I was dreaming. I had to be. I was in Paul's room, sitting on the edge of his bed. The room was dark but there was a light glow from the landing. A dark figure came in and kneeled in front of me. He smelled so good, like wet earth after fresh rain and sandalwood. I reached out for the dark figure, my hand cupping his cheek. The dark figure put his hands on my bare thighs and the heat almost startled me. I knew that heat. My head hurt and I needed to lay down, but these damn spaghetti straps were cutting into my shoulders. With a groan, I pulled them down and tried to shimmy the top over my chest, but the dark figure stopped me. Then a hand pulled my arm up, threading me through a warm shirt. I felt like I was five and let out a little laugh. The dark figure receded and I took that as my cue to let my mind creep into the cool black of the room.

The next morning, Maya groaned and rubbed her eyes in the low light of the bedroom. Her stomach dropped when she came to out of the throws of sleep. She shot up and looked around her for Keye and Becks but they were nowhere to be found and Maya suddenly realized: she wasn't where she thought she was.

The soft grey duvet adorning Paul's bed was draped over her, and a dark blue t-shirt covered Maya's top half. She scrambled to look next to her but the bed was empty. Her heart nearly lept out of her chest.

She had slept in a man's bed for the first time. And not just any man's bed—Paul's bed. But where was Paul? Had he slept up there with her? Why was she wearing his shirt? Her hands immediately pulled back the covers and she saw that underneath the shirt, she was still wearing her white mini-dress. She let out a sigh of relief. Maya never thought that Paul would take advantage of her, but stranger things had happened.

Throwing her legs over the side of the bed onto the warm floor, Maya spotted her overnight bag that she had brought to Keye's sitting next to the nightstand. How did that get here? She thought.

Quickly, Maya jumped out of the bed and shimmied out of her white mini dress, letting it drop to the floor before she pulled on some sleep shorts from her overnight bag. She kept Paul's shirt on and went into the bathroom to comb out her mess of hair, brush her teeth, and wash the makeup off her face.

She didn't look terrible, but for a morning after where she had no clue what had happened the night before, she wished for a little better.

Maya crept down the stairs and peeked into the kitchen where Paul was busy making breakfast.

"Hi," she said softly. He turned to look at her and the want coloring his face tugged at Maya's heartstrings. Good god, he was beautiful this morning. Maya squelched that thought and tugged at the hem of Paul's blue shirt that she wore.

"Umm, so..about last night. Did we—"

"Did we what?" he said, amazed that she would even think that, let alone say it outloud.

"Did you sleep in there with me?" she said innocently, her cheeks tinged red.

"I slept on the couch," he pointed with the spatula toward the living room.

"Oh," Maya said in a small voice. He looked at her confused and then the look transformed into a stern stone-faced grimace.

"We need to talk about boundaries."

"Boundaries." She repeated back at him, unsure.

"What you did last night was reckless. Plain and simple. I specifically asked you to stay out of trouble while I was gone. Color me surprised that when I get off my flight, I have panicked voicemails from Jeremy saying he has no idea where you, or Keye, or Becks are. On a Friday night."

"Jeremy knew I was staying over at Keye's and so did you." Maya rebuffed.

"But you weren't at Keye's were you? You were at that fucking club," he said, his tone darkening as he dropped the spatula with a clatter on the stove and turning to face her. Maya bit her lip in anticipation. "You don't get to go to places like that. It's not safe."

"These aren't boundaries, Paul, they're limitations." she retorted, crossing her arms defiantly.

"Fine, whatever you want to call it. Bottom line is, I need you to know where you are." His eyes were all fire again and he kept glancing down at the shirt she wore. Maya usually took pleasure when he did that, but now she just felt vulnerable.

"So I can't go to a club?" her voice rose in anger now and Paul raised his eyebrows, ready for a fight if she wanted one.

"That club? No you can't." he said with a smirk on his face, "But you can go to clubs in Port Angeles as long as you go with me or someone I can trust to keep an eye on you." Maya's heart skipped at the thought of going to a dark nightclub with Paul. Her mind flickered to last night at how good his hands felt gripped tightly on her hips.

"Do they have to follow me into the bathroom too?" she said sarcastically. He gave her a firm look and she rolled her eyes, "Fine. What else?" Paul's eyes bored into her, a strange look coming over his face as if he was surprised she would ask this. His jaw was clenched and he looked at the floor before he said:

"I need to see you more." Need huh? That's intense. Maya swallowed hard when he looked back up at her. The hunger was back.

"I'm over here like three days a week already." She conceded quietly after a beat.

"I know." He fixed her with that look—the one that never begged her to get closer, the one she always assigned to that of the imprint's call. Deep down she knew how to satiate the hunger that grew in her. It took everything in Maya to keep her glued to her spot. Instead, she leaned into her flight response. The one that would keep her safe and tethered to the Maya she knew.

"Paul, it's hard to get over here sometimes. I can't always rely on you to pick me up or ask Jeremy to do it all the time." She offered gently. He had to be reasonable about this.

"I'll get you a car." Paul answered quickly, his eyes sure. Maya's mouth fell open and she stuttered to start a sentence.

"What?! No! Paul you can't get me a car." She argued.

"Why not? There's the problem, I've offered the solution. I'll get you a car so you don't have to rely on anyone." He said simply. Maya scoffed and ran a hand through her hair.

"No. It's way too much. Plus, I won't even need it when I leave for college."

This was not the right thing to say at that moment and she realized this too late. The look on Paul's face was one that personified the ache that had pulsed in both of them the past few days: Pain. Maya was shattered by it. The mention at the distance did him in and the tremor that shook his body was back. Maya quickly crossed the kitchen to stand in front of him, her hand wrapping around his wrist as she said, "Hey, woah."

He gritted his teeth as he looked at her, "Maya, get back." he said seriously. The pain on his face transformed quickly to seething anger and for the first time ever, she was scared of him. Maya dropped his wrist and backed away slowly. Her legs hitting the low bench that ran next to the kitchen table. Paul was pulling in labored breaths and his whole body shook violently.

"Paul," Maya said in a small voice. "You're freaking me out." He focused on her now and after a couple of minutes he calmed his breathing and relaxed.

Maya stared at him with mouth open, eyes wide in fear.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"What the fuck was that?" she squeaked.

"I'm sorry, I just… lose it sometimes," he watched her carefully and Maya kept her distance. "Maya, please." He said gently, holding his hands out in front of him, reaching for her. He took a step forward and she sucked in a quick breath.

"Don't." she said quickly. Paul stopped and the shock moved across his face.

"I would never hurt you, Maya." he said firmly. "Ever." He took a tentative step toward her and she didn't stop him. "Okay?" He held up his hands in surrender and then placed them on either shoulder. Maya kept her eyes on him, the fear not quite ebbed away. She knew he wouldn't hurt her, but that was something she'd never seen in him before.

"Okay." she nodded. He squeezed her shoulders and then let his hands drop as he walked back to the stove.

"Let's talk about something else."

"Like not getting me a car?" she said.

"Don't push it, Maya." he didn't look at her as he said this, working away at the stove. She sunk down into a chair at the kitchen table facing him. "I know it's the imprint but….these past few days were not easy."

"It's just because we're used to being around each other. I don't see how seeing each other more is going to fix that feeling. You're going to have to go to Seattle for work sometimes and I…" she didn't finish her sentence as she saw him tense. "It was hard for me too."

"It didn't seem like it was that hard for you when I found you in that club last night," Paul said.

"That's not fair and you know it." she said quick to shoot him down. He wouldn't make her feel bad about last night.

"And when it comes to work in Seattle, next time you can just come with me." he said simply. Maya scoffed at this and Paul turned to set the plates of food down in front of them sliding into a chair.

"Oh really?" she said, skeptical.

He paused before taking a bite of his food to look her in the face, "Yeah, I think you'd like it. See my studio, visit Seattle."

"You sure this isn't just a sly way to keep tabs on me?" she said, raising an eyebrow. He smiled mischievously and the look made Maya's heart catch. Paul noticed and nudged her under the table with his foot playfully. Maya laughed and dug into her food. The rest of breakfast Maya sat and listened as Paul told her animatedly about his trip. He was so happy and so relaxed, Maya couldn't help but feel warm.

As Maya cleaned up the dishes, she turned over her shoulder to Paul, "Do you mind if I take a shower before you take me home? I kind of smell like a bar."

"Yes, you do," he joked. Her face instantly fell open in surprise and he laughed walking over to the bathroom off the kitchen. "This one is nicer and there's some clean towels in there."

"Okay!" Maya hurried up the stairs to grab her overnight bag and when she re-entered the living space downstairs, she dug through it while walking across the kitchen saying: "How did you even get this?" She deposited it on the sink in the bathroom. Paul was sitting on the couch flipping through channels.

"Collin grabbed it from Keye's when he dropped her off."

"Oh my god, Keye!" Maya said suddenly. She hustled out of the bathroom and started looking around the house.

"What's wrong?" Paul said.

"My phone, have you seen my phone?"

"You didn't have your phone on you when I got to you. I thought that was why you weren't answering me last night." Paul said confused.

"Oh fuck!" Maya said, putting a hand to her forehead. "Please tell me I did not lose that thing." Maya never lost anything. "Can I use your phone to call Keye and see if it's there?"

"Sure," Paul said, pulling his phone out of his pocket and handing it to her. She took it from him and opened the phone without effort.

"You don't lock it?" she said surprised. He shook his head.

"Why would I lock it?" As if it was completely ridiculous to lock your phone. "Everyone already knows everything anyway." he said cryptically.

Maya looked at him confused for a second and then punched in Keye's phone number, walking back toward the bathroom. After the seventh ring, a groggy Keye answered her phone.

"Paul what the fuck it's like 8 a.m. and Maya is with you. What reason could you possibly have for—"

"Keye it's me."

"Oh." Keye's morning aggression halted and she yawned dramatically. "Did you guys bang or what?"

"Keye!" Maya said, her head darting to the side to make sure Paul was still on the couch. She closed the bathroom door for good measure. His hearing wasn't that good, but still, Maya felt the heat of the ask on her face and Paul was particularly good at reading her.

"What?!"

"Don't say shit like that. And no. Have you seen my phone? I can't find it at Paul's and if I fucking lost that thing my mom is going to have my head." Maya could hear the volley of disappointment now: 'Oh Maya, your phone? How could you lose that? It's so expensive. You need to be more responsible. If I can't trust you to hang onto your phone, how are you going to make it across the country on your own?' Maya rolled her eyes just thinking about it.

"Hold up, let me check." Maya could hear a rustling of blankets and shuffling and a groaning noise that she assumed was Becks. "Looking….looking." Keye loved to hear herself speak so Maya was unphased by this play by play. "Mmm. I'm not seeing it My."

"Fuuuuuuuuck," Maya groaned moving to turn on the shower. Maybe she could just drown this feeling.

"Hold on, let me ask Collin." Keye said nonchalantly.

"Okay," Maya said absently as she felt the water under her fingertips.

"Hey Collin. Did you see Maya's phone last night?" Maya heard a mumbling and then laughter from Keye. Suddenly, things clicked into place for Maya.

"WAIT WHAT?!" she said a little too loud. Her eyes shot to the closed door and she whispered under her breath into the phone. "What is Collin Littlesea doing there?! Keye!"

Keye could be heard giggling intermittently between kissing noises and Maya's whole face went red.

"He stayed over. What's the big deal!? And yes, I have your phone." That was a relief. Maya let out a worried breath and then started to take off her clothes while still on the phone with Keye.

"Oh my god! Keye, he's probably the one who ratted me out to Paul," Maya said, not exactly upset but still wanting to understand what had happened last night.

"Yeah, well he was going to find out anyway. Listen, I gotta go. I'll give your phone to Jeremy and he can drop it off to you today. Are you still at Paul's?"

"Yeah. Wait. Why Jeremy?" Maya said confused, now fully naked.

"Uhh, because he slept over too."

"WHAT!"

"My, the yelling, please. I gotta go. MWAH!" the line disconnected among another bout of giggles and she looked at Paul's phone in complete shock. What just happened? As she stood there, letting it all sink in, Paul's phone lit up with a text message. Since he didn't have it locked, the entire text message previewed on his screen and Maya read it before she realized what she was doing:

Rachel: It was so good seeing you this week. I haven't laughed that hard in so long. Let me know when you're back in town and we can meet up for dinner and drinks. My treat. 3

With a little gasp like she'd been burned, Maya turned the phone over and set it on the bathroom counter. Steam was rising around her and she quickly retreated into the shower as a pain bloomed in her stomach.

Who is Rachel? Maya thought as she let the water burn rivulets of water down her back trying to even out her breathing.

Her mind shot back to yesterday when she was on the phone with Paul and she had heard a tinkling laugh in the background. Was that Rachel? Maya couldn't even think about how to begin going about asking this question to Paul. She felt like she had no right to. But that burning look he gave her last night when their faces were inches apart and he had looked her dead in the eye as if some sort of realization broke over him before he said 'Fuck', told Maya something different.

Maya was starting to wonder what was the imprint and what was just her growing attraction to Paul. Were they the same? She hated to think they were. Maya touched her cheek where the stubble on his jaw had been pressed to before. 'Can't you just like flip a switch and then he'll just...be on his knees for you?' Keye's voice flickered through her head and Maya thought about it.

If she ruled the direction of the bond, she could decide that she wanted more and Paul would, in theory, go along with it. But did she want more? The pang of jealousy and resulting pull she felt toward Paul told her she did. Her heart hammered in her chest as she allowed herself to picture what it would be like if she did just 'flip a switch'. Paul's mouth would have landed on hers in that club, he would have slept with her in his bed, he would have undressed her completely. Maya looked at the ceiling, imagining an alternate universe Maya and Paul who were still tucked away upstairs, tangled up in each other, pressing feverishly into one another, satiating their hunger.

Maya had never allowed herself to think in so much graphic detail about what it would be like with Paul and now that it was there, she couldn't get it out of her head. When she finally climbed out of the shower, her skin tinged red from the water, she pulled on the pair of black lace underwear she had stowed in there and her dark wash jeans. Paul's dark blue t-shirt was hanging over the side of the sink where she left it. Like a woman possessed, she tugged the blue shirt back over her head, sans bra, and tied it in a knot at the front so that it would cinch neatly around her waist. She rolled the knot under the shirt and a healthy sliver of her midriff peaked through. She combed through her wet hair and quickly braided it. Once she had stowed everything back in her bag, she gave herself one last reaffirming look and grabbed his phone from the counter before walking out into the kitchen.

He was still on the couch and she padded over to him quietly before sitting next to him and handing him back his phone. His eyes instantly connected with hers, letting a wave a relief wash through her. Paul didn't even check his phone, instead he shoved it back into his pocket and let his eyes fall down to the shirt she was wearing. A small smile tugged at his lips.

"Everything okay?" he asked. Maya's eyes flashed for a moment before she realized he probably heard her berating Keye.

"Oh yeah! Keye has my phone. Collin apparently found it." she said with an edge in her voice. Paul didn't take the bait, he just kept looking at her, his eyes travelling along the length of her shoulders, down her chest, and across the small swath of skin that peaked at him. His arm laid across the back of the couch and before she knew what was happening, his hand reached for the end of her braid, his fingers combing the tip of it between his fingers gently. Maya's mouth parted in surprise but she didn't stop him.

He felt so familiar. Maya turned her body to face him completely, pulling her legs up in front of her and laying them across his lap. Paul didn't flinch in surprise, instead he let his other unoccupied hand drape across one of her thighs—easy. A shot of adrenaline rushed through Maya, eviscerating the pain that was settled in her belly before at Rachel's text. Paul looked at her with clear want, but she knew he would not move further without prompting from her. Maya squirmed at this small power and what she might do with it.

Something passed through them both. A moment of understanding that clearly showed their attraction for one another. But they both silently acknowledged the other's stance that they would not act on it. Not in the way they both wanted to in this moment.

"I should get home," Maya whispered after a long while. Paul smiled and let the tip of her braid drop from his hand. He gave her thigh a reassuring squeeze and nodded.

"I'll take you."