Chapter 2

"Hey, I'm Bella."

I couldn't believe that I had been so straight forward. Honestly I just felt as if I needed to be closer to him immediately. I felt the same sort of instant connection I had towards Jess and Angela but times a thousand. Also add the fact that I wanted to climb into this stranger's arms...and bed, and never come out. I heard someone from across the fire say "oh shit" and when I looked over at where the voice had come from it was apparent that it had come from another man from the Rez. That guy was also staring right at us. I was confused, but I shrugged that off as a coincidence and went back to taking in the view before me.

"Hi Bella. I'm Paul." He said simply. I felt chills go down my spine when I heard his voice. He spoke fairly quiet with a deep, slightly gravelly tone. It was soothing and sexy at the same time. It called to me, pulling me in, just like everything else about him had. "It's nice to meet you Bella." He added, saying my name again. He said my name as if it was something to be cherished which didn't make sense to me, but it made me feel important, special, or something. I felt my cheeks turn red when he said this. I blush far too easily, but he was smiling the next time I looked at him. This only made me blush an even deeper shade of red. He had a beautiful smile.

"It's nice to meet you too." I said shyly. I felt silly now though, because I had come to him, but I didn't know what to say. My awkwardness was showing through in front of this beautiful stranger.

"Hey there, I'm Jess!" I was saved by Jess coming up from behind me to introduce herself to Paul. Maybe she had seen my struggle and had decided to come rescue me. Whatever the reason was, I was grateful.

"Hello" Paul said simply, his attention still very much on me.

"This is Paul by the way, you'll have to excuse him, he's just a little in shock that two ladies as lovely as you are really giving him the time of day. Normally it's just the street rats trying to get some. I'm Jared, and this is my girl, Kim." It was the same man from across the fire a moment ago. He and Paul looked like they could be brothers, both of them were very tall with warm skin, both were very handsome. I couldn't help but look back at Paul and even though he was frowning, shooting Jared a death glare, I immediately decided that he was the more striking of the two. His eyes were a hazel green that nearly glowed and while Jared's smile was friendly, Paul's was a sight for sore eyes and I wanted nothing more than to make him smile again.

I blushed again as it set in exactly what he was suggesting about Paul and the other kinds of women that he talked to. I had to admit, I wasn't thrilled to hear about the prospect of him with other girls. I tried to shake the feeling though because I don't even know this guy. I shifted my attention to the petite girl standing beside Jared.

Kim, was her name, and she just gave us a small smile in acknowledgement. She was only a little bit taller than me. She had deep set honey brown eyes and a thin nose with shoulder length black hair. I had the same feeling from her and Jared that I'd had from Jess and Angela when I'd met them. I was beginning to wonder what was up with that. Maybe this is just what it felt like to find your niche, I reasoned. I had never found that in Phoenix, I'd always just been different than the other kids.

After all of the introductions were done again and Jess had bragged about my photography, we all decided that it would be fun to take some pictures together. We stood by the blazing fire, surrounded by other people, but in the moment and in the picture, the group I was with stood out to me more than anyone else. I couldn't wait to look through all the shots when I got home, I know that there were several candids.

"Hey! My turn!" Jess exclaimed, gesturing towards my camera.

"Oh, no, I don't think so." I replied, completely unsure of allowing someone else handling my camera, especially someone as… energetic as Jess. Not to mention, I was very used to being the one behind the camera, and I liked it that way.

"Please, Bella! You need to get in some pictures too! I will be veeeerry careful!" She begged. She also waggled her eyebrows up and down suggestively while nodding in Paul's direction. I sighed and handed off my precious camera to Jess, unable to resist the opportunity to have pictures of Paul and I together.

Paul just smiled beside me politely for a couple of photos, but then both of us got a little bit more comfortable and got a picture of us both sitting on a large piece of driftwood, looking at each other. Kim and Jared joined us after that, and many more pictures were taken with the four of us together.

It was completely dark by the time we were done goofing off with my camera and the music was blasting, the gathering was in full force. Everyone was either eating or dancing or they were me, still awkwardly trying to talk to an unbelievably attractive guy as the rest of our group were mingling with other groups now. I could tell that Paul wasn't the most talkative person. He wasn't exactly awkward like me, but he also didn't fill silences with flowery conversation.

"Did you get to try the brownies before they were gone?" I asked lamely.

"I'm pretty much the reason they are all gone. They were so good." He told me excitedly, I could hear his stomach rumble next to me, which made us both laugh. "I want more, apparently." He added after that.

"I'll just have to make you some more sometime." I told him, blushing and watching out for his expression. He broke out into a wide grin and I swear I heard Jared mutter something along the lines of "lucky bastard" from across the fire pit.

"Hell yeah! Thanks!" I just blushed and nodded in response. It was quiet between us once more. I was lost in the colors of the flames. Someone had thrown some new driftwood in and the colors were magnificent. The normal red gave way to greens and blues from the salt. It was a rare clear night in La Push and when I looked up, we were surrounded by stars.

"Bella, would you like to go for a walk with me?" Paul asked. I simply nodded and wrapped my arm around the one he offered so that I would not trip in the sand. His skin was warm, really warm. I had been starting to get cold so earlier I'd put on the flannel I'd brought, but the chill was still seeping in. But Paul was like a space heater, walking alongside him, I was completely warm. I was currently walking away from the only group of people and only real source of light with a man that I had only just met. I should be scared, or at least nervous, but I wasn't. Paul made me feel comfortable and safe in a way I'd never felt before.

As we walked away from the other guests I felt my phone buzz again. I pulled it out and of course, it was from Jess:

Make sure you actually talk Bella! And KISS him!

I sighed, typing back for her to mind her own business. I did smile at the thought of taking her advice though. I could only imagine what kissing Paul would feel like. I glanced back up at him, looking at me with those piercing eyes and full lips. That was when I decided that I would very much like to take Jess's advice.

"What's got you smiling like that?" Paul asked, giving me a curious look.

"Oh, just Jess telling me to kiss you." Paul's eyes went dark and intense and I realized that I had accidently said that out loud. My face went up in flames, I could just feel myself blushing deeper than ever before. My only saving grace was that maybe he couldn't see it due to the lack of light now that we were further from the fire. Far enough, in fact, that I could not see the fire or any of the crowd, only the glow emanating from it.

"I plan to kiss you, Bella." He told me with a straight face. His eyes were nearly glowing in the dark as he said this, giving away just how much he wanted to kiss me. He turned so that his whole body was facing towards me and ran on hand up my arm. Once he got to my neck, his fingertips gave me goosebumps. They trailed slowly along my bare skin until he wrapped his hand around where my neck and head met, entwining his fingers in my hair. He pulled me ever closer to him so that our lips were only inches apart.

"Paul…" I whispered. I don't know if it was a question or a statement, but I knew that I needed to kiss this man before me.

"Do you want me to kiss you Bella?" He asked, his breath brushing against my face.

"Yes."Was all that I said, and it was all the he needed. He breathed a "thank God" before he swooped in and his lips were on mine.

I might as well have been in heaven. His lips were warm and gentle, but confident at the same time. It was clear that he knew what he was doing, and I was taking it all in. I wrapped my arms around his neck, letting instinct take over, and gripped the ends of his black hair. It was soft and thick. I quietly moaned into his mouth overcome with the sensation and luxury of kissing him. Paul growled quietly in return, deepening the kiss.

"Woah!" We were interrupted by Jared who was running up to us. Paul's eyes filled with rage and I swear he snarled at Jared.

"Sorry man, but we need to go. Sam needs us." He said. I was disappointed by the interruption, even if I wasn't as angry as Paul seemed to be about it. I didn't want Paul to leave because I didn't know when, or if I would get to see him again. He looked down at me, his anger seeming to have faded as he was now smirking.

"I will see you soon, beautiful Bella." He whispered, quickly kissing me on the lips once more.

"Come on Bella, we can walk back to the fire together." Kim said. I hadn't realized that she had been with Jared, but I was glad that I wouldn't be walking back alone. Without Paul here, the woods that led up to the beach caused chills to run up my spine. Jared gave Kim a small, but meaningful kiss before he and Paul disappeared into said woods.

Author's note:

Poor Bella is bound to have some questions soon...

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

I am heavily inspired by music when it comes to my writing, particularly these three stories I have been working on. That said, I've made some playlists, is that something you guys would be interested in me sharing? The songs that have inspired me are all over the board in terms of genre, so none of the playlists would be strictly any one genre. Let me know what you think :)

~Happy Reading

Dahlia