A/N: I know it's been a while since I updated. Once I'm done with my exams next month, the updates will be more frequent. Thank you for understanding :)

Thanks a bunch to Misty for the edits of this chapter.

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Guest: This one is longer. Hope you'll enjoy this. Thank you :)

Here is the next chapter. Happy reading.

Two days. It had been two days since the whole thing happened. Paul hadn't heard from Leah yet. He was sure she would barge in through his main door and knee him in the gut for kissing her. But no, there were no signs of Leah Clearwater anywhere. She hadn't even come to spend time with Peaches.

He tucked in his little daughter, kissing her head. She had been restless today—crying all the time, fussing and not eating. He hated seeing his daughter like this.

He knew this had to do with Leah's absence, considering how the two were practically inseparable. And not seeing her favorite person for two days had Peaches all cranky . He felt angry. What had happened was between him and Leah. She should have kept it separate, shouldn't have involved the little kid in all this.

But following right behind the anger was guilt— for not considering her condition.

Peaches calling her mama had hit a nerve. It was a very sensitive topic for remembered how conflicted and helpless she had looked that day on the beach.

To top it all, he had kissed her. Not the reassuring—it's gonna be okay—kind. An actual, heated, all tongue and teeth kind. To be honest, he had enjoyed it to no end.

He hadn't been with anyone after Roni and if Leah hadn't stopped him, he was sure he would have taken her right on the beach.

It had been only a year and a half since he lost his imprint and he had kissed another kiss had fueled the fire in him. Made him want her.

And not one moment of any of this felt wrong—which just added to his guilt.

He went into the kitchen and grabbed a beer. He wished he could get drunk. Just once in a while when he wanted to forget everything else easily. Like today.

'Freaking wolf metabolism' he cursed, putting the bottle back.

There were two sensitive topics when it came to Leah. Relationships and kids. Somehow, he had managed to pull on both those , instead of wasting time on the brown liquid that was nothing more than flavored water to him, he might as well try and fix the mess he made.

He knew Embry would get off patrol soon. He left a text message, asking him to come over. In an hour, Embry was there—rummaging through the fridge, planning to finish at least half of Paul's beer.

" Call me if you need anything. It won't take me more than a couple of hours. It's just this small thing I forgot to…."

"You are going to Leah's." Embry stated casually. "Come on, man. You don't have to lie. We all saw what happened here. She didn't know how to react, she literally ran away. Then, you went in search of her. When you came back, you were acting weird. Though neither of you told us, we know something happened between you two that day. Something big from the looks of it. You know how she is when it comes to all these things. Go fix it. I'll take care of chubby cheeks here." Embry grabbed few beers, a packet of chips and a magazine and walked towards Peaches' room.

As Paul climbed the porch of the Clearwater residence, he noticed the main door was half open. He let himself in, wondering why Leah had left it open. He could hear the TV running in background. He entered the main room and saw a sleeping Leah.

She was stretched out across the couch—one hand curled loosely around the remote and the other flexed over her head. She was wearing what Paul remembered as Seth's old tee—a little too big for her. He could see her panties peeking through. Panties with...tiny red hearts on them?

Whoa!

Leah Clearwater wore panties with little hearts. Now that was really amusing. He was so going to use this on her.

After a few silent chuckles, he actually looked at her, taking her in.

Flawless olive skin, slender frame, long,well toned legs, perfect facial features, parted pink lips, a few loose hair scattered across her forehead.

Her shirt had ridden up a little, exposing her bellybutton. Her face looked so calm when she was sleeping-it just added to her beauty. To say Leah was beautiful would be an understatement. Huh! Beautiful? She looked like a native goddess.

At the moment, all he wanted to do was get into the couch and drift into sweet sleep with her in his arms.

He immediately scolded himself mentally for even thinking that. What was wrong with him? First, he shamelessly ogled at a sleeping Leah. And now, he wanted to share her sleeping place. Was he in the very first stage of the 'Edward Cullen syndrome?' He hoped not.

He shook his head and moved towards the couch, sitting near her legs. Reaching out, he gently tried to pull the remote out of her hand. As his fingers brushed against her hand, Leah jolted up, dropping the remote on the floor, scooting back on the couch and accidentally kneeing Paul's groin in the process.

"Ow! What the hell, Leah!" he cursed under his breath, clutching himself. Those long legs seemed to be made of wood. If it hurt this much for an accidental kick, she could easily kill someone with a kick to the manly parts.

Leah had snapped out of her sleep mode and was wide awake now, looking at him like he was crazy. "That's right. What the hell, Paul? You startled me, you idiot. What in the freaking hell were you exactly trying to do? And why are you even here at this time. It's past midnight." She fumed, her voice an octave higher.

Paul was taking deep breaths, trying to ease the pain. Looking at him like this, her face softened. She moved towards him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to kick you. It was by mistake. Are you OK? Shall I get you some water?"

"Yeah. Whatever. You kick me where it hurts and ask me if I'm OK."He mumbled.

She glared at him, folding her hands across her chest. " Well, that's what you get for being an idiot. When you saw me asleep, you should have just left and not do whatever creepy thing you were trying to do. I'm trying to be good to you and asking if there is anything I can do to help you."

"Ah…let me see. You know...you can kiss it better." He winked at her, earning another death glare from the she wolf.

"Ha ha ha ha. So funny. Isn't it? I thought only the terrible trio that could say such pathetic things. You are more lame than those three idiots put together." She shook her head, remembering the things Jake, Embry and Quil did when they were together.

"You love us all, nonetheless."

Grinning at her expression, he asked her to get him a glass of water.

After giving him a couple of minutes to compose himself, she sat on the table in front of him and took the glass from his hand, the scowl back on her face.

"Can you stop looking at me like that? It doesn't make me feel welcomed." Paul, who was starting to feel better, turned towards her.

"Who said you were welcome here?" she quirked a perfectly shaped eyebrow.

The atmosphere in there was turning serious now. Sighing, he ran his hand down his face. Raising his eyes to Leah, he saw her deep brown ones staring back at him. He could see the hurt in them. He took both her hands in his. She tried to pull back, but his grip tightened, keeping them in place.

"Leah, what happened on the beach that day…"

"Don't,please." Her whisper cut him off.

"No. Just listen to me once.I was only trying to comfort you…"

"Yeah. I know that," she pulled her hands free from him and placed a hand on his arm, looking at him, she shifted a little in her seat. "Look, Paul. I know things weren't supposed to end that way. We kissed. It was a mistake. I get it. There is no need to discuss it again. Let's just forget it happened. OK?"

Suddenly, there was a lump in her throat, making it difficult for her to breathe. She fought back the tears that were threatening to appear out of no where. She felt bad. Not because of what he wanted to tell. Because she had called the kiss a mistake. And even he thought the same.

That hurt her.

He thought the kiss was a mistake—which was true. No matter how much she had enjoyed it—the way his lips moved against hers, the way he tasted, the way his warm hands felt on her body—how she had replayed it several times in her mind. Considering the condition they both were in, it wasn't good for either of them.

Nodding, he apologized. "Yeah. You are right. It was a mistake," he tried to keep the slight disappointment he was feeling out of his tone,"...I'm sorry. I should have thought better."

Was he expecting her to tell him they did the right thing and ask him for something more? Hell no. Yet he had no idea why he was crestfallen at her words.

She nodded, giving him a feeble smile which didn't reach her eyes.

After an awkward pause, Paul spoke again, his tone slightly accusatory.

"Peaches was cranky today. She even mentioned your name twice. Why didn't you come? This was between us. You could have come for her. You know how attached the pup is to you."

She felt guilty for doing that. Ever since she started taking care of Peaches, she hadn't gone a day without seeing her. It had been two days now and she was dying to see the kid. But this whole thing had made her think about where she actually stood in Lahote household.

The scary thing was, she couldn't find an answer for that, which made her decide it was best to maintain some distance. Else, they would all end up in a big emotional mess they couldn't handle.

"I was busy. I had some work." she lied. But Paul saw straight through it.

"Yeah? Really?" he snorted. " Whatever, Leah. Now that we have things sorted, you can come to my place. I can't see her like this. So please, just come over tomorrow. Will you?"

It looked like she was over thinking things but she agreed anyway.

"I'll come tomorrow. Who's with her right now?"

"Her favorite uncle." Paul muttered, giving her a nod when she said Embry's name.

"Very well. Now, if you can do me a favor and get out of my house, I can complete my sleep that you disrupted. So, get out, Paul." they were already getting back to the playful mood.

"Aw, you are so sweet, Lee," Paul mocked, getting up from the couch and making way towards the door.

He was just out of the door when he remembered something. Turning around to look at Leah, who was leaning across the frame—ready to close the door, he bent down, his face inches from hers, whispering in a naughty tone.

"Oh! I love those panties, by the way. White cotton with red and pink little hearts. Cute…" he winked at her, smirking.

It took Leah a moment to understand what he was talking about. When she did, her eyes widened.

"Wha...h-ho…" he was enjoying her reaction, the way her eyes flashed. "I swear to god…ugh...Paul, before you even think of talking about it in front of someone, keep in mind, it's very difficult to change diapers with one hand."

She almost shoved him off the porch, her irritation evident on her beautiful face. His laughter boomed as he gave her yet another wink before walking towards his house. Slamming the door, Leah plopped down on the couch, mumbling 'idiot' under her breath.

Biting on her lip, she couldn't stop the smile and the oh so tiny blush which forced their way onto her face.

A/N: Calling the kiss a mistake and feeling bad about it. They have no idea they are falling for each other, do they? LOL. You can always hit me with your thoughts.

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Thank you for reading :) 3

Chamsp.