she asked as they moved toward one of the couches.

Her friend, Tanya, took a seat next to Emmett, and Alice turned her head toward the DVD rack to hide her smile at the look on his face.

"Oh, help yourself to the margaritas if you want, guys," Alice said, grabbing a DVD and putting it in the player.

"Uh, Alice, we're kinda watching something here," Jasper said in irritation.

"Oh, sorry, Jasper. How rude of me. Have you met my friends?"

She introduced Tanya and Kate to the two boys and was about to introduce her third friend when Emmett's eyes widened in recognition and cut her off.

"Wait a minute. Aren't you..?"

"Yup," the dark haired girl who had thanked Jasper earlier replied, smiling.

"Holy shit! Angela fucking Weber right in front of me. Huge fan!"

The minute Emmett had said her name, Jasper registered where he had seen her before. His jaw dropped as he realized he had a fucking Victoria's Secret model in his living room.

"Jasper!" Emmett yelled in his excitement and threw his hands up in the air. "Do you know who this is?"

"I don't live under a rock, Em. Of course I do.

"Welcome to my apartment, Angela, ladies. It's a pleasure," he said with his best panty-droppin' grin, turning on the charm.

"Oh, is this your apartment? I thought it was Alice's." She feigned innocence in her statement, and Alice smiled in response to the flash of discomfort that crossed his face.

"Nah, she's just living with me temporarily."

He shot a look over to Alice, pleased he had been able to wipe that smile off her face. She glared at him and he smiled a crooked grin. She felt her heart begin to race and quickly turned away before she did something foolish like almost kiss him again. Jasper went back to trying to flirt with Angela who half-listened before turning her attention to Emmett.

"So, Emmett, you're a big fan, huh?"

Emmett smiled now that he clearly had the model's attention. "The biggest."

Jasper bristled a bit about Emmett gaining Angela's attention and turned his sights to the pretty blonde, Kate. Kate let him finish a few lines before turning and immersing herself in the conversation between Emmett, Angela, and Tanya.

Meanwhile, Alice took advantage of Jasper's inattention and stole the remote, changing the channel to watch the movie and sitting herself beside Rosalie.

"I think it's working," she whispered conspiratorially.

"Me too," Alice giggled and sipped her margarita.

The beginning of the movie came on and Jasper groaned when he saw the title Dirty Dancing.

"Oh, I love this movie. Don't you, Emmett? It always makes me wanna dance!" Kate exclaimed excitedly, and Emmett agreed for the hell of it. After all, he did have the attention of three hot girls, and, if they were going to start dancing, who the hell was he to stop them?

Halfway through the movie the margarita pitcher was empty, the girls were singing along to the movie, Jasper was stewing in silence, Emmett was enjoying the three girls basically groping him on the couch, and Alice was congratulating herself on a job well done.

"I'm going to go make some popcorn," she said and made her way into the kitchen.

The popcorn was in the back of the upper cabinets. She was standing on her tiptoes, trying to reach it when she felt someone behind her. She tensed as Jasper leaned into her and reached up over her to grab it. She figured he would move away, but he didn't.

"You think you're clever don't you?" he whispered in her ear.

She shivered as he brought his arm down, lightly trailing his knuckles along the length of her arm before setting the popcorn on the counter in front of her. She grabbed the popcorn and turned around, only to find Jasper had trapped her in.

It was dark, his gray-blue eyes twinkling in the sliver of moonlight illuminating the kitchen. His head was so close to hers, tilted down from when he had whispered in her ear, that she could clearly see his face.

She noticed his angry expression start to soften, and her heart rate picked up. She was worried about his close, about what he was going to do as he must have trapped her in for a reason.

Is he mad? He doesn't look mad. He looks... he looks like...

Alice found his expression unreadable as he started to tilt his head down further, glancing at her lips before settling on her eyes. As his lips came closer, her eyes fluttered shut.

"Alice," he whispered, and she turned her head up slightly, anticipating him to kiss her.

His lips bypassed hers and ghosted along her jaw line up to her ear. Eyes still closed, she focused on the feel of his hot breath, and tried to guess where he was going. His tongue flicked out along her earlobe and she shivered once more.

"Don't fuck with me, Alice. You won't like the outcome," he whispered and pulled away from her.

She was left standing there, completely confused and feeling a little empty at the loss of his presence. She opened her eyes, but he had already walked back to the living room. She couldn't believe that had just happened and was surprised that instead of feeling angry about it, she was a little saddened. Tossing the popcorn in the microwave, her thoughts ran amuck. Even after the microwave beeped she still stood there.

Rosalie came in and saw her standing in the dimly-lit kitchen, hands on the counter, and staring at nothing.

"Alice?"

Alice turned her head toward Rosalie and broke down.

"Oh, Rose, what am I going to do?"

"What are you talking about, Ali? What happened?"

Once Alice opened the floodgates, she could not stop talking. She told Rose about the popcorn-seduction-almost-kiss encounter and how that forced her to face her feelings about Jasper. Alice had come to final conclusion: She couldn't go through with this sabotage anymore, and she had felt jealous when Jasper brought that blonde bimbo-no offense to Rose-home.

Rosalie listened to everything her friend said, nodding her head at times. When Alice continued to ramble without stopping, or even breathing, she slapped her across the face - not hard, but enough to get her to snap out of it.

Alice's eyes widened for a moment before she sighed.

"Thanks, I needed that."

"Are you done now, or do I need to slap you back into your senses again?"

Alice smiled, taking the popcorn out of the microwave. "No, I'm done."

"Good. Now, whose apartment is this?" Rosalie asked.

"Mine," she said quietly.

"And who deserves to live here?"

"Me," she said a little more forcefully this time.

"So who is trying to sabotage whom?"

"Him!" she practically shouted this time.

"Glad we cleared that up. He was just trying to get back at you, Ali. You see that, right? He was trying to lower your defenses by getting all hot and whispery in the moonlight and hurt you. You can't let him win."

"You're absolutely right, Rose. I won't let it happen again."

"Oh, trust me, hun, it's going to happen again. Jasper's a hottie and he clearly knows how to press your buttons. Just call me when he does, and I'll come save you," she said with a wink.

They went back into the living room, popcorn in hand. Alice set the popcorn down on the table and everyone reached in. Jasper's arm brushed hers and she pulled away quickly, trying not to let him see how much he affected her, but it was too late. He smiled smugly and leaned back into his chair.

Alice felt his eyes on her during the rest of the movie, but refused to look over at him. Despite what Rose said, once the movie ended she just wanted to take a long shower and go to bed. She wasn't interested in playing any more games tonight. Rosalie left with the other three girls after giving Alice one last small pep talk and Emmett left shortly after that, leaving the apartment to the two of them.

Not wanting to deal with Jasper anymore that night, Alice went into her room, readying her shower before bed. She turned it on and watched the swirls of steam as they filled up the room. She took off her clothes and let her head relax down forward, trying to clear her confusing thoughts of Jasper, but to no avail. Letting out a heartfelt sigh, she climbed under the stream of water, blissfully unaware that Jasper had just turned off the hot water, and she would soon be sprayed with ice cold.

Jasper waited outside her bedroom door, waiting for the scream he assumed would occur, and prepared for the wrath of a pissed off Alice. He secretly hoped it occurred while she was mid-shampoo. A little snicker escaped his lips as he pictured the scene in his mind: A soaking wet Alice, only a towel wrapped around her body, face red with anger and hair white and foamy from the shampoo.

He wasn't going to let her pull a stunt like tonight and get away with it. He could tell he had already weakened her, now he was getting ready to make, what he hoped, would be the final blow.

Jasper stifled his laughter and listened to the sound of water hitting the walls and floor of the shower. Any second now, he thought.

A high pitched scream ensued from the bathroom as the cold water pelted down from the shower head onto Alice's warm skin. Jasper let out the laugh he was trying to hold back, erupting even more when he heard another scream and a loud crashing noise.

Jasper stepped away from her door and tried to look as casual as possible, leaning against the back of the sofa for the verbal assault he knew was about to occur.

He waited, but nobody came. After a moment he stepped toward her bedroom door again but couldn't hear anything except for the still running water.

He tentatively turned the door handle and peeked inside her bedroom. It was empty and the bathroom door was still shut. He tiptoed across the room and put his ear against it. Again, he couldn't hear any movement, only the water.

"Alice?" he called through the thick wood. "Alice, are you ok? I thought I heard you scream."

He knew he heard her scream, but it seemed like a good excuse for him to be in her room without permission.

There was no reply.

"Alice?" he called again, slightly more fearful this time. No response again.

"Ok, I'm coming in. All right, Alice? Cover up if you're still naked."

There was no reply, so he went on in.

"Shit! Fuck! Shit!" he yelled as he looked down at an unconscious Alice.

She had clearly fallen over in the shower and smacked her head when the cold water hit her. The top half of her naked body was hanging out of the shower door and the other half was still being rained on by freezing water. Her skin was covered in goose bumps, so he quickly turned off the shower and threw a towel over her body - not even looking at her naked form... much.

He knelt down on the floor by her head, feeling for a pulse and calling out her name, trying to get her to wake up. He started to panic when she didn't wake up straight away, a sick feeling of guilt settling in his stomach. He stroked her hair softly and whispered her named over and over again. Finally, when he kissed her temple, she started to stir. Jasper let out a huge sigh of relief and began the awkward task of moving her.

He tried keeping her covered. Honestly he did, but it was proving to be extremely difficult. The towel wasn't very big and kept slipping down, uncovering her breasts. Her nipples were hard from the cold and looked so inviting; he had to fight not to taste them. He carried her into her bedroom and laid her down on the bed before covering her better with a blanket. Unfortunately, not soon enough. Jasper now had a raging hard on from seeing and feeling her soft, wet, naked body, and it wasn't going away any time soon.

The guilty feeling was still there, lingering in the pit of his stomach, and he tried to wake Alice up properly.

"What... What happened?" she asked groggily.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry, Alice. I didn't mean for that to happen. I just wanted to piss you off, but I'm so sorry. I never ever wanted to hurt you. Please believe me when I say I would never want to purposely hurt you," Jasper spewed out his confession, hoping it would ease some the guilt and make Alice forgive him quicker.

"It's ok, Jasper. I understand that, but what exactly did you do? I don't... remember..." Alice said, feeling confused and bringing her hand up to her head. She winced when she felt a sore spot and looked back to Jasper for an explanation. She remembered getting in the shower and that was it.

"I turned the hot water off during your shower. I hoped it would just piss you off a bit, get you back for the pranks you pulled today, but I guess the cold water caught you off guard and you fell, hitting your head," Jasper said, looking down at his hands guiltily, too afraid to look up into Alice's face.

She reached over and cupped his face in reassurance, then raised it up to lift his chin so that he would meet her eyes. She then swung her hand around and slapped him across the face.

"Ow! I guess I deserved that," Jasper said, rubbing the bright red handprint on his face.

"You're damn right you deserved that, you prick! You could have killed me, and all for a stupid apartment!" she yelled at him, her anger growing the more she recovered.

Jasper bowed his head in shame, the guilty feeling returning to his stomach and making him glad he hadn't eaten much today.

"I said I was sorry, Alice. What more do you want?" Jasper said in a small voice and Alice had a stroke of inspiration.

"Give up the apartment," she demanded. Jasper's head shot up, giving her an "are you insane" look.

"No way. You were the one who just called it stupid, not me!"

"You almost killed me!"

"Well, you shouldn't have been so damn clumsy!"

"Oh, no you don't! Don't even try and pin this on me!

"Besides what will our parents say when I tell them about this?" Alice said warningly.

"You wouldn't..."

"If I die in my sleep from a concussion tonight, Jasper, they are going to want to know why!"

"Well that's not going to happen! I'll stay up with you all night if I have to."

"I'd like to think you'd be doing that because you care about me, but I have a feeling it's to save your own skin."

"That's not true. We have our differences, Ali, but I care," Jasper said quietly as he moved up the bed to sit next to her.

"Can I get that on record?" Alice teased, her anger dissipating as he called her "Ali." As far as she knew he had always called her Alice. "Ali" was the nickname her dad gave her, and others had adopted it over time.

"Ha-ha. You hit your head. No one will believe you anyway."

Alice giggled and smiled warmly at Jasper, silently telling him that he was forgiven. Apparently, it was impossible for her to stay mad at him. She enjoyed his playful, carefree, good side... far too much. Jasper smiled back at the soggy Alice, silently thanking her for the forgiveness and thanking God or whoever else was listening that she was ok.

They lay next to each other quietly for a while, listening to the quite hums of the apartment and the faint sounds of night time traffic on the ground bellow.

"Oh shit!" Alice exclaimed, breaking the silence.

"What? What is it? Are you ok?" Jasper asked worriedly.

"I'm fine... it's just... Well, I've just realized..." she trailed off.

"You've only just realized what?"

"You saw me naked," she said barely above a whisper and blushed bright red, turning her face away.

"Well yeah, but it's not like I took photos while you were unconscious or anything. Actually, why didn't I do that?" Jasper wondered aloud, a teasing smirk on his face.

Alice punched him playfully in the arm.

"Kidding! I covered you up with a towel while I tried to wake you up."

"Oh... so you didn't really see anything then?" Alice asked, still feeling mortified.

"Well, nothing good." Jasper replied, shrugging.

"Nothing good? What is that supposed to mean?" she asked, her voice rising.

"Well, like I couldn't see your ass, and your legs were crossed so I couldn't see your... you know..." Jasper said feeling awkward.

The thought of Alice naked was drifting back into his mind and giving him a semi. That shit had just gone away too.

"But you saw my breasts. Are they not good? What's wrong with them?" Alice interrogated, feeling insecure and lifting up the blanket to look down at the item in question.

"Nothing! They were fine, you have perfect breasts," he blurted out, not really thinking. He was just too worried about insulting Alice further.

"Perfect?" she asked disbelievingly.

Jasper let out a huge sigh. He couldn't believe he was about to have this conversation.

"Yes, perfect. You know... they look like they would fit nicely into my hands. They are high and firm looking without being fake and... you have edible nipples," he mumbled the last bit, but Alice heard it anyway.

She was still feeling a little dazed from her knockout, and her head had a dull throb. But, other than that, she felt just fine. In fact, she felt familiar warmth in between her legs and suddenly became very aware that she was only wearing a towel and a blanket.

Alice shuffled a little closer to Jasper and made him look her in the eye. The same chemistry between them from earlier, when she thought they were going to kiss was there. Only this time she knew for sure that Jasper wasn't putting on an act. He looked apprehensive and his breathing was erratic. Alice sat on her knees in front of Jasper and let the towel and blanket fall away from her chest, into her lap.

Jasper sucked in a huge breath at the sight of Alice's bare chest. He was taken aback by her brazen behavior, but was furiously turned on by it too. He heard Alice hiss as the cold air in the room touched her skin, her nipples instantly reacting, and he tentatively reached out and grazed one with the pad of his thumb. Alice let out a low moan, her head rolling back, and her back arching forward into Jasper's grasp. Pleased by her response, he leaned forward and covered her other breast with his other hand.

His eyes were focused on her chest, and her eyes were focused on him. She wanted to lean forward and kiss him, but felt that it would be surrendering in a way. Plus, she was content with what he was doing for now. Although, if this continued at this rate, she knew she would want more soon enough.

Alice reached out and placed a hand on Jasper's thigh, sliding it upward toward the clear bulge she could see in his jeans. His eyes flickered to hers quickly, and his own movements stopped once he realized what her intentions were. He wanted this to continue; his hard-on was evidence of that. But, if it did, then how far would it go? Did he even want to do this? He tried to focus with his head instead of, well, his head, but he was finding it extremely difficult to do at the moment.

Fortunately or unfortunately - Jasper didn't know yet - Alice's phone rang from her bedside table. They both simultaneously pulled away from each other. Alice recovered herself with the blanket and then reached over for her phone. Alice was mortified that she had let it get that far with Jasper, and she realized that the phone call was the only thing that stopped her.

"Hello?" she said as she answered the phone.

The air in the room had shifted, the moment had clearly passed, and all Jasper wanted to do was get the hell out of there. Alice's phone call was the perfect excuse. He went to his room and went straight to bed, spending all night trying not to think about Alice, but all he did do was think about her.

"Rosalie, I'm fine." Alice insisted as she watched Jasper slink out of her bedroom.

"Are you sure you don't need me to come to do pussy patrol? I know how men can be Alice! Especially, the ones who get your hoo-ha all in a twist!" Rosalie said in a motherly voice.

"No, of course not. I'm in bed and I'm going to go straight to sleep, you can call me in the morning to confirm that my 'hoo-ha' has not been in a twist, if it will make you feel better." Alice told her while rolling her eyes.

"Alright then. I will. And don't think I won't know." Rosalie threatened.

"I know! It's like you got some sort of post coital radar or some shit. Freaky!" Alice giggled.

"It's a gift, Alice. What can I tell ya? Anyway, night." She said yawning.

"Night, Rosie." Alice yawned back, trying to understand what it was about yawning that made it so contagious, before hanging up and snuggling under her duvet.

The next morning when Alice woke up, she couldn't believe the time was eleven thirty in the morning. Usually she had done so much by this time, and she felt like she had lost half the day. She immediately blamed her change in sleep cycle on the fact that Jasper had caused her to knock herself out. She grumbled all the way from her bed to the dining area, until she was stopped short, mid groan.

The table was set for two and had a large vase of lilies as the centerpiece. A big bowl of fruit salad and a plate of various pastries were laid out for helping yourself. It looked absolutely delicious, but Alice was completely baffled by where it had come from.

She heard banging coming from the kitchen and then Jasper emerged with another plate, this time filled with bacon and eggs. She raised her eyebrows at his proud smiling face.

"Oh good you're up. I checked on you earlier to see if you were still alive, but you were fast asleep and then I wanted to do something nice to you... know... say sorry. I was just about to come wake you, but you have perfect timing as always." he said to her sweetly.

She thanked him and then they both sat down together to eat breakfast, something they hadn't actually done since they moved in.

They talked small talk for a while, but then conversation became less forced and more natural: talking about their likes and dislikes and playing a very interesting game of Kill, Fuck, or Marry.

Both of them were keen to forget what happened between them last night, or rather, what almost happened. They were praying the other wouldn't bring it up. Yet, it was really all either of them could think about. The electricity and passion they felt for one other was unlike anything either had experienced before, and that wasn't something one could easily forget.

Alice spent the rest of the day being pampered by Jasper. He was still feeling so guilty, and Alice had a huge bump on the back of her head. She had a bit of a headache, but other than that felt ok. Jasper insisted she take it easy and Alice was only too happy to transform into a couch potato, watch TV all day and have Jasper bring her stuff. He even insisted on cooking dinner for her that night.

"Are you doing this to just level the playing field? So that I can't use my injury against you?" she asked him curiously when he brought her some tea.

"Maybe. I do feel genuinely bad and want to make it up to you, Ali, but I also kinda want to make you feel guilty about letting me do all this nice stuff for you," he teased.

And just when I was starting to think I could get used to this kind of treatment, she thought.

"Oh, but to make it even-steven, I would have to see you naked. Or at least... partly naked... That would make us about square," she replied, goading him and blowing on her hot tea.

"Hmm, let me see if I can work something out," he responded with a sly smile.

Alice's eyes widened with shock. She was expecting him to tell her to piss off. He chuckled at her expression before leaving to prepare dinner.

Jasper called Alice to be seated for dinner just a few minutes after seven. She was starving and couldn't stop her belly from telling her so; plus she couldn't wait to see what Jasper had cooked.

She took her seat and waited for him to come out of the kitchen with her food. He strode out of the kitchen with salad in his hands like nothing was amiss. Alice's jaw, on the other hand, dropped to the floor. Jasper was wearing nothing but an apron that said "Kiss the Chef" on it. Literally, nothing. She burst into giggles as he behaved like the perfect waiter, pouring her wine and giving her a little bow, before backing into the kitchen to get the main course. Alice bit her bottom lip and felt herself become a little flushed at the sight of his lean muscular back and firm bottom. He really was a very, very attractive man.

A rather girly scream came from the kitchen and Alice jumped up to see what had happened. Jasper was over by the sink running a cloth under some water. A bright red line of burned skin was across his perfect bum. She tried not to laugh as she asked if he was ok. He simply scowled at her and held the cold wet cloth over the mark.

"No, I am not ok!" he said frustrated.

"How did it happen?" Alice asked confused. "Is there anything I can do?" she added.

"Well I was just taking the lasagna out of the oven. Then like I normally do, I went to shut the oven door with my ass. However, I forgot that I didn't have pants on..." he trailed off, embarrassed and angry.

Alice let out another giggle before walking over to Jasper. She took the cloth out of his hand and began attending to his wound.

"There's some burn cream in the cupboard above you. That should numb any pain and then we can ok eat, ok? Your lasagna looks delicious. I can't believe you went to all this trouble for me. Thank you," she said, amazed at his sweetness and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek.

"You're very welcome, but can I put pants back on to eat?" he asked.

Alice giggled again and nodded her head. Jasper sighed in relief.

Once they finally sat down to eat, (Jasper wearing sweatpants and had a cushion under him for extra comfort) the conversation was once again easy and light. Alice thought the food was wonderful and was making these little moans with almost every mouthful, something that didn't go unnoticed by Jasper, or his dick.

He took out their empty plates and brought back dessert: Alice's favorite, maple pecan pie.

"Oh my God, Jasper, did you make this?" she asked in disbelief.

Jasper chuckled at her shocked expression. "I wish I could say I did, but no, it's from that little cake shop down the road. I just remembered that it was your favorite." Jasper shrugged as if was no big deal, but it meant a great deal to Alice.

She smiled at him and served each of them up a large slice of the pie.

Two bottles of wine were drunk throughout the course of the evening and four cups of coffee. They stayed at the table talking and laughing until almost eleven.

"I think I'm going to hit the sack," Alice announced as she finished her coffee.

"Yeah me too," he said, knocking back the remains of his own.

"Thank you again, Jasper. This was a really, really nice nights" she said placing her hand on his and giving it a quick squeeze.

"You're welcome, and I had fun too. Who knew you were actually interesting," he teased.

Alice shoved him playfully, and then stood up from the table. She bent down over him and planted another kiss on his cheek. Jasper was overcome by her scent as she came so close to him. That urge to take her, kiss her, and make her his own was back again.

"Good night, Jasper," she said as she walked away to her bedroom. She had almost reached her door.

"Ali?" Jasper called.

Alice turned around, her head slowly angled upward, and her eyes met Jasper's. She wanted to go to him, and she could tell by the look in his eye that the feeling was mutual. They both advanced toward one another at the same moment and stopped when they were only a few inches from one another.

She waited for him to make a move. She knew what she wanted, but once again, couldn't bring herself to act on it first, unsure if it was what he wanted as well. Sometimes it seemed like it was, it felt like it. But other times, he was just the infuriating pest she wanted out of her apartment.

He took another step forward and her breath caught. Her gaze flicked down to his lips as he moistened them with his tongue. He leaned his head down toward hers and she closed her eyes, anticipating.

Jasper stood there, looking down at the woman before him with her eyes closed, full lips slightly parted, waiting for him. He had every intention of rushing toward her and capturing her lips with his own a second ago when he called her name. But now, he hesitated, and he wasn't sure why. There was still a part of him that held back, thinking this might be a bad decision.

It took as much effort as he could muster to bypass her lips and make his way to her ear instead.

"Goodnight, Alice," he whispered and took the slightest nibble before pulling away and rushing toward his room, shutting the door forcefully.

Alice tried not to be disappointed. She opened her eyes when she heard the bang of Jasper's door and just stood there, shocked and a little hurt.

After finally making it to her room, she contemplated everything she was feeling. She climbed into bed and closed her eyes, eventually deciding just as she began to drift to sleep that she loathed Jasper Whitlock. It was about time he was gone for good.

***

Week three of living together was tedious for the both of them. They were realizing that the end of the month was fast approaching, yet neither had budged. Stunts and tricks were being pulled left and right on each other, each hoping it would be the final straw for the other. If it wasn't interrupting when one is trying to have a quiet evening, or eating food that was clearly marked as the other person's, it was recording over saved shows on the DVR and boxing up personal items and giving them to Goodwill. Each time they went further, and still nobody relented.

By Friday, Jasper was starting to become desperate. There were only four days left of the month and he had no idea what would finally drive Alice to the breaking point. So far, all of the little things weren't enough, and the major act he had pulled ended in disaster. He had to find some way to get under her skin.

Alice walked out of her room wearing a short skirt, a V-neck sweater and the sexiest boots he had ever seen in his life. Jasper found that by living with Alice for almost three weeks, he had grown to know her schedule pretty well. It was Friday morning, the day she always went to meet Rosalie for coffee.

His eyes followed her around the apartment as she prepared to leave, a plan beginning to form in his mind. His eyes alighted on her keys on the counter and he grabbed them when her back was turned, slowly so as not to make them jingle, and placed them in his pocket.

He enjoyed the view of Alice's ass up in the air as she bent down to grab something out of a lower cabinet. When she raised herself back up, he was there, right in front of her.

He took a step forward toward her. Instinctively, she took a step back. The pattern continued until Alice's back hit the side of the stainless steel fridge. Jasper placed his hands on either side of her, leaning in close. The position reminded her of the other night when she was making popcorn and he had trapped her against the counter.

"Alice, you know we can't go on living like this. If we're not burning sensitive areas on ovens, or knocking ourselves unconscious, we are dying from blue balls."

Jasper's hands began to caress her body, his lips dangerously close to the skin of her neck.

"Speak for yourself," she whispered breathlessly and Jasper chuckled.

"Don't lie to me, Alice. Don't try and tell me your heart isn't pounding away under those delicious breasts of yours. I can give you what you need, Alice. I can satisfy your cravings."

When he finished talking he ran his tongue up her long neck to the sensitive area behind her ear. His hands brushed over her nipples and swept down and around to her ass, giving it a firm squeeze as he pushed his erection against her.

She let out an involuntary moan, and he knew that she was putty in his hands.

"Give up, Alice," Jasper said in a commanding voice.

She bit her lip and shook her head furiously.

He moved his hands down her backside to the hem of her skirt, lingering for a second before continuing to just above her knee where the tops of her boots hit. He began his ascent up one leg, up her thigh, and almost to the point where she was aching for him. His fingers just barely skimmed a path across her sex and to the other leg, causing her to whimper.

He was enjoying his teasing as much as she hated it. He would trail his fingers lightly from her knee up her thigh and back, each time going higher than the last and driving Alice to the point of insanity.

She gulped at the air around her while resting her head against the refrigerator. She should have, could have fought against it. But to be honest, she was so damn sick of fighting with him on everything. Plus, she was enjoying this a little too much.

Giving in could be nice. She wouldn't be giving up her dream home, but she could convince him that they could make it work. They could live together in peace.

Everything he just said was true and the more he touched her, the more her determination wavered. Jasper saw it in her eyes, and knew he was about to win.

"Say it, Alice. You know you want to," he said in a voice coated with lust.

She glared at him because she knew he saw it. He saw that she was about to succumb to everything. She was going to surrender to her feelings for Jasper, surrender her pride, surrender the apartment, and there was no turning back.

She looked at him, admitting defeat with her eyes, but it wasn't enough for him.

"I want to hear the words, Ali."

She closed her eyes and clenched her teeth together in frustration and anger. "Ok, Jasper," she said in a barely whispered snarl.

"What was that? I don't think I heard you."

If looks could kill, Jasper would be struck dead in that moment.

"Fine! Fuck me, Jasper!" she yelled in his face.

Without a word he crashed his lips to hers in a rough kiss and plunged two fingers inside of her. She gasped, giving him the perfect opportunity to thrust his tongue into her mouth. He worked her with his fingers, and dominated her with his tongue until her legs were trembling and about to collapse.

Suddenly, he broke the kiss and pulled away from her. She cried out at the loss and looked at him in confusion.

"Maybe some other time," he said with a shrug

What? How? Why? Who? she thought, unable to make sense of the jumble in her mind.

"What?!" she screamed at him, her eyes shooting daggers.

"I'd really love to fuck you, Alice. Trust me, I would, but I have to decide on how I'm going to re-decorate my apartment and figure out what to do with my second bedroom. So I'm sure you understand that it's just not a good time. Plus, isn't Rosalie waiting for you?"

Alice was shocked into speechlessness. She had just given up everything to him and got nothing in return. Worse, it was all a complete act. He didn't want her, he wanted the apartment, and he had just successfully drove Alice to her breaking point.

She refused to let him see her tears. After all, she had already humiliated herself enough for one day. With one last look at the devil himself, she turned and ran out of the apartment, not stopping until she reached the elevator.

Once there, she quickly called Rose and sobbed the whole story to her on the phone.

"I'm on my way," Rosalie said.

Alice immediately flung herself into Rosalie's arms when she spotted her.

"I'm so stupid… so, so stupid," she bawled, her tears soaking the lapels on Rosalie's jacket.

"No, Ali, you're not. Jasper Whitlock is a jerk. You can't let him get away with this," she said in a stern voice. "You have to get back at him; have to find a way to get his sorry ass out of there"

"But I don't want him out, Rose!" she whined, wiping her tear-stained face.

Rose gave her a questioning look. "You don't?"

"I thought… I thought we could share it. I don't want it all to myself. I want to live with him… to be with him."

Rosalie looked at her friend like she had suddenly sprouted a second head. She thought for a minute.

"Well, then we're just going to have to find a way to make that happen."

Alice looked up. "How?"

"You're going to seduce the bastard and make him yours."

She smiled an almost devilish grin, and soon Alice's smile followed.

***

When Alice returned to the penthouse that evening she was carrying some moving boxes. When Jasper saw her, she was surprised she would actually give in so easy and became a little suspicious.

Alice packed up a few boxes of stuff she was planning on getting rid of anyway and set them in a pile for show outside her door for show.

He saw the boxes when grabbing a beer from the fridge and walked over to her room.

"Hey, Alice. Whatcha doing?"

She was wearing a long terry-cloth robe and turned to him, a fake-friendly smile plastered on her face.

"You were right earlier. This place is in serious need of re-decorating. I just thought I'd help you out before I leave," she replied while gathering some of her belongings around the house and tossing them in a box.

Jasper's eyes widened in surprise at the mention of her leaving. He was seriously thrown off guard and followed her around as she kept boxing up items. In a robe, no less. Although, it was long enough that even when she bent over he couldn't see anything. He was disappointed at that fact.

"Like this, for example," she said, holding up a set of candles. "You don't want that cluttering up your place.

"Or this," she grabbed some decorative vases and placed those in the box.

It continued. Alice commenting on each item before packing them up, while Jasper followed her around.

"You know what else I've never liked, Jasper?" she asked, looking up at him.

"What?" He was a little mesmerized by the way his name fell from her lips, seemingly rolling off her tongue.

"This."

It was his turn to be stunned speechless as she suddenly threw off her robe, leaving her in nothing but a black, see through, lace bra and matching lacy thong.

His jaw dropped open as he stared. He could clearly see her nipples, and her panties left very little to the imagination. His eyes roamed all over her body as she stood there, waiting for him to have some type of reaction.

"So…" He gulped. "So, what is it you don't like?" he said in a husky voice and cursed himself for being so turned on and unable to look away.

She started toward him, slowly and with purpose. A lioness stalking her prey as he just stood there gaping.

"I don't like that you seem so unaffected by me, when every time you're merely in the room my body screams for your touch. I don't like that you're a manipulative, scheming, cocky asshole and yet I can't stay away from you. And I really, really don't like that you're just standing there instead of kissing me right now, Jasper."

He thought about everything she just said. She insulted him, admitted she wanted him, and called him out on not doing anything about it. Why am I not doing anything? he asked himself.

Alice watched him carefully, knowing he was trying to sort out his thoughts. She saw something spark in his eyes and knew it was time to make her move.

She wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and tilted his head down toward hers.

"Kiss me, Jasper."

There was no thought, no hesitation. He lowered his head the rest of the way and pressed his lips to hers. Their lips moved together passionately before Jasper deepened the kiss, parting her lips with his tongue and mingling with hers. Unlike earlier, this was sweet, holding no hint of boast or defeat. They moved together, neither fighting for dominance.

Their hands began exploring one another. His lips moved to her neck, sucking and kissing his way down to her breasts. He reached behind her and unhooked the lacy bra as Alice sought to even the score by working on removing Jasper's clothes. It wasn't long before they were both completely naked, facing one another.

Jasper's eyes signaled toward his room while Alice's did the same with hers. It was a silent struggle, once more the other trying to gain the upper hand.

He took her hand and led her to the living room, the halfway point between their two bedrooms. A compromise. The first of many to come.

He eased her down onto the plush rug and gazed at how beautiful she was. The full moon shone brightly through the wall of windows and illuminated them both in an almost ethereal glow.

A little embarrassed by his intense scrutiny, Alice reached up and led Jasper's head toward hers. She kissed him with a sense of urgency and moaned into his mouth when his tongue met her own.

Her fingernails raked up and down his chest before finally ending at her destination. She wrapped her hand around his manhood, pumping him a few times as his fingers found her clit.

She gasped at the feeling already beginning to build inside her and lifted her hips, trying to seek more friction to put her over the edge. Jasper gently pushed her hips back down as his tongue circled around her nipple. He moved his fingers from her clit down to her center, teasing her folds and enjoying the sounds she was making.

He thrust two fingers into her while his teeth grazed her nipple, and she tightened her grasp on his cock, eliciting a low moan from him.

"Fuck, Ali, you're so wet," he whispered and adjusted his head to worship her other breast.

In response she positioned him near her entrance, feeling overwhelmed and more than ready.

"Jasper," she moaned.

He removed his fingers and brought his hands to her hips, easing the head of himself in before freezing on top of her, his eyes widening.

"Shit!" he exclaimed and stood up.

She looked up at him alarm, half-sitting up herself and opening her mouth to question what was wrong. He must have sensed her fear because he said, "Be right back," before running into his bedroom.

Alice lay there confused and wondering if he was messing with her again before he returned, a square of gold-foil in his hand.

She could have slapped herself. In their urgency to feel one another she had completely forgotten about a condom. Luckily, Jasper was more in-tune with safe sex then she was.

"No worries, baby," he said, smiling and rolling the condom on.

She smiled back at him, his crooked grin infectious, as he lowered himself to the floor and crawled over her.

"Ready?" he asked, positioning himself for penetration.

She nodded her head and smiled. "More than."

He smiled back and eased himself into her slowly, both of them moaning at the feeling. Once he was fully sheathed inside her, they began a steady rocking rhythm - one that soon increased until they were both breathing heavily and about to tip over the edge.

Alice wrapped her legs around him, the new angle and deeper penetration hitting just the right spot. He thrusted harder, and she met every movement with the same amount of passion and vigor.

They looked up at one another - blue eyes meeting green - and it was like time began to move in slow motion as they both expressed the same emotion and thought. They were surrendering to each other. Only, it wasn't surrender, because they were gaining and not losing. They had both won far more than either had hoped for, and they both understood it in that moment. Jasper leaned down and kissed her with such passion that it took Alice's breath away.

Time stopped. There was no street traffic below. No sounds coming from the city that never sleeps. Never had she felt something so incredible, and she wasn't sure if she ever would again.

He moved his hand to her clit once more and time resumed its normal pace. The pleasure was rising inside with every nibble and thrust for them both before it finally became too much for Alice. She cried out Jasper's name as her orgasm erupted through her; starting at the curl of her toes, the tingle in her chest, the explosion of stars in her mind, and ending in the sudden plunge into ecstasy.

Jasper soon followed with a breathless "Alice" bringing a smile to her face as the waves of pleasure rolled over the both of them.

Once they recovered enough to move, he lifted her into his arms and carried her into her bedroom. They both curled up on the bed and snuggled into one another.