A/N: What did you think of the pictures? I wasn't sure whether or not to actually use them as I sometimes find it can ruin what you may already have imagined something to look like.

Hoping for some feedback this chapter.

Enjoy!

Chapter Three

My right hand quickly came to cover my mouth while my left was over my chest trying to stop the fast, deep breaths. My eyes were wide in shock and I just stared at the being in front of me. A shirtless man wearing baggy cut-off jeans was standing in the doorway. He wasn't wearing shoes and his feet were covered in mud. His short black hair was sticking to his head and he was casually leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, a small smile playing on his lips.

"You know it's pretty dangerous up here, you could fall through the floor and die" his voice was deep and although he didn't sound threatening, I couldn't bring myself to move. Who the hell was he?! What was he doing in my house? How did he get here? Why didn't I hear him come up the stairs? They made a hell of a lot of noise when I attempted to climb them, the squeaking was so loud you could hear it over the heavy rain hitting the floorboards. Why was he here? Was this his house? No, the tribal elders/council members wouldn't have let us buy the place if he owned it. Why couldn't I speak? I'd encountered a lot of weirdos before. Admittedly they didn't creep up on me in my house, but I had met a lot so why was he so different?

His smile dropped and he let out an awkward laugh "Er Miss, I was just joking. You won't die. Er..." he coughed and pushed his hair out of his eyes, "Er, do you need me to, erm, help you?" he took a step forward when I finally let out a squeak.

I coughed and moved my arms down to my sides, "Um I'm fine, thank you. How did you get in here?" I mentally slapped myself at the stupidity of the question. 'He used the front door, idiot. Anyone could get in, it isn't exactly boarded up - or safe for that matter'.

He looked at me confused for a second and then grinned, "What accent is that, Australian?"

I don't sound Australian... "I believe I asked you a question. What are you doing here? You do realize that you're trespassing." I crossed my arms and waited for him to answer. He didn't seem bothered by my questions, just interested in the way I looked; and sounded.

"No, not Australian... British?" he stepped forward and I involuntarily stepped back.

"Yes. And you are?" Maybe if I just asked who he was he would stop avoiding my questions and actually answer me.

"I knew it! You sound so weird... What are you doing in this place?" He didn't 'know it'. He thought I was Australian.

"Stop avoiding my questions" I mumbled and rolled my eyes. "I could ask you the same thing" I looked at him properly then. He was muscular and had what looked like an 8-pack. I tried not to stare in case he thought I was into him and attempted to look for an escape route. You never know, he could be a pervert. What if he followed me here? This would be the second time I showed a creep to my house, even if this time it wasn't intentionally. Not that it was last time. How was I to know he was a creep the last time, he seemed so nice.

"Right. Well I used the front door. I'm just hanging out. Er what was the other one again... Wait, trespassing? You're the one trespassing" his voice interrupted my thoughts and when I looked at him I noticed he had one of his eyebrows raised and had now crossed his arms. His defined biceps were bulging, the few raindrops that had fallen onto them from the ceiling outlined them even more so. He smirked and looked down at his arms where my eyes were currently focusing. He stepped closer and I once again stepped back, I almost lost my footing but grabbed onto the wall just in time.

"Excuse me mister-"

"You're excused" he cut me off.

I rolled my eyes in annoyance. How old was he, 12? "I am not the one trespassing, you are. I own this place so I would appreciate it if you left" I raised my left eyebrow and looked at him.

"What? No one owns this place. Who would want it, it's a dump! Kids from high school come here to make out and smoke pot!" he almost shouted that last part and stepped closer to me.

"Seriously?" My voice was low, although I couldn't say I was surprised. People used to get busy behind the bike sheds back at school, and this place was most certainly better than the bike sheds, so I guess it made sense. I tilted my head to the side and looked at the cracked floor beneath my feet.

"Yeah" he laughed and took another step. He was right in front of me now.

"Hm... Fair enough. But you still need to leave" I looked up to glare at him and realized how close he was. His eyes were a light brown with specks of what looked like green or hazel floating about, and his nose was long. His lips were wide on his face and the smile that spread across them showed his teeth, which were beautifully white. His skin was a wonderful mix of caramel and olive in colour and he didn't seem to have any hair on his chest. 'Maybe he waxes'. He was tall too. I actually used to work with someone who was 6'7" and this guy seemed to be the same height, if not the tiniest bit taller.

"Are you done?" I could feel his warm breath on my forehead.

"What?"

"Are you done staring? I know I'm gorgeous, you can stare all you want once we're out of here, but first I need to know if you're done" he gave me cheeky smile and I laughed. At least he was honest. He was gorgeous.

"Wait, what? I'm not going any-"

"Yes you are" he quickly placed his hand over my mouth and used his other arm to lift me up. He was carrying me like a school kid would their books while walking to class. I wasn't in his arms bridal style, or over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes; I was like a plank of wood in his arms. He just lifted me off the ground and held me like he was hugging me. He let his hand slip from my mouth so he could adjust himself and started walking towards the door.

"What in the world! Put me down! I don't even know you! What are you doing?! I can walk by myself! STOP! HOLY SHIT! IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, STOP! STOP!" What the hell was he doing?! This was my house. He has no right. Who does that to a stranger? What in the hell! I should never have moved here. I should've stayed in snobby Port Angeles. Or even Forks! What the fuck had I gotten myself into...

"No." he laughed. No? Did he just say 'no'? This was my house.

"NO YOU! STOP! Stop. Right. Now."

"Okay" he placed me on the ground and I proceeded to hit him repeatedly in the chest. It actually hurt so I just stopped and looked at him. The grin on his face was huge and I could tell he was suppressing a laugh. I took a step back, crossed my arms, and admitted defeat.

"Fine. Just let it all out" I sighed and looked around. He had led me outside to the front of the house. The rain had stopped but the air was humid and the mud beneath my trainers still squishy. I hated squishy mud. My feet always got stuck. He laughed while I took in my surroundings. A small smile crept onto my face and once he was done I looked at him. "Care to tell me who you are now?"

"You talk so weird" I just rolled my eyes in response. "I'm Embry, Embry Call. I live a couple blocks away. Who are you?"

"Right, that makes sense. But why were you in my house? You had no right to be there."

"This place has been abandoned for ages. I saw the muddy footprints on the porch and decided to check out who it was. You know I saved you, right?"

"What? I can look after myself, thank you very much"

"You were standing by the window" he said it as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"And?"

"And that's the most dangerous place to stand. The floor underneath could've collapsed" he raised his eyebrow at me.

"Right... I knew that. I just wanted to check out the view..." I mumbled. It was a stupid excuse, and I could tell from the smile on his face that he knew that.

"So you bought the place?" he seemed to be genuinely interested, so I smiled back at him for the first time.

"Yeah. I fell in love with it" he looked at me like I had suddenly grown toes on my forehead. "Yeah yeah, I know. But it'll be great once it's fixed. It'll be beautiful. Plus, it's in a somewhat secluded part of the woods, so that's a huge bonus" We had slowly started walking towards Forks and although he was still a bit of weirdo, he was easy to talk to.

"I guess" he smiled, "So what are you doing here anyway?"

"Oh, my mate is opening up a gym in Port Angeles and needed our help with the opening and running of the place. It's a kind of like a new start" I wasn't lying. Might as well attempt to promote it, maybe he'll tell his neighbours.

"Running the place? How old are you?" he looked confused.

"20, you?"

"20. 21 next month" he grinned back at me.

"Oh exciting!"

"Yeah! Aren't you a bit young to be running a gym?"

Well that was uncalled for. He didn't know my business. There are loads of young and successful people. "I've known the owner a long time. We're good friends."

"Oh right..." I didn't really know what to say in response. I don't know if a like him or not.

After a couple minutes of an awkward silence, he turned to me and I can see a smile playing on his lips "You were really wet"

"What?" I snorted in return at the randomness of the question. How embarrassing. He doesn't say anything about it, to which I am grateful, but what the hell?

"Your, er, body. It was really wet"

"Oh right, yeah. The rain" he nodded at me. "You're not wearing shoes" This has gone from unanswered questions, to annoyance, to small talk, and now we were just stating facts.

"Er yeah... About that..." he looked around and scratched the back of his neck.

"Um... Er, are you homeless?"

"What! No. No no no. Hahaha, I just need new shoes. I like jogging without shoes." My face was showing signs of pure bewilderment which he noticed because he just smiled at me sheepishly.

"Well which one is it, new shoes or jogging?"

"Both. I need new shoes and I enjoy jogging barefoot." he nodded to himself and smiled.

"Okay..." Weirdo.

By this point we were at the rented house, in the elderly part of the neighbourhood, and I stopped at the end of the driveway. Embry just looked at me and smiled.

"We're renting this place while the refurbishment goes on" I explained and he nodded in return. He walked with me to the front door, trailing mud behind him, and just stood there while I fumbled for the keys.

I opened the front door and just before I stepped inside I turned to face him, "I'm Kayla, by the way."

"Kayla."