When the laughter died out, the room quickly turned awkward, several pairs of eyes all turning to one another with uncertainty. So much had happened between them all that they would never be able to go back to anything easy, anything innocent, not without the lingering memories of the time they had all spent locked away in the woods.
"So what now?" Quil asked, turning to Jacob with complete belief that his Alpha would have the answer he needed.
"I think, for starters, we put a stop to you going grey about three decades too soon and get the hell out of chez Ateara. Paul, do you mind if we relocate this party to your place for a while?" Jake asked, not understanding why Paul's first reaction was to narrow his eyes in an accusatory manner.
"Only if someone plans to fix the Quil sized hole in my living room wall." Paul muttered, not exactly pleased at the prospect of having his sanctuary invaded, especially after the last time one of the pack had set foot in his home. "How long do you plan on having us all hang out like some fucked up furry Brady Bunch?" He added, brushing his fingers over several scratches that had previously escaped his notice on the underside of Bella's wrist.
"Just until you're all up on your feet again, then it's back to the status quo I guess." Jacob replied, making a point of gesturing towards Embry who was now being propped up by his imprint in the doorway.
"Well let's get moving then." Quil interjected, clearly impatient to empty his family home of foreign bodies now that the prospect was dangling at his fingertips.
Paul was the first to move, throwing his legs over the edge of the bed before turning to his rapt audience and gruffly addressing them all. "Do you want to watch me take a piss too, or do you think we could get a little privacy here?"
It didn't take long for the room to empty and Bella was silently relieved to no longer feel the pressure of so many eyes watching her every move. The door clicked shut behind Quil and she immediately turned her attention to Paul who was sitting rigidly at the edge of the bed, his fingers curling aggressively into the mattress.
"Can you stand?" She asked quietly, trying to keep the conversation private in a house full of potentially prying ears.
"Can you?" Paul asked. From the tone he used, Bella worried he'd taken offence to her words, perhaps assigning them as an accusation of weakness, but then he turned to her with a cheeky grin on his face and she easily reciprocated with a happy smile.
Paul's upward progression was slow and he kept his face hidden from Bella the whole time, knowing she would only worry, as he grimaced with the sharp spikes of pain that stabbed along his spine. Willpower alone brought him to his full height and only once he knew he had control of his body did he turn to his imprint, triumphant in his small success.
"I didn't think you were going to make it." Bella muttered into the sheets, trying to hide herself from him in a moment when she knew that only smiles and happiness held an appropriate place.
"Hey…" He coaxed, realizing she wasn't just talking about getting to his feet. Moving as fast as he could around the bed, he waited for her to turn his way. "Look at me." He ordered, his voice hard as he stood over her, the strength of his spirit lifting her head against her will.
"Come here." He held out his hands and though she still felt weak, she reached for him, pulling herself into his arms with the help of his unnatural strength.
"I'm sorry that I put you in that position. I thought I could save you, but I underestimated him; I underestimated what he was capable of." Paul's confession brought a sharp shake to her head.
"I never blamed you, I never even thought to blame you. What were we going to do, hide out in the woods forever hoping they didn't pick us off one by one? It didn't do Embry and Leah any good." Bella wasn't sure whether she should tell him that she believed they would have come for them either way, that in her mind they were simply the more seasoned warriors in their malevolent game.
"I could have killed you." Paul stated in a voice imbedded with such pain that all she could do was cling to him a little tighter. It wasn't so long ago that she'd asked him to let her in, but she knew this wasn't the way she wanted it; not as a by-product of grief and regret.
"No. Sam and Edward could have killed me, but they didn't and I know I've not been awake very long, but I really just want to put this whole mess behind us and move on." She nestled her face down into his neck, wincing slightly when her bruised cheek brushed his shoulder, but she didn't let it stop her as she pressed her lips down on the warmth of his skin.
He took her lead for what it was and gently lowered his head, meeting hers halfway.
His lips brushed against hers with a quiet desperation. Pulling back he pressed his forehead against hers, gathering himself before he scared her with the intensity of his need. However, she didn't want to wait for anything anymore and she swiftly closed the space between them, pulling his bottom lip into the warmth of her mouth with gentle teeth.
A switch flipped in his mind and though both of them were bruised and broken, Paul pushed Bella down onto the bed, his tongue pressing against hers, tasting and teasing as his body grinded with an animalistic need.
"Hey are you guys…." Leah's voice abruptly caught in the doorway.
"You fuckers, you knew what they were doing in there!" She shouted from the hall beyond the door, earning her three rolls of pleased laughter from downstairs.
Paul knew that their alone time was up for now and reluctantly he withdrew his body, pleased to find that each new movement he made came a little easier.
"We'll finish this later." He growled, making sure Bella understood that he was deadly serious. They had spent so little time together, so much of their short relationship wasted being told what to do by other people, ordered from place to place, hiding away, but he mentally promised himself that it wouldn't be that way anymore; it would be on his terms.
The group found the move from one end of La Push to the other slow going, but when they were once again ensconced behind closed doors, they all found themselves looking at one another in uncertain tension once again.
"So now what?" Paul asked, turning to the Alpha with expectation as he held his imprint protectively under his arm; the only one his wolf was truly welcoming in his private place. The walk across town had loosened both Paul and Embry considerably, the only one seeming to weaken with the slight exercise had been Bella and he knew this would leave Jacob in something of a quandary.
"I don't know to be honest. Maybe we should just all go our separate ways. I mean, you've got Bells right?" Jake asked instead of ordered, looking to his friends for their opinion. Several shoulders shrugged, but no one moved, each looking to the other to make the first step.
"I mean, it would be nice just to be home for a while, but what's the cover story? I mean, where does my Mom think we've been all this time?" Embry spoke honestly, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck as he tried not to show how much he didn't want to stick around for the intimate reunions he knew couldn't be held back for long.
"My dad told your Mom everything; he didn't think there was any point keeping it secret when both you and Paul were involved. The only ones who don't know anything are Quil's Mom and Charlie, but that's only 'cause she was away and Charlie, well Charlie's…" Jacob left it hanging there, knowing Bella was the only one with a parent truly waiting to pounce, and he was sure it wasn't going to be pretty when he did.
"Does anyone mind if I just go ahead and split?" Embry asked, looking around the room to the worn faces looking back his way, feeling like the thing he truly needed most in this moment was a little space from everything that had happened.
But no one said a word.
"How about we all get together again tomorrow night for pizza or something?" Leah asked, breaking the weird tension with the invitation of food and a plan to all come together again. No one understood why it lifted the hesitation they'd all been feeling, each nodding with ease as they now headed to the door feeling a little lighter.
"Do you still want me to fix up that wall?" Quil asked, rocking on his heels as he looked between the gaping hole in Paul's house to where the elder wolf was wrapped possessively around his imprint.
"You bet your ass I do. I'm gonna show B to our room, then I'll be back to give you a hand." Paul said dismissively as he led Bella up the stairs, ignoring the little smile that had appeared on her lips as he spoke.
Bella was too tired to really take in everything around her as he laid her down carefully in the middle of the bed, his ever-caressing hands releasing her from the confines of her clothes. She didn't know if she had the strength left to tell him she didn't have the energy to be touched, but he did nothing more than wrap her protectively in his soft sheets, earning him a soft sigh of pleasure from her throat.
"I'm gonna have to face Charlie, he's gonna be so mad." She mumbled, so close to sleep that only her wolf could be able to make out the words through her slurred speech.
"Just get some rest, we'll figure it out when you're feeling better." He soothed, brushing her hair from her face until her body rose and fell in a slow even rhythm, deep sleep finding her aching bones easily.
Rushing down the stairs, Paul knew that he only had so much willpower to stay away, the knowledge that he'd come so close to losing her sending his wolf crazy with worry to not be by her side.
Together he and Quil worked fast and as the final, temporary pieces of the wall were joined together, they each stood back to admire their handiwork. "Thanks man, I know you didn't mean to do it, but it would have taken me twice as long without your help." Clapping Quil on his back, he didn't notice the look of pride flit across the young wolf eyes, his previous interactions with Paul amounting only to those of anger and passive aggression.
"You're welcome to hang around if you want, see if you can scrounge anything to eat from the cupboards." It was as much an invitation to friendship as Paul was ever going to give, and even though it was largely empty as he intended to spend his every waking second making sure Bella was okay, it was still monumental to Quil.
"Thanks dude, but I'm gonna head back and clean up a little before my Mom gets back. Hopefully she'll just think I had a couple of the guys around or something." Quil responded and Paul could see the boy in the eyes of his pack-mate.
"Kay, well if you change your mind, you know where to find us." Paul offered as he winked at the younger wolf, unable to stop the plurals slipping from his lips as he loped almost happily up the stairs.
Bella was still sleeping soundly as he laid himself down by her side, his fingers wrapping around her body and pulling her to him with as much caution as he could muster. It felt right to have her in his house, particularly without all the threats that had hung over their heads. He still couldn't truly grasp what it meant to exist without Sam in his life, without Jared and what it had meant for so long to be a wolf. But those things were gone and all that was left in the void was his imprint, the only thing keeping his feet in La Push and not running wild through the lands of others. It felt wrong to admit that on some level he would miss Sam, but he did and the betrayal of the emotion twisted in his gut. He was busy self-chastising when his felt Bella's small body writhe in his arms, the naked expanse of her skin rubbing wantonly, unconsciously, across his own.
He didn't know what she would say when she woke up and understood that not a strip of clothing existed between them, but he couldn't fathom the feeling of textiles on his skin, not when she was so close, so close and still too far away.
"Hi…" She mumbled shyly into his chest, her eyes fluttering open to meet his, her fingers immediately touching his skin, verifying he was really there.
"How do you feel?" He asked, not able to keep the tips of his touch from the thick purple bruises on her face, frowning in obvious disapproval to see her so blatantly damaged.
"Okay I guess, still tired though. Do you think it's right that I'm so tired?" Unable to keep the honest concern from her voice, she looked to him with worried eyes.
"I think if that's the worst that's gonna happen, then we've dodged a pretty fucking huge bullet. If you're still so out of it in a few days then we'll go see the doc, okay?" He asked, his fingers lowering to the curve of her waist, his touch light as he tasted her body, reassuring himself with the feel of her skin.
"I need a shower." She stated from out of the blue, groaning as the reality of lying naked in a bed with Paul juddered to the forefront of her mind, reminding her that she couldn't recall her last shower, the last time she'd even managed to look in the mirror.
"Can I join you?" He asked, and though she didn't say so, Bella understood that it was too soon for him to let her go, to let her close the door when he could be by her side. Nodding her head once she reluctantly stripped away the bedding from her body, a deep scarlet blush rose to her cheeks as his eyes roamed lavishly from the tip of her toes to the top of her mussed hair.
Paul held no shame in his body as he stood and brazenly walked to the bathroom, turning on the water in his oversized tub before she could change her mind and turn him away.
Once the water was ready he helped her to the tub, lifting her into his arms before stepping down into the steaming hot water, lowering her as slowly as his still healing body would allow. She sighed with pleasure as the water rose higher on her skin, the sharp stings of healing wounds reminding her that she was alive, that they'd made it through to the other side.
"Tilt your head back." He commanded quietly, supporting her neck as he carefully poured water over her hair, watching as the water sinfully trailed down her neck, leading his eyes down to the dark peaks of her nipples. He wanted so much to reach out and touch her, to bury himself in her until there was no place left to go, but the need to care for her overrode every instinct in his body, threatening to drown him If he didn't do everything in his power to ensure that she found the next dawn with peace in her soul.
His fingers massaged shampoo gently into her scalp, turning the water opaque with bubbles and suds. He felt her whole frame relax into his, her emotions swaying into his as the need in her grew to outweigh the exhaustion.
Her fingers that had once grasped to the edges of the bath disappeared under the water and as they trailed gradually up the muscular pathways of his thighs, he warred with himself, fighting out desire over appropriate post potential death behavior.
"Don't you want to touch me?" She whispered as she reached between his legs, her fingers finding him hard and ready for her as she pumped up and down over his slick skin. He groaned in response, still not sure whether it would be right to reciprocate her touch. But as she ran her little fingers around his dick, gripping him with a strength that seemed to come from nowhere, need won out and he pulled her to him, grasping her breasts almost painfully in his desperation to take everything he could before his conscience kicked in.
"I need you to kiss me." Bella begged, her head lolling back, shampoo still slick in her hair, irritating his enhanced senses with her proximity and the sharp saccharine scent.
"I don't know if I can control myself." He pleaded, opening up his soul for her to see as she broke him down over and over again.
"I don't want you to be in control, Paul, I want you to be you." She demanded, knowing who he was and how he would be, knowing there was nothing and no one she craved more.
He lifted them with ease and though she imagined their destination to be the soft comfort of the bed, he moved them swiftly to the shower, taking the brunt of the initially icy water as he shielded her with his wide embrace.
The soap ran in streams down her body as the cascade of water pounded down on her head, her body slipping delightfully under his strong touch. Their bodies writhed in ways that he couldn't have predicted, couldn't have forced or manipulated in his wildest dreams and before he could even touch her in places that had haunted his mind since awakening once again, he knew he would hold out much longer.
"I need you inside me." She pleaded and his fingers trailed down between her thighs, feeling just how ready she was as she rolled her hips back and forth over his hand, the desperation he felt making itself known in the depths of her body.
Paul didn't hold back as he'd intended, didn't take the time to kiss her like he should, to reassure her that this was more than just a physical release, he simply thrust into her soul, shattering what was left of her resolve into unbound pieces.
Bella had never needed anything so much before as she needed him in that moment, never felt such a feeling of blissful tranquility as he pulled himself almost completely free from her body, only to hammer back into her again, blowing on the embers that tingled over her skin with each rock of his body.
It could have been minutes or hours later, but when she fell over the blissful edge into pure oblivion, she did so with his name on her lips, the sound singing to his senses.
"Oh fucking god." He groaned as his thrusts intensified and just when he thought he might never come down again, he released everything he had into her body, clinging to her skin as his felt each tremor of pleasure rattle through the both of them.
"Did you feel that?" He panted, not sure whether the intensity had been for him alone.
"Yeah." Bella sighed, trying not to ruin her high with too many words. The smile of absolute contentment lingered on her face as he lifted her from the droplets of water, wrapped her in a thick towel and placed her like precious glass back in his bed.
It stayed on her lips as she fell into a dreamless blissful sleep.
Bella awoke with a start, searching the nightstand for a time frame more specific than the dead of night. Shifting gently she tried not to wake Paul, whose arm was wrapped over the base of her spine, even in sleep looking to protect her.
But then she heard the sound again and she knew that what she'd first assumed was a dream, was actually the real world banging down the front door.
"Paul?" She hissed, turning to find his eyes already open, staring at the ceiling with a blank look in his tired eyes.
"I was kinda hoping he'd just get tired and leave." Paul mumbled irately, shifting his head so she could find his eyes, her fingers already caressing the taut plains of his chest.
"Who is it?" She asked, subconsciously already aware of the man slamming her firmly back into harsh reality in the dead of night.
"Your father."
a/n: I'm so sorry this one took a while to get to you, but here it is and as always a thank you to my spectatular beta Twiticulate.
Thanks to Feebes86 and 82c10akaLynn who both let me know that When Darkness Falls has been nominated under the Paw-biter category over on JacobBlackNPack in the Summer 2011 Awards. I can't tell you how ridiculously happy about it (I may have even bounced around a little in delight!), so if you want to show WDF some love, please head on over and vote (you have until Oct 22nd and you don't need to be a member!).