IMPORTANT: Some of you may have already seen this story posted under Lightwood303. Which is normal, that was my account that I oh so talentedly forgot the password to and then proceeded to forget the password to the email where the password recovery email would have been sent… sad, I know. Anyhow, this is not plagiarism or anything like that; just me creating a new account so I can continue my story. I'm sorry for the confusion this may cause.

BED OF LIES

BPOV

Beth sat with her feet dangling over the edge of the low cliff she sat on, her hair whipping maddeningly around her face in the wind. Annoyed, she shoved it harshly behind her ears every time she went to take a drink from the bottle of merlot in her hand. Other than that she didn't tie back or do anything to stop the flailing hair from obstructing her view of the stunning outlook before her. The sun was setting; the sky was a spectacular array of colors seamlessly flowing together, the ocean reflected light as though it had chips of silver and amber floating in it. Although Beth's thoughts were far and she wasn't paying as much attention to the beautiful scenery as it deserved, it still comforted her somehow, to be surrounded by such grace.

Because of its natural beauty, Beth decided it was her favorite so far, out of the dozens upon dozens of places she had lived. The fact that her harsh, depraved, ugly father was born here was baffling to her. It wasn't that her father was physically unattractive, quite the opposite really, he was handsome but ugly to her none the less.

It began to rain softly, but Beth was still saturated from just five minutes of sitting in the drizzle. Her mascara was probably running and she was shivering but she was not ready to go home to her new house just yet. Whether her father had calmed down from earlier or not; she wasn't ready to face him. Even if he wasn't angry anymore; his cold demeanor toward her chilled her more than the rain ever could.

Because of this, her only reaction to the change of weather was to tighten her loose grip on the bottle of wine in her hand. Wet and slippery, she didn't want to lose her grip on the bottleneck and send it tumbling down the cliff face where the alcohol would do her no good. Beth knew it was a lot of alcohol for one person, particularly such a small person being 5'6" and weighing 115, but the more she used alcohol to distance herself from her painful realities, the less it affected her and the more she needed to get the same effect she once got from so little. She justified it to herself by usually always drinking it slowly, maintaining a pleasant buzz throughout the night without getting blasted. Enough to distract her, not waste her.

After another half hour or so, Beth slowly scooted back from the edge before standing and wiping her hands on her wet jeans. Her legs were tingling from the lack of movement and her toes were numb. Unwilling to deal with pneumonia on top of dealing with her father; she decided it was time to go home when she could no longer withhold the chattering of her teeth.

Before she was fully done brushing herself off, boisterous laughing shifted her attention to the higher cliffs above her. The cool wind nipped at her chilled nose and ears as she squinted up at a group of boys, around her age she assumed. Holding her wet hair back out of her eyes; she watched them. Why would anyone, other than me, be out here in the rain? Admittedly the sunset was stellar, but she didn't really feel the boys were stopping to watch it. They were stripping down to their boxers, laughing and pushing each other closer to the edge. Finally, she watched in admiration and interest as one of the boys broke from the group at a run. She could barely hear his quickly shouted insult, almost completely carried away in the wind, "I'll see you ladies at the bottom!" before he leaped off the side of the cliff and plummeted into the evenly crashing waves below, screaming and laughing in elation the whole way down.

A smile she couldn't contain, even if she wanted to, broke across her face. She wanted that moment of freedom, the exhilaration, that distraction… and as she watched the boy swim to shore, ready to follow the path back up to the top, she decided she was going to take it.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

PPOV

"What? None of you losers felt compelled to jump while I was gone?" Jason shouted to the others, finally reaching the top of the cliff once again.

The persistent wind continuously blew against his drenched form; he had a smug smirk on his face that was more of a grimace with the effort to stop the chattering of his teeth. Despite his attempt to pervade casualness, Paul and the rest of the guys all knew he was freezing his ass off in nothing but wet boxers.

"You pansies want me to hold your hands or something? Get to it!" Jason said, standing in the middle of the semi-circle created by the other three boys. He had his arms crossed tightly across his chest and his hands were vigorously rubbing his arms in an effort to create heat through friction. Despite the deep tan of his skin, you could see the tips of his ears and nose turning red with the cold.

Jared snorted, "Yeah, cause I was kind of jealous of this whole freezing and cold thing you've got goin' on."

"Why do we even listen to this guy?" Andrew asked, stepping forward to smack Jason's shoulder. "The man's an idiot, its cold as hell out here."

Paul chuckled and turned to the edge of the cliff, squinting against the setting sun he stared down the long drop into the ocean below. Vibrant reds and oranges were turning into the more velvet purple and pinks of nightfall. It was getting dark fast. The beach area was separated from the main road by a strip of dense forest, blocking any light from the street lamps, and with the rain clouds out; the moon certainly wouldn't light their way. If they didn't get moving they'd be stumbling blindly back to Paul's car.

"Well," Paul said, turning back to the others while unbuttoning his jeans, the only article of clothing, other than his boxers, he had yet to remove. "While I agree Jason is an idiot-"

Jason shoved Paul before he could even finish the insult. Stumbling, Paul almost lost his balance with his jeans half way on, half way off. Straightening up, smirking, Paul got his jeans off and tossed them to the side, laughing at the resentful glare on Jason's face.

"I'm still jumping." Paul finished his statement.

The four of them clustered to the edge of the cliff, Paul taking a couple of steps back for a running start.

"Excuse me!" they all startled at the lovely sound of a distinctly female voice. Running towards them, smooth black hair trailing behind her in the wind, was a girl. A girl, Paul noted, with all the assets of a women. She was gorgeous.

She turned to the side, without losing her momentum, to squeeze between Paul and Jared. Placing her hand lightly on Paul's chest as she passed, meeting his eyes for that brief moment. Reiterating her previous request "Excuse me," but in a soft breathless whisper this time. It was so short, but in that little time of eye contact Paul felt he noticed so much. Her lips were naturally rosy and her eyes were a striking blue, standing out against her tan skin, he saw how the rain clung to her long dark eyelashes.

All four of the boys watched in astonishment as this random beautiful woman leaped into the air, twisting around to face them even as she fell. She looked directly into Paul's eyes again, giving him a dazzlingly bright smile before disappearing out of sight over the edge. They could hear her belle like laughing and screaming all the way down, echoing off the cliff face.

They all stood in silence for a moment, staring at the edge of the cliff where the gorgeous girl once was, until Jason broke out laughing.

"Dude!" he said, "She's got more balls than any of you do!"

"That was hot." Andrew said.

Jared was still staring at the edge of the cliff in awe, a slow smile breaking across his face.

But Paul barely noticed any of this as he ran towards the edge and leapt into the air. He didn't know who she was, but as he fell, he knew he was going to find out.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

BPOV

Grimacing, Beth wiggled her wet sandy feet from her once dry shoes. The heat was blowing full force through the small car and she planned to get her frozen toes as close to the source as possible. As much as she tried to avoid it, she still managed to get a decent amount of sand all over the floor of Paul's previously clean car. Beth stole a quick glance at Paul in the driver's seat next to her; the lights from the dash board lit his handsome face in a pleasing way, the dim light left room for deep shadows that accentuated his sharp jaw and other masculine features. To her relief, Paul and the other three boys in the back didn't seem to notice the mess she was making in the passenger seat. Rather, they were arguing over a bet made last week and apparently, as a result, Andrew had to pay for whatever pizza they decided to order tonight. Beth promised herself that she'd sweep out as much sand as she could when they stopped.

Paul convinced her to hang out with them at his place. They all seemed nice enough and she wasn't one to turn down free food and additional time away from home. Beth leaned back in her seat, lifted her legs, and wrapped her arms around her thighs under her knees, allowing her feet to dangle in front of the air vents. She shivered as the deliciously warm air made contact with her frozen toes. Sighing contentedly, Beth closed her eyes and relaxed her head against the car seat. Listening to the boy's silly argument was soothing. Sure, they were obnoxiously loud at times but no one was really angry, it was simple and carefree. If anything, they seemed to have fun ragging on each other. It was pointless but happy and Beth could appreciate that.

The childish banter came to an abrupt halt when Jared (who had switched places with Andrew and was now doomed to pay for the pizza) chuckled softly rather than firing off another retort.

"Beth? What are you doing?" she could practically hear his smile.

Opening her eyes slowly; she turned her head to face the back as much as she could from her odd position and raised a single eyebrow.

"Sitting?"

"Like that?"

"My toes are cold."

The guys laughed and Beth's head snapped back to the front when a warm hand encased her chilled toes. Paul hissed at the iciness but didn't pull his hand back.

"You weren't kidding." Shock and humor saturated his voice. "She's fucking freezing!"

"How you guys managed to warm up so fast is beyond me." Beth said, "That water was just slightly above freezing."

"It was not that cold!" Jason huffed, rolling his eyes.

At the same time Andrew oh-so helpfully advised: "Shouldn't have jumped in with your clothes on."

Beth barked out a harsh laugh, "Excuse me for not wanting to fuel your fantasies for the next month."

They laughed and Paul gently squeezed her toes, "I'm pretty sure that picture would last me longer than a month."

Beth appreciated the fact he didn't filter his thoughts and just said what he was thinking. Definitely perverted, yet somehow flattering.

She gave a bright boastful smile, "Damn straight!"

Paul drove one-handed and continued to hold her toes for the rest of the drive.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

JPOV

Paul was a ladies man. Jared knew this and normally he didn't care. He would roll his eyes, laugh about it, and occasional, as a friend, rag on Paul for it, but it had never really bothered him. Until now…

When they arrived at Paul's place it was agreed that Beth would be the first allowed to get warm and shower. When she was done; she came out to the living room carrying her wet clothes with a shy smile, wet hair, and wearing nothing but a towel.

Jason didn't even try to hide the fact that he was staring, Andrew shifted uncomfortably and blushed, and Jared stood there stupidly stunned. Not just because she was undeniably hot; but because she was also unbelievably beautiful. She was obviously uncomfortable so exposed to us men and her nervousness just made her all more sweet. Jared's thoughts were fighting on opposite ends of the spectrum; between adorable and sexy.

Paul stepped forward with a stack of his dry clothes for her to barrow, a shirt, some boxers, and a pair of socks.

"I'll trade you?" Paul smiled, "You can wear these while I put your stuff in the wash."

They swapped and Beth held his clothes tightly against her chest and rubbed her cheek into them.

"They're warm?" She wondered aloud.

Paul stood taller and smiled widely, seemingly pleased she had noticed.

"I put them in the dryer for a bit." The unspoken 'just for you' was obvious, though not stated.

Beth smiled; her eyes sparkled as she glanced up at Paul through her long lashes. She mumbled a quiet "thank you" before retreating back to the bathroom to change.

It was in that smile and in the gleam in her eyes, in that brief moment that Jared knew Beth was another one lost to Paul. Another to add to his already long list. Paul would enjoy her and be infatuated for about a month until he got bored, then he would leave her broken and we wouldn't see her again except for in random passing. And normally this wouldn't be a problem. Paul's women came and went, hardly noticed by his friends. Nobody cared. Not even Paul.

But this time Jared noticed. This time he was really bothered. Usually Paul's girls never captured Jared's attention. He knew they were only a momentary presence in the group, he never got attached, was never really interested in getting to know them anyway. But Beth, Beth completely enraptured him. Within the small time at the beach and in the car; she had proven herself to be interesting, sweet, easy to talk to, and he wanted to get to know her better. He could see himself with her, their relationship evolving into something similar to what his parents had, loving, devoted. But all throughout the night he watched Beth throw curious interested glances Paul's way and knew she was already lost.

Thank you all so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think!

Obviously I don't own any of Stephanie's characters, settings, ideas, etc…

Just too clear things up that may or may not be confusing: NONE of the boys are wolfs! Yet… So, no, Paul is not feeling any imprinting attraction. Beth is just attractive in herself lol. If you have any other questions please feel free to ask.

I unfortunately do not have a beta, so I'm sure there are some mistakes and I apologize for them.