A/N: OMG IT'S TEH PAUL STORY! SQUEE! This is a bit of an offshoot from my other story, Melt, which is a Jacob story. However, you don't have to read that one to get this one (though I would greatly appreciate it ;D ). I can't promise a date for the next chapter, but I just wanted to stick this one on here and see what you guys think! So please be patient with me. :)

This chapter is dedicated to gabycaldemeraz, because she is awesome and loves Alex Meraz as much as I do, and littlejunior98, because she needs something to make her feel better and hopefully this will help. :) Sorry that it's not Jakey loving, for all who are waiting on the next chapter of Melt, but I needed to switch things up a bit so I don't get bored with Melt.

Feel free to review if you'd like! I'd really appreciate it!

Disclaimer: Okay, I'm only going to do this once. No, I do not own anything related to Twilight. If I did, Jake would be with someone that's human and not a mutant demon baby thing, and Paul and Leah would get together and have beautiful, passionate love. :D Comprende? Si.

Chapter 1

"'His eyes were an endless chasm of love and desire, sweetness and a passion so strong it consumed her, body and soul. The very sun dimmed next to his brightness, and she did not know how life was ever possible before him.' That's all I've got so far. What do you think?" my best friend and future romance novelist extraordinaire asked before stuffing a French fry in her mouth.

I waved a carrot stick at her and grinned.

"You, my dear, are epic," I answered. She blushed and hugged her notebook close to her chest, squealing in delight.

"Ooo, I can't wait to finish this one! Sonnet is the perfect name for the main character!" she cried. I smirked, leaning in close.

"Not to mention it's name of my dear cousin, who you have a crush the size of Alaska on," I whispered. She blushed an even deeper shade of pink and swatted me over the head with the spiral bound notebook, before looking around to see if anyone had heard.

Callista had been my best friend since eighth grade, my homie, my partner in crime. Well, maybe not. I was usually the crime and she was normally the sad lass that got dragged along.

But she still loves me, so it's all good.

She looks innocent enough, but her writing is the epitome of awesome, sometimes sassy enough to make even the rowdiest bunch blush all the way down to their toes. People pay for her writing, she is that good.

"Callista my sista, you'd better hurry and finish that lovely burger of yours before I snatch it off of your tray," I warned, eyeing the delectable burger hungrily. Wide eyed, she quickly grabbed it up and scarfed it down, leaving not a crumb for me to eradicate from her plate. I frowned and sighed, staring down at my miserable lunch box full of salad, rabbit food that my aunt had decided I needed to eat or else I would perish from lack of supposedly "vital" vitamins and minerals. I guess that's why they are called vitamins, they kind of have "vital" in the word there, but who says I can't get vitamins from a Pop Tart? Adults and their silly ideas.

I jumped as a tray slammed down on the table, bringing me out of my cloud of thoughts.

"Jeez, Nic, what's up with you?" I grumbled, cocking an eyebrow at the gangly red head in front of me. He scowled at me before shrugging his backpack off and slumping down into the seat next to Cal, mumbling curses. "Care to explain? Care not to explain? Care to hand over that there chicken strip before the writer gets hurt?" I teased, poking Cal in the side. She yelped and scooted closer to Nic, who shoved his tray over to me.

"Take it, I'm not that hungry," he mumbled.

"Oh, the accent gets me every time. So sexy," I teased, nabbing the strip before he changed his mind. My efforts were rewarded with a grin.

"I'm pleased that I can affect you so significantly, Miss Jameson," he teased back, batting his eyelashes at me.

Nic, or Nicolas, Nicola, Nicky, Noo Noo, or whatever other name I could come up with for him, was another friend of mine. We had only recently met, as he had transferred from his homeland in Scotland to come live with his father right here in Washington state. He was the stereotypical hotheaded Scotsman, but was a sucker for cute girls. Cute girls like Cal, wink wink.

She giggled at his antics, and his eyes glazed over as he smiled back at her. Ah, young love. So sweet, so fresh, so not in my life right now, I thought, mentally sobbing as I observed Nic trying to feed Callista a chocolate chip cookie. She, being the shy one, of course refused, and had to hold his arm away from her face before she got chocolate smeared all over it. I could tell he was thoroughly pleased by her reaction, as she rarely made contact with anyone. She had gotten used to my vicious hug attacks from nowhere, but was still a little tense when anyone, mostly guys, tried to touch her. Nic had learned that the hard way when he had tried putting the moves on her, only to end up with bruised eye. I laughed for days afterward.

"So what's gotten you so hot and bothered?" I questioned. He stopped play fighting with Cal and sighed.

"Robertson gave me a D on my exam."

"What! You—we studied for that thing for days!" I cried in disbelief. He rolled his eyes and shrugged.

"Yeah, well, apparently it wasn't enough," he grumbled. "What did you get?"

"A ninety-five," I mumbled quietly, looking up at a particularly interesting speck of dust on the ceiling.

"Excuse me if I haven't lived in this country long enough to have the entire Bill of Rights drilled into my head as you all have since the wee age of five!" he shouted, throwing his hands up in the air in exasperation. Cal patted his shoulder sympathetically, which instantly brightened him up. "Oh well, it's just one exam right? The sun is shining, the birds are tweeting, and I have two lovely girls at my side. Feh, test. What test?" he shrugged.

I snorted and threw a piece of lettuce at him. He looked flabbergasted.

"Young lady, there are starving children in Africa who would love to have this lettuce," he said seriously, waving the lettuce around in his hand. I sighed, knowing it was true, and shoved a forkful of gross into my mouth.

"It's not that bad, May," Cal giggled. I glared at her and continued grinding the bits of organic matter between my teeth before swallowing. I grabbed Nic's apple juice against his protesting shouts and chugged it in an attempt to mask the taste of nasty green stuff. It helped a little.

Soon after, the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. We walked Cal to her history class before heading off to Calculus, which Nic and I had together.

"She doesn't even notice me," Nic sighed woefully as we claimed the desks at the back corner of the room. I patted his arm affectionately and smiled.

"Oh, I think she does, my friend. Did you see the way she patted your shoulder? Very bold move on her part," I said, nodding seriously. He grinned, a pink tinge flowing into his pale cheeks as his eyes glazed over once more. "Earth to Nic, are you there?" I teased, gently tugging a lock of his curly copper hair. He swatted my hand away with a smile, but then he noticed something past my shoulder and glowered. I turned around to see what it was and was met with a faceful of blue flannel.

"Good afternoon, ladies," a silky smooth voice said from above my head.

"Can I help you, Sir Dipstick?" I asked, glaring at the raven haired boy behind me. He smirked, crossing his arms, which made the powerful muscles beneath them stand out even more. I pretended not to notice and kept my eyes on his face.

"Just wanted to give a friendly hello, what's with the anger? Chillax," he smirked, slumping into the seat beside me. I glared at him even more.

"Just because Nic and I are the only people who know that you exist in this class does not mean you have permission to speak to us. Ever. K thanks," I said nonchalantly, swiveling back around to face Nic, who continued to glare at the abominable roach known as Noah.

"Heard from your mum lately?" I asked Nic, completely ignoring the pair of eyes on the back of my head. Nic shrugged, his hazel eyes growing a little sad.

"Yeah, but she didn't care to say much. Had some date or another to go on," he mumbled, picking at the hole in his jeans.

"Aw," the sniveling voice behind me said sarcastically. I ignored him and continued on.

"Yeah, she's probably trying to get back into the swing of things. You know how middle aged women are, always trying to snatch up a man before they get too old," I chuckled. Nic still looked a little put out, so I took off one of my neon bracelets and stuck it on his wrist. "Yellow for happiness. You deserve it, buddy," I smiled. He nodded, shaking his head at me but smiling nonetheless.

"Little Nicky missing his mommy?" Noah sneered. I calmly got out of my chair and whipped around to face him, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. He looked thoroughly amused, his right eyebrow arched in question as his green eyes twinkled playfully.

"Listen here, you rancid bag of fermented dog piss, you don't know a single thing about what it's like to lose a parent, so don't you dare make fun of Nic or me or anyone for that matter," I hissed, nearly spitting in his stupid face. The teacher chose that moment to walk into class, so I quickly dropped Noah's shirt and scuttled back to my desk, still seething at his remark. I ignored him for the rest of class, keeping my glaring eyes focused on the board as I jotted down notes that I didn't even comprehend. Nic did enough glaring at him for the both of us, so I was a little relieved at that. When the bell rang, I was ready to bring out the gun show (my fists, don't get excited) if needed, but Noah just waved once and walked out of class. I took a deep breath and grabbed my bag, slinging it over my shoulder as I followed Nic out of the room. We picked Callista up again and headed to art, the only class we all shared together.

I scribbled lovely fantasies of a certain dark headed guy drowning, being run over by a train, and catching on fire while Nic and Cal worked on their projects. The teacher walked over and questioned my work, to which I replied with a rambling of how it was a representation of the oppressive nature of something or another. He seemed pleased by that and even praised my work. I shot glares at Nic and Cal as they snickered behind his back.

The rest of the day went relatively well, and soon I forgot about the desire to seriously maim one of my schoolmates as I headed home. My house wasn't too far from the school building, so I took advantage of the oddly serene weather and walked home, the wind and sunshine at my face. As I traipsed up the sidewalk, I noticed my little sister sitting on the front porch with her head in her hands.

"Jane? Are you okay? What's wrong?" I asked, pulling her into my arms. She sniffled and wiped her nose on her sleeve, tears pouring down her little red face.

"I'm s-s-sorry, May. I d-didn't mean to let her she just k-kept pulling me and then I c-couldn't hold her anymore a-and," she stammered. I pulled her hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ears, then wiped her tears away with my sleeve.

"What are you talking about, Jane?" I asked gently.

"Spud ran away from me!" she cried, burying her face in my shirt. My heart dropped in my chest, feeling like a ton of lead in my chest.

"What do you mean she ran away, honey? What happened?" I asked. Jane quickly related the story about how she wanted to take Spud, our golden retriever, out for a walk after school. She had given her a biscuit, put her on her favorite leash, and brushed her really nice (details to a five year old are really important) before opening the door. She said Spud kept pulling on her leash, almost to the point of dragging my poor sister down the road before Jane had to finally let go and Spud ran off into the woods. I believed my sister, but it was odd that Spud had even pulled her like that. We had her trained since she was pup to not pull on her leash, since my baby sister liked to take her for walks around the front yard.

"Do you know which direction she went in?" I asked. Jane nodded, her blonde curls bouncing as he pointed toward the forest at the end of our dead end street. I nodded, picking her up before heading inside. My aunt was asleep on the couch, as usual because she worked the night shift as a security guard, but I woke her up and told her what happened.

"Aw, honey. Come on, we'll go look for her. Jane, put your boots on, we're going to be roughing it a little," she said, smiling at my sister. Jane nodded, her small face still looking troubled as she ran upstairs to her room to retrieve her shoes. My aunt rubbed her eyes, sighing.

"I'm so sorry, May. I thought she would be okay, I was sitting here watching TV and I guess I fell asleep," she mumbled. I patted her shoulder.

"It's okay. Spud's a good doggy, she'll come back home," I said, assuring myself more than my aunt. Jane came running back down the stairs with her boots on. We were about to leave when she stopped us and ran back to the kitchen. She scrambled back with a handful of dog biscuits, which she promptly shoved into her pocket with the notion that Spud would smell them and find us because of it. I smiled and hugged her before taking her hand in mine and heading out.

We searched for hours, trekking through the well used hiking trails and shouting out Spud's name to no avail. It was nearing dusk when Aunt Mona called off our search.

"I'm sorry guys, but we should head home now. These woods are dangerous at night," she said, guiding us out of the trees. I didn't really care at the moment, seeing as how my child was out running around in said dangerous woods by herself with no food or water and it looked like it was going to rain tonight. I gave one last glance over my shoulder, hoping to see my fluffy, golden haired dog behind me, before sighing and catching up with my family.

Nic and Cal helped me search when they could, but by the end of the week I was starting to lose hope. I had printed off dozens of lost dog flyers and stapled them to every available surface in town, but had yet to receive any calls.

"Have you tried the reservation?" Cal asked as we chatted over dinner at the Chinese food place she worked at. A light bulb went off in my head.

"Actually I hadn't even thought about that. Good idea!" I exclaimed. She wanted me to wait until she got off of work, but I was pretty impatient. I grabbed my fortune cookie off the table, gave her a quick hug, and was out the door. I ripped open the plastic that surrounded the cookie, then broke it in half and munched as I walked. I pulled the small strip of paper out of it, reading it with a confused expression.

Trust your intuition. The universe is guiding your life.

I shrugged, throwing paper behind me (it's biodegradable!) before heading off to the reservation.

I couldn't get to La Push fast enough.

Flyers and stapler in hand, I littered the place with pictures of my beloved Spud. The people I asked were really friendly, and I nearly hugged a guy when he said he had seen a dog like mine at school one day. He told me some guy took her home though, which made me really sad. I asked him if he knew where he lived, and he pointed me to a few houses down the road. I thanked him profusely before running down to the house and rapidly knocking on the door. I bounced on the balls of my feet impatiently until the door was opened by an older woman. I frowned, but thought it could possibly be the same house.

"Um, hi! My name is May, and I was wondering if you've seen my dog? She looks like this," I said quickly, shoving a flyer under her nose. She adjusted her glasses and stared at the picture for a moment.

"I think this may be the dog my son brought home a few days ago," she frowned.

"Like a week ago?" I asked excitedly. She nodded. "Is he here? Does he have her? Can I see her?"

She shook her head sadly.

"No, he took her for a walk a little while ago. Said he was going to Nilly's with a friend. Do you know where Nilly's is?" she asked. I shook my head and she gave me directions to the diner, called Willy Nilly's, which I thought was adorable.

"My son looks like this," she said, smiling as she brought a framed picture to the door. She pointed to a guy in the middle of a group of guys.

Sweet mamba jamba the guy was gorgeous! I gawked at his image, memorizing every detail before grudgingly handing the picture back to her.

"Handsome, isn't he?" she asked, nudging me with her elbow as she grinned. I chuckled and waved my hand in front of my face like I was hot.

"Oh, very," I replied. She laughed and went to replace the picture.

"Paul has grown quite fond of that dog. I'll be a little sad to see it taken away from him," she sighed, gazing up at me above her square lenses.

Sorry lady, she was mine first. He can go save another dog from a shelter, this one is mine.

"Maybe he can visit sometime or something," she said, a sly glint in her eye. However suggestive, I liked this old woman. I thanked her and she wished me good luck as I ran down the sidewalk.

I got lost.

I turned left instead of right or something went wrong and ended up walking down a gravel road that led to a small cabin. Ignoring the creepy feelings of being watched, I walked up to the house. The front door was open, and delicious smells were wafting out from inside. I knocked tentively, stepping back off the porch incase I needed to get a head start run in from some creepy, horror movie type guy. There was a slight clanging noise before a woman poked her head around a corner, wiping her hands on a towel.

"Oh, can I help you?" she asked, smiling as she came to the door. I did my best not to stare at the three long scars that ran down the right side of her face, and instead focused on the beautiful, smiling side.

"I'm not really from around here," I started.

"Obviously," she smiled, but not in a sarcastic way.

"Uh, well, I've been looking for my dog. She's about yea big," I said, motioning to my knee, "and has long yellow fur and a blue collar."

"Paul's dog," she said, her face freezing. I nodded.

"Uh, so I've been told. But she's really my dog, my sister was trying to walk her but she ran away and we haven't seen her since. I got pointed to some place called Nilly's, but I don't think this is it," I chuckled. She laughed, waving at me to come inside. I glanced around nervously, looking for any sort of ax or machete or Freddy Krueger claws, but only saw a comfy couch and a large wooden table. She motioned for me to sit down and went to fetch some paper and a pencil.

"Now, I am so not an artist, but I'll draw you a map. If it doesn't work, you can come back here and Paul is bound to show up sometime," she smiled, beginning her sketch. She finished quickly and handed me the paper, which looked like a reasonable enough map to me.

"Thank you! Oh, I'm sorry, I completely forgot! My name is May Jameson," I said, sticking my hand out. She shook it, and I no longer noticed the scars as she smiled brightly.

"I'm Emily Uley. Nice to meet you," she grinned.

"Likewise!"

I thanked her again and she walked me outside, giving me directions again to make sure I understood the map. She waved and I headed back down the gravel road. Emily seemed nice enough, but there was something about the surrounding woods that gnawed at me. My eyes darted back and forth suspiciously as I walked hurriedly, longing to get back into civilization. The gravel road seemed longer than it had on the way up. My eye suddenly caught sight of something large and furry standing between two trees, making my heartbeat skyrocket. When I looked again, there was nothing there, but it was enough to make me run back to the main road. I glanced behind me several times to make sure I wasn't about to get attacked by a bear, but nothing was ever there even though I still had the creeping feeling.

"Get a hold of yourself woman!" I hissed to myself, slapping my cheeks a few times. I shook out my arms and legs before heading off again. It was not long until a building came into sight. Small and homey looking with a bright orange neon said that said, "open," Willy Nilly's looked like any other hometown diner. I sniffed the air a few times and sighed, the smell of greasy burgers and French fries floating through the air. I debated on whether or not to go inside and get something to eat when a flash of gold caught my eye.

"Spud?" I called softly. A golden head popped out from behind a newspaper stand, the golden head I had been longing to see all week. "SPUD!" I cried happily, running towards my beloved pup. She jumped up on all fours, wagging her tail furiously as I approached. I threw my arms around her neck, relishing the feeling of her soft fur against my face.

"Oh Spudsy, you naughty girl, you have no idea how Mommy has missed you!" I said, giving her a squeeze. She licked my face, causing me to giggle as I started untying her. I jumped as I heard the glass door banging open, the bells clanging noisily.

"What the hell are you doing with my dog?" an angry male voice asked. I ignored him and continued untying my precious goggy, excitement coursing through me at the thought of Jane's face when she saw her.

"I'm so happy I found you, Mommy's pretty girl," I cooed quietly. Spud cocked her head to the side in question, then looked past me and whined.

"Um, excuse me. My friend here is just kind of wondering why you're taking his dog," a gentle female voice asked. I dusted off my knees, then stood up and frowned at the girl. Her wide hazel eyes glanced back and forth between me and the guy, her hand gripping his arm tightly.

"This is my dog," I said, "She ran away a few days ago and I haven't been able to find her. But Mommy found you now, didn't she Spud?" Spud licked my hand in appreciation, the mischievous creature.

"SPUD? What the hell kind of name is that?" the guy roared. I crossed my arms and glared at him. Well, at his chest. My eyes drifted up until they landed on his face, the face I recognized from the photo the old woman had showed me. This delightful creature must be the infamous Paul, I thought.

"Her name is Spud. Got it memorized? And she's my dog, so lay off," I growled, inwardly applauding myself for getting the chance to use my favorite video game line. He groaned and looked up at the sky, and I almost expected him to stamp his foot like my little sister does when she's angry. He looked back down at me, dark brown eyes narrowed in anger, and suddenly it didn't matter.

The world seemed to spin around me, my feet seemed grounded on nothing as my heart sped up for no reason at all. It was dizzying the amount of emotion that coursed through me like a quick poison, infecting each and every cell in my body with the extreme pull I felt toward Paul. He was like water and I was the lost desert journeyman, desperate for the taste of him against my lips.

I watched those glorious little lips open and close for a few moments before my brain registered that he was speaking.

"Hi, I'm Paul," he sighed, his angry expression dropping to reveal a silly grin. Oh, I could just melt in those eyes. I tried to wipe the dumb look off of my face and cocked an eyebrow at the beautiful man.

"I'm May," I replied.

"And I'm Ina, but could you wait here for just a second please? We'll be right back," the girl beside him said. Her eyes flickered back and forth between the two of us uneasily as she dragged Paul over to a corner of the diner and started whispering hurriedly to him. He was paying no attention to her and was still staring at me, half lidded eyes and a slight smirk giving him an oh-so-sexy expression. He caught my eyes and I was frozen, drowning in pools of molten caramel chocolate. My daze was abruptly called off as Ina shook his shoulders to get him to listen to her. I frowned and stuck my tongue out at her behind her back, but had to suck it in and smile as she glanced over at me. I waved enthusiastically, scowling at her once more as she turned back around. Paul said something in reply, then looked back over at me as Ina dragged him back.

"Okay, so here's the thing," she began, being abruptly cut off by Paul's huge hand wrapping around her face. Her hazel orbs rolled up to look at him questioningly as he leaned with one elbow on her head, then grinned confidently. I felt electricity run down my spine as his gaze connected with mine. His eyes were so intense, passionate, and slightly dangerous looking.

"Will you go out with me?" he asked suddenly.

I was shocked for a moment before my fortune cookie's advice floated through my head. Alright, I thought, I can take a bad boy.

"Okay," I replied, winking at him. He grinned even wider before slinging an arm around my shoulder and grabbing Spud's leash, then leading me off down the road. Spud turned around once and barked at Ina, then licked Paul's hand affectionately.

"I think she likes you," I chuckled.

I wasn't sure if it was the close proximity or the heat flowing from his skin that made my face heat up like it did, but somehow I was blushing like an elementary school girl as he hugged me in closer. I snaked an arm around his waist and nearly fainted from the effort as I felt the smooth muscle moving underneath his thin T-shirt. Yes, be jealous, be very jealous.

"So, where do you live?" he asked nonchalantly, molten eyes glancing down at me. My mouth hung open and I felt my brain fogging up at the sight of sunlight bouncing off of his chocolate orbs, throwing flecks of gold throughout his irises. He looked at me curiously, then leaned down slightly, a cocky smirk gracing his lips as his eyes flickered between my eyes and mouth. My breathing quickened, my heart beat rapidly picking up as he got closer. I closed my eyes, skin tingling with the warmth he emitted.

I yelped as Spud's icy snout touched my hand, throwing my arms up and accidentally socking Paul in the nose.

"What the hell?" he hissed, gripping his face as he glared down at me.

"Aw man, I'm so sorry!" I apologized, digging around in my pockets for some tissue.

"Yeah, you'd better be!" he growled. I stopped my search, slowly turning my head to glare up at him.

I know he didn't.

"What did you just say?" I said through gritted teeth. He glowered back, anger filled gaze unrelenting as his shoulders trembled.

"I said you'd better be sorry. What, you have hearing problems or are you just stupid?" he said in a low voice.

I punched him again, on purpose this time. As he howled in pain, I threw several tissues down on the ground and grabbed Spud's leash.

"I change my mind. NO, I will NOT go out with you, you jerk!" I yelled before hauling Spud down the road. She whined and struggled, but one look from me silenced her. Whether she liked Paul or not, I was still her owner, and she knew better. And sexy or not, I knew better than to let some jerk face walk all over me.

"Aw, baby, come on! I was just kidding!" Paul whined as he ran to catch up with me. I continued my furious pace, not even daring to spare a look for him because I knew it would be my undoing. It was unholy how beautiful the guy was, and I was not going to risk losing my dignity by melting all over his studded leather boots.

"You know, I'll just follow you home, right? Baby?" he reasoned. I paused again, making him walk several steps passed me before he realized I had stopped.

"I have a name, and it's not 'baby,'" I growled, staring straight ahead. He walked in front of me and leaned down, and I forced myself to stare at his hairline so that I wouldn't get caught again. He cupped my chin with his hand and gently tugged my face down. I looked at the ground instead.

"May," he sighed, "look at me."

Oh, what the heck.

"I'm sorry I'm such a jerk. I know it and admit it," he said grimly. Jerk? What? So gorgeous. Such beautiful eyes. He has a particularly aristocratic nose, it slightly flares out at the nostrils, gently sloping down to meet his flushed cheeks. I let my eyes wander over his lips, those perfect, Cupid's bow shaped lips. Bottom lip slightly fuller than the top, parted so he could breathe and slightly damp from him licking them constantly. What are they doing? Hey, those things are getting kind of close. This could be dangerous.

"Paul, stop," I said quietly, placing a finger on his mouth. His lips were as soft as they looked, and I just left my finger there as I looked him in the eye.

"Oh, uh, sorry. I don't know what came over me," he stammered shyly. It was pretty cute, watching him blush and rub his head nervously. He quickly backed up, and looked at the ground. I patted his stomach in a comforting move and tried to ignore the shouts of, "ARE THOSE THINGS REAL?" wanting to burst out of my mouth. I froze as he caught my hand and held it there, letting my fingers skim over his rippling muscles underneath. I quickly swallowed the drool forming in my mouth and snatched my hand away.

"Like them? Here, I can show you the rest if you want," he smirked slyly. He suddenly pulled up the bottom of his shirt to reveal his quite well formed torso. I nearly fainted on the spot. My mouth hung open and I had to blink a few times to shake the fog out of my head. Apparently it wasn't successful.

"Do you want to model for me?" my mouth blurted out on its own. I quickly covered it, eyes wide as I watched the slow smile spread across his face. "Uh, I uh, I mean, what? Ha ha, oh wow. Um. I didn't mean tha—"

"Sure, anything for you," he replied, biting his bottom lip. "You an artist?"

"You could say that," I shrugged, ignoring the heat pooling in my cheeks.

"Great. I have a talented imprint," he mumbled, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"A what?" I asked, confused.

"Oh, um, nothing," he stammered, catching himself. I eyed him suspiciously, but he just grinned. "So, if I model for you, will you take back your take back and go out with me?"

I thought for a moment.

"We'll see," I said slowly, instantly regretting it as his eyes burned a searing gaze into my own, lips forming a half smirk. "That's not a yes, in case you were wondering."

"But it's a maybe," he grinned. I shook my head.

"You are sadly mistaken. Not even those amazing abs could entice me to date such an arrogant guy as you," I scoffed, beginning to walk again.

"Oh, so they're amazing, huh?"

"Of course he would ignore the arrogant part."

"I'm not arrogant. What's wrong with being confident?"

"There is a difference between being arrogant and being confident. Arrogance usually means you're hiding something, covering up for your lack of true confidence by being a miserable jerk. Confidence means that you're willing to show who you really are and don't care what other think about you," I reasoned. We had finally reached my neighborhood, I realized.

"Well, who says I'm not just a jerk by nature?" he teased. I stopped, eyeing him with the gentlest look I could muster.

"There's pain in your eyes. You're suffering, but you don't want anyone to know it because you think they'll think you're weak," I replied.

He stopped dead in his tracks, looking down at me uneasily. I continued on to my house, glancing over my shoulder at him. "See you later, Paul." I turned to open the front door, but was suddenly whipped around and pressed against the wall. My heart stopped in my chest as Paul pressed his warm, soft lips against mine, moving them in a gentle rhythm that betrayed his true nature. I closed my eyes, forgetting to breathe for a moment. Sadly, he pulled away after a few moments, but still had my head trapped between his hands. His cocky grin was back, and there was fire in his eyes as he spoke.

"You can see right through me, can't you, babe?" he mumbled, his voice deep and husky. I sucked in a breath as he leaned in again, pressing his body against me as he titled my head up to look at him. His nose grazed against my cheek as he inhaled deeply, stopping just above my ear.
"You don't scare me. But I think I scare you," he growled.

I froze, truthfully terrified as he got even closer. I felt like I should run, get away from this man who was visibly full of passion and anger and just screamed danger, but something inside of me told me to stay. He pulled back, and underneath it all I could see that he was uncertain, pained even. He looked me dead in the eye, his gaze making me weak in the knees.

"Don't worry. I'll make you fall in love in with me, whatever it takes," he said. He pressed his heated lips against my cheek and released me, then walked down the steps and out to the sidewalk in a flash of movement.

My knees really did give out, and I slumped to the ground with my heart still hammering away in my chest. I touched my finger to my lips, which were tingling and still so very warm from Paul's infused heat. I watched him walk down the sidewalk, his movement all grace and power and radiating something so wild that I wasn't sure if I could handle it.

Spud whined, bringing me out of my daze as she licked my cheek warmly.

"Hey girl," I said, rubbing her ears, "I think that jerk actually one upped me."