chapter 11
Disclaimer: the characters and all recognisable situations belong to Stephenie Meyer - this is a work of fan fiction, except for the legends and histories of the Quileute that, of course, belong to them. I pay my respects to their gods.
Thanks to BanSidhe [ruadh sidhe] and Feebes86 for betaing and pre-reading.
They walked in the door of the kitchen and Bella had a fit.
"Oh, my God. Look at you two. Covered in bruises." She threw herself at Leah. "Are you okay? He didn't hurt you?" she demanded as she hugged her. Her hands running over her body, looking for serious injuries.
"Hurt me? No."
"See! I told you," Bella whispered triumphantly.
Paul followed her in the door. Bella hesitated to approach him. She still wasn't sure what he thought about her.
He took up a position leaning his back against the kitchen counter. He watched her walk around the kitchen. She was ignoring him. Then he snagged Bella as she went past him; drawing her over to him and positioning her between his legs with his arms around her. He slid down a little so that their faces were closer together.
"Hello," he said in a sultry, low voice.
Bella almost purred.
He gave Bella his sad puppy face. "What about me?" he whined. "You didn't ask if I was okay. Look, she scratched me and bit me." He opened his shirt for Bella to show her the scratches. She tutted and fussed at the nail marks on his chest. He gave Leah a triumphant look that made her roll her eyes.
"He's fine," Leah argued. "He'll heal."
"Okay, Leah." Bella hugged Paul. "You had fun?" she asked him.
Leah snorted. "He enjoyed himself." She looked at them. Paul had both his arms around Bella's waist and she had one hand on each of his cheeks. She was pushing her hips into him and he was leaning down towards her. There was no space between them. They were smiling at each other. They looked like lovers.
"No," Leah said.
They both turned to look at her. Paul was still holding Bella.
"NO," Leah repeated. "You knew the deal," she pointed at Paul. Now she pointed at Bella. "He's not a fucking puppy that we can keep because he followed me home."
They stepped hurriedly away from each other. Bella looked guilty.
"And he's marginally useful in the bed department," Leah added.
"Hey," Paul protested.
"He's more than useful," Bella defended.
Paul grinned at Leah over her head.
"Ugh," she said.
Bella looked worried. She had been so elated when Paul had noticed her. "Are you okay, Leah? Should we talk about this?"
"Talk about what?" Leah said. "We all got what we wanted."
"I should go," said Paul. He started to put his shirt back on.
"No," Bella insisted. "We have to sort this out. I know Leah, if you go, she won't talk and I won't know what's wrong." She patted Paul on the arm, encouragingly. "She hasn't been talking to me lately. I know something is wrong, but I don't know what."
Leah folded her arms and grunted.
Paul looked at her. "I can tell you what's wrong," he suggested.
Leah lifted her lip at him and snarled.
"Stop it, Leah." Bella ordered. She took up a position equidistant between them. "There. I am not touching anyone. Is that better?"
Leah nodded.
"Okay, Paul," Bella said. "What do you think it is? Seeing as how Leah is just grunting."
He wouldn't look at Leah now. He spoke to Bella, "She enjoyed herself."
"Screw you, Lahote," Leah barked at him.
"And you did. And you had fun." He paused. "Both times," he added.
Leah huffed out a breath.
"Both times?" Bella asked with a worried look.
"Fuck!" said Leah.
Paul looked at her quickly. "You didn't tell her," he accused.
"Tell me what?" Bella looked panicked.
"What if you didn't want me to?" Leah argued, "It wasn't exactly vanilla sex."
He just gave her a look. "You're an idiot."
Bella still looked confused.
Leah couldn't look at her. "I didn't know how and the more I put it off, the harder it got to say anything."
"You tell me, Paul," said Bella. She deliberately turned her back on Leah. She moved closer to Paul.
Leah winced.
He looked at Leah. And then he gave a small nod. "Leah wanted to fuck me, but she wanted to be the guy."
"Oh." And then as she understood, "OH." Bella stared at Paul as if she was stopping herself from looking at Leah.
Leah looked incredibly guilty.
"And you did that?" Bella asked quietly. "You let her do… that to you?"
Paul nodded. "My price was the forest sex with her."
"So that had nothing to do with me?"
"No. Not really."
"Most guys wouldn't want people to know they did that," Leah argued.
"You could have just asked him if he minded you telling me," Bella argued.
"Yes. I could have. I'm sorry I didn't."
"Okay. I think I understand why you didn't say anything. But I am not pleased about it." Bella stared at the floor. "And I think I get why Leah would want to do that to you."
"What the fuck?" Leah exclaimed.
"Oh, don't be silly, Leah. You are a wolf. That makes you more dominant than a normal girl."
Paul looked amused that Leah had underestimated Bella.
"And I know you and Sam must have had a good sex life, so it makes sense that you might miss a…"
"Peen?" Leah suggested, bitterly when it seemed that Bella was lost for the word.
"Well, …yes." Bella looked at Paul. "What about you?"
"What do you mean?" he checked. He looked suspicious.
"I get that you just wanted Leah, because you are both wolves and that I was a consolation prize-"
"No," Leah interrupted. "He likes you." Then she swore when she realized what she had done. "Fuck."
"We talked about that before, but you can't know that!" Bella asked, "Did he tell you that?"
Paul was glaring daggers at Leah.
"Fuck!" Leah threw her hands up in the air. "Okay. I saw it in his head. We tried to have sex as wolves."
Bella blinked.
"It didn't work," Leah blustered. "Well, at least not the way he wanted. Tonight, we were in each other's heads for a few minutes, though."
"During sex? So you know what he thinks about sex? And me? And about you?" Bella asked.
Dead silence.
"Wait a second," Bella said, "Why didn't it work?"
"We kind of got stuck together," Paul answered.
"Oh, my God. Like real wolves?" Bella asked.
"You knew about that?" Leah asked.
"I saw it on a documentary. David Attenborough, I think."
Paul snorted. "It was pretty weird." He chuckled. "Seems funny, now. It wasn't at the time."
"Christ, we both freaked out and fed each other's panic," Leah said.
"We had to phase back at the exact same time to get unstuck," Paul added.
"You didn't damage anything?" Bella checked.
Paul grinned. "Nope. All in good working order. Don't you worry." He winked at Leah.
"Shit," said Leah. "I am NEVER getting rid of you, am I?"
"Are you jealous?" Bella asked her.
"What?" Leah waved her arms around. "He fucked me, why am I the jealous one? By rights, you're the one who should be upset."
"Well, I'm not. And you fucked him and I'm not happy that you didn't tell me. I just wanted you to be happy," Bella argued. "And he fucked both of us."
"I'm happy," Paul added, unnecessarily.
"Shut up, Paul," the girls chorused.
Just then, the kitchen timer went off. Paul gave Bella his sad puppy eyes again.
"Of course you can stay for dinner," she told him. "You don't even need to ask."
Leah grumbled, "He didn't ask."
"As I recall, I invited him. You did tell him that? Go wash your hands," Bella ordered. "The table is already set."
Paul hurried to comply. Leah hissed at him in the bathroom, "You know the deal, she's mine, Lahote."
"Hey, I'm not the one who insisted I stay. And she's still yours. She's doing this for you and when did you stop calling me Paul?"
Leah let out an annoyed hiss and stomped back to the dining room.
Paul watched her go, he looked amused. He washed his hands and splashed water on his face. He used their bath towel to dry his face. He held it and inhaled deeply. "Mmm. Smells like both of them. I could get used to this."
"I heard that!" Leah shouted up the hallway.
He didn't answer her; just grinned. He knew she could hear him. It was just too much fun to tease Leah sometimes. He took a seat at the table and Bella placed a full plate in front of him. He hugged her in against him with one arm, before she sat down.
They ate dinner together.
Leah kicked Paul under the table until Bella groused at her to stop it.
Paul ate his fill and praised Bella's cooking. She glowed. Leah glowered.
"I am sad I missed seeing you two have sex," Bella said. "I think you would look so beautiful together. Although the wolves are pretty scary."
"You could see it; you could even join in," suggested Paul.
More glaring from Leah.
"Really?" she sounded so eager.
"Yeah. It would be a good way for Leah to apologize," he suggested with a wink at Leah.
Leah made a heavy sigh noise and banged her head on the table.
"Please, Leah?" Bella pleaded.
She looked at Bella. "As I recall you slapped him, when he suggested that before."
"Well," Bella huffed. "I was pretty innocent then." She clambered off her chair and onto Paul's lap. "What are you offering, Paul?"
"What?" Leah shrieked as she leapt to her feet. "He can go home. That's what he can do."
"I want this, Leah," Bella said. "Think of it as an apology."
Leah looked at her. She did need to apologize, but she couldn't think of anything else right now. They were outnumbering her.
Bella looked back at Paul. "Can we do it tonight? Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm good to go. Just need a shower. If that's okay?"
"Yes, that'll be great. You know where the bathroom is."
She kissed him, in front of Leah. Leah knew it was for her benefit. She wanted to smack her head into the table again.
He went off to have a shower and the girls cleaned up and put stuff away. It was familiar and comforting.
"Say something," Bella pleaded.
Leah threw herself angrily onto the sofa.
Bella sat on her lap. "Talk to me," she whisper pleaded. "This all goes wrong when you keep secrets from me. I don't like it, Leah. I hate people making my decisions for me. You know that. It smacks of Edward."
"I know and I'm sorry… I just… I dunno. Does it have to be Paul?"
"He's okay," Bella whispered. "You just had sex with him… and he likes you."
"Does not."
"He does. You were in his head; you must have seen it. He has done everything you asked him to. Everything. Even the stuff he didn't really want to do. Not for me. But because you asked him."
Leah looked as if she was only just putting that together. Or, he had a plan of his own.
Bella continued, "What was he thinking? You said you were in each other's heads for a little while."
"He was happy. It was the only thing that made him happy."
"What thing? Sex or you?" Bella asked quietly.
Leah couldn't answer her. She hadn't actually thought about it before. She had assumed it was the sex. But she knew he liked Bella as well.
"He wasn't that rough, was he?" Bella questioned. "I thought you said that he wanted to be really rough? That was why I wasn't there with you. But you don't have any broken bones or major injuries."
"No, actually, he wasn't that violent. He could have broken arms." She shrugged. "I thought it was just because we both got a bit freaked out by the wolf thing. It kind of changed the mood. We started off hitting each other. That wasn't pretty. "
"See!" said Bella triumphantly. "He likes you. He's just as pig headed as you and he won't admit it, either."
Leah was thinking aloud. "He always looked after Seth for me, when Sam was being overprotective."
"Ha!" Bella was triumphant. "He likes us both."
"We don't need him," Leah argued.
"I think you do. He's right about that 'let loose and go wild' thing. I think you need that as well. Not all the time, but I can't do that for you. I suspect that's why you asked him in the first place." She kissed Leah quickly. "And I like him and I like having sex with him. He was gentle with me. He can be both."
"I can, if that's what you wanted." Paul was standing in the doorway. He was wet from the shower. He had a towel slung low around his hips.
Leah snorted. "Typical. Listening in."
Paul looked at Leah and then shifted his glance to Bella. "I can be whatever you want," Paul said. He took a careful step into the room; then another. He spoke, his voice low and quiet as he moved towards Bella. His bare feet padding across the floor. "I can be gentle with you, Bella." He reached out a hand to her. She stood and went to him. Their fingers interlaced and he tugged her towards him. His arm embracing and circling her.
Leah stood up, made a small growl and stepped towards them.
Paul's other hand reached up and grabbed Leah at the back of the neck. He yanked her hard, by the hair, and hauled her over towards him. She growled but she didn't fight him. "And I can be rough with you, Leah. That's what you want." He bent down and he kissed her. Bella sighed as she watched them.
Paul bit Leah's bottom lip and she let out a whimper noise.
"You knew," Leah accused. "The wolf thing. Once we fucked-"
"I wasn't sure," he interrupted. "But I thought that if you let me mate with you; you'd be more compliant." He looked unapologetic. "But I'll fight you, if that's what you want, too. I mean it; whatever you want." He glanced at Bella. "Both of you."
Leah pulled away from him. He let her go. She smacked at his arm anyway. She pressed at her bitten lip with the back of her hand. "This is all what you want, really. You get everything you desire. Don't try to tell me you're doing this for us."
He shrugged. "Maybe. But what you get is a guy who will happily fuck you both and won't try to separate you and Bella. Who doesn't want to live with you and be part of your lives. I'm not moving in, Leah."
"Could have fooled me."
"I'm not Sam."
"What's Sam got to do with this?" Bella asked.
Paul spoke, "Why do you think Sam is so happy with Emily?"
"Shut up, Paul," Leah hissed.
"He wanted a domestic goddess; a mother, way more than he needed a needy, emotional equal."
"Stop it!" Leah shouted at him. Why was he bringing this up now? It was too much for her, on top of everything else.
Bella backed away from them; they frightened her. They were both so intense and she knew, so dangerous.
Paul grabbed Leah now, with two hands. She tried to fight him and she lost again. He pinned her with his arms and had her face jammed in against his body. She took a shuddering breath; she made a frustrated whine noise and then she burst into tears.
"Leah," Bella wailed. "Don't hurt her, Paul."
"It's not me. It's Sam," Paul said. "She never cried. She never did and she needed to."
"B-baby," Leah sobbed. "I'm sorry I lied to you and I've mucked everything up."
Bella rushed towards her. "It wasn't you," Bella consoled her. "It was me."
Paul let her go enough to squeeze Bella in-between them. Leah grabbed at her and hugged her hard. Bella shushed her and stroked her hair; planting little kisses over her face. Paul slowly let them go and took a step back. He redid the towel around his waist; it had been in danger of falling.
Leah's arm snaked out and grabbed the front of the towel and yanked him back towards them. His arms folded around them both. He laid his cheek on the top of Leah's head. They all stood there in a group hug, until Leah had calmed down a little; Bella sandwiched between them.
"You're an asshole, Lahote," Leah grumbled at him, as she wiped at her cheeks.
"That's what everyone tells me."
"He complimented you, silly," Bella said. "He called you Sam's equal and you are so busy being angry with him, you didn't even hear it."
"He's still an asshole," Leah grumbled. "He made me cry."
"Was he right?" Bella pressed. "Did you never cry?"
"No. I was just so angry with them. My boyfriend and my best friend. Didn't she know the stupid girl code?"
"You needed to mourn, Leah," Bella said.
"Coming from-" Leah stopped. Woe betide she open the whole 'zombie for four months' Bella box.
Bella went to pull away but Paul was still holding them both. "Now, now, we are not going there," he said evenly. "We've all done dumb things, things we are not proud of. Things, that if we could look back, we would probably do differently."
"What? Like fuck the rez skank, whatshername? Gemma Littlesea?"
"Leah," Bella scolded.
Silence.
"Not going there. Okay?" he checked.
"Sure," Bella agreed.
"Whatever," Leah grumbled.
"Right," said Paul. "I need to go home-"
"Can you stay?" Bella asked him.
"Pffttt," said Leah.
"Leah wants you to stay, too," Bella said.
"I don't think she does."
"See! This is how it starts," Leah argued. "Then I have to defend myself and then you sulk and then he stays."
"I do not sulk," Bella argued.
"Jeez, why would I want to stay?" Paul asked.
"Shut up Paul," the girls chorused.
He leaned in and kissed Bella's cheek, then Leah's. Then he pushed them together.
Leah smacked at him. "I don't need your help to kiss my girlfriend." She kissed Bella hard.
Paul watched them, carefully.
Bella smiled at her when she pulled away. "That's better."
Leah huffed out a breath. "I need a shower. I stink of you," she told Paul.
He grinned. "Yeah, I noticed."
"Look," Leah conceded at Bella's eager face, "If you want him to stay that's fine."
Bella and Paul exchanged a glance.
"You're sure?" Bella checked.
Leah nodded.
"I do want him to stay. If we have sex, would you join us?" Bella asked. "Please Leah. I really want to see us all together."
Leah nodded once more; a tiny nod. "I assume he won't say 'no'."
"He won't." He stroked his hand down Leah's back. "Especially if I get you both."
She sighed.
"Go have your shower, Leah. I'll look after her until you get there."
"That's what worries me."
"And then I'll look after you," he offered.
She looked up at his face. "Yeah, that worries me, too."
"You worry too much." He turned and scooped up Bella. She flung her arms around his neck as he lifted her. "Come on, girl." He kissed her neck and she laughed. "See you soon, Leah." He turned to walk towards the bedroom.
Leah grabbed at the towel. "I'll have my towel back." She tore it off him.
"Thanks." He chuckled and kept walking, naked.
"Ugh... it smells like you." She threw it in the door of the laundry and got herself a clean one. "Stupid wolf boy stinking up my house," she grumbled.
"I heard that!" he shouted from the bedroom.
"Humph," said Leah. She was going to grizzle about his sexy ass but then she thought she better not; he'd hear that, too. It was a good ass, though; she had to give him that. Even if it still had a few scratches on it from her nails.
She scrubbed her face. The wolf sex, plus all the emotions of the evening had just pushed her over the edge. She hated crying, it made her eyes feel all sandy and gritty. But she had to admit, she did feel a little better. She had finally told Bella the truth and they were going to be waiting for her in her bed. It was a heady thought. She had enjoyed Paul in the forest and she did need to make it up to Bella. Bella wanted this. Leah squashed her misgivings. She could hear them talking to each other.
She peered at herself; turning sideways and back again. She didn't look any different. Had the wolf sex changed something?
She got in the shower so that she couldn't hear them have sex.
