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"I am definitely more of a Mister Darcy. Good looking, sophisticated-"
"An inflated sense of importance?" Bella quipped, teasing Paul mercilessly as they lay in their separate spots in the dark.
"Seriously, I find it insulting that you'd think so low of me." He argued back, not offended at all but thoroughly revelling in their light hearted banter.
"I still can't believe you read the book."
She had only really said it muttering to herself but Paul had heard her. His sudden movement caused his blankets to rustle and the floorboards beneath him to creak, as he turned onto his side and looked up at Bella. Unlike all the previous nights where he had been relegated to sleeping on the floor at the foot of her bed, Paul was now situated on the rug next to the bed. He had not said a word, only smirked and dived under the covers, when half an hour before he had crept through the open window and saw the make-shift bed ready and waiting for him. The room was dark but he could see that Bella was propped up and awake waiting for him.
"You set down a challenge and I never back down from a challenge, my little peach."
"Will you stop with that already?" Bella sighed, exasperated by the reminder that Paul, of all people, had been the first boy to ever see her naked.
"Can't. It's impossible. Your ass don't quit, so neither do I."
She could practically hear the smirk in his voice. "Urgh, you kiss your mother with that mouth?"
"Ha! If my mom heard me say that she'd beat my ass… but I'd gladly demonstrate this kissing you speak of if you move over and let me into bed."
Heat spread across her pale cheeks and Bella was glad that Paul couldn't see her clearly. Her confidence was beginning to fail her, and with her heart speeding up and her face flaming, she stuttered over her words before turning her back on Paul and pulling the bed covers tight against her chest.
"Sorry… I don't think you'd fit… too tall."
"That so?"
Bella stayed quiet, stuck for what to say. She could still feel her cheeks burning and she uselessly covered her face with her hands. Surprised to find she was smiling, Bella gasped when she felt her bed dip suddenly as Paul's weight fell next to her. She became still and held her breath. Behind her, she could feel Paul's broad chest against her back and his own breathing was ragged. A hand came up and brushed a tendril of hair from her cheek and tucked it behind her ear. The night had taken a turn she had not expected and Bella was immensely glad that they were surrounded by darkness. The heat coming off Paul was intense and as she began to swelter, Bella wanted nothing more than to fling off the blankets but was too afraid to move.
"Bella…"
A hand fell onto her hip and she completely froze. Her breath stopped and it was an eternity of seconds until she relaxed into the simple, surprising touch. The scent of the young male lying next to her was earthy and masculine and it penetrated her senses until she felt hazy.
When she still hadn't made a move to put space between them or ask him to stop touching her, Paul further pressed his luck and snuggled closer into her and buried his face into the nape of her neck. She smelled sweet. Not sickly sweet like she used to when she hung around with The Cullen's and he could barely stand the stench of her, but sweet like vanilla cookies.
"See… I can fit." He mumbled into her ear, his own bravery diminishing in recent moments.
Bella shivered and Paul gulped. It was without a doubt the most intimate and intense moment he had shared with a girl. The sheer force of his developing emotions was overwhelming ànd he considered returning back to his make-shift bed on the floor. Instead, too consumed by Bella and the contentment her presence brought him, Paul stayed where he was. They said nothing but eventually their breathing fell into sync and they drifted off into a comfortable sleep.
Bella woke first. The heat radiating from the man in her bed was suffocating her and she carefully extracted herself from the tangle they had somehow gotten themselves into as they slept. She glanced at the clock and groaned at the early hour. It was barely six in the morning; the sky outside an inky black in the winter season with air that held a chill. The differing temperatures was off putting and so was the strange friendship she found herself sharing with Paul LaHote. Vampires. Werewolves. The year had been one hell of an eye-opener. Her heart, though still broken from the abandonment by Edward Cullen, a vampire she had loved, and his family, was slowly healing as she rebuilt her life one day at a time. If she had never discovered the Supernatural then she would never have met the Wolves of La Push. She would never have met Jacob… she would never have met Paul. The idea made her chest twinge uncomfortably.
Next to her, she heard Paul beginning to stir. A few seconds later he was awake, rubbing his eyes and stretching with an obnoxious yawn breaking the silence. He spotted Bella and a tired smile split across his youthful face.
"Good morning, beautiful."
"Hey." Bella replied, her voice meek and soft.
Propping himself up on his elbows, Paul eyed the brunette beauty with fascination. She was sitting up, knees pulled close to her chest with the thumb and index finger of her right hand twirling a piece of hair as she stared at the bedsheets. Copying her position, Paul lifted himself up fully and bumped her shoulder with his; welcome of an excuse to make physical contact with Bella again.
"What are you doing today?"
Startled by the question, Bella turned and stared at Paul with her mouth open. Truthfully, she was tired from a long week of school and homework. Her original plan for the weekend had just been the crash and hibernate as she ate herself into a food coma. Of course, that plan had never included waking up with Paul in her bed. So she shrugged, still conscious of speaking.
"Let's watch a movie."
"Ummm… I don't really think my dad would be happy with you hanging around the place. He already thinks you lot are freaks or drug pushers."
Paul chuckled. "That's fine. Having your dad on my ass isn't on my 'to do' list today. We can hang out at mine… or do you have plans with Black?" He asked when Bella hesitated.
"No… it's just… we've never really hung out. Just the two of us. What about your mom?"
"What are you on about? We hang out all the time." He said with a grimace.
"Paul, being on guard duty doesn't count. We're asleep for most of it."
"I suppose…" he grumbled before perking up. "All the more reason to spend the day together."
He jumped up with enthusiasm, yanking Bella up with him and holding her by the shoulders until she was steady. She batted away his hands and he pulled on his t-shirt and sneakers, having never bothered to take off his shorts the night before. He flattened down his bed head and was ready and waiting before Bella even had a chance to rub the sleep from his eyes.
"C'mon."
"It's six a.m.! I'm in my pyjamas."
"You look fine to me." He answered truthfully, finding the crazy waves of her hair, her rosy cheeks, and purple checkered bed clothes endearing.
Paul rolled his eyes when his host continued to sit on the bed and so he stood and raided her closet; throwing a grey sweater and a pair of jeans across the room. They landed with a thump in Bella's lap and she held them up as Paul proceeded to raid the drawers in her kdresser.
"What are you doing?"
"Getting you dressed… where do you keep your underwear and socks?" Paul asked, his voice mumbled as he had his back to her.
Surging forward, Bella fell off the bed and onto her knees. She knew that tomorrow the pale skin on her knees would be covered in bruises, but at that moment she was hell bent on keeping the teenage boy from routing through her panty drawer. When she reached Paul, she slammed the drawer shut and stood against it for good measure.
"I can get my own panties, thanks."
"Shame." He mused, smirking whilst Bella grabbed some underwear from the drawer, a scrap of black material catching Paul's eye.
"Can you turn around please?" Bella asked of her guest, motioning to the clothes in her hand.
With a wicked grin, Paul did as he was asked and turned around. In spite of himself, he did not sneak a peek and a couple of minutes later he heard a cough that signalled permission for him to once again look at Bella. She was now dressed, having also thrown her soft waves into a messy bun, but she yawned as she passed him. She pried open her bedroom door and listened for her father's familiar snoring. Confident that Charlie would not be waking anytime soon, she hurried Paul along and they crept gingerly down the stairs. A note was left informing her father that she would be out for the day and they made their way to Bella's bright orange truck.
The trip to La Push, on Bella's part was mostly made in silence; she asked only for the occasional direction and reassurance that Paul's mother would not mind her presence at her home. For Paul, he spent the journey cranking up the truck's ancient radio and singing along to a surprising range of tracks that made Bella raise her eyebrows in spite of how out of tune he was as he sang.
"How do you feel about 'Back to the Future'?"
"Huh?"
"The movie…" Paul repeated as he flopped down on the sofa and grabbed the remote control from the coffee table.
"Oh." Bella said, awkwardly standing on the spot. "Never seen it."
"What?" His outrage was genuine and he shook his head in disbelief before patting the seat next to him and beckoning Bella to sit. "I can't believe… today you're going to learn that this is the greatest trilogy ever made."
"Trilogy…" the young woman groaned.
"It has everything!" He said like an excited child as he loaded up the movie. "Action, comedy, time travel, romance. It's a classic!"
"If you say so."
"I do… and when you've watched it you're going to apologise and admit how wrong you are to doubt me."
It was in that moment that Bella remembered that despite his being a werewolf and looking older than his age, he was, at heart, still just a seventeen year old boy who enjoyed playing jokes and watching dumb movies. The humbling realisation made her smile against her will and Paul caught it; acknowledging it simply with one of his own.
Some time during the second movie in the trilogy, after admitting that 'Back to the Future' was indeed a decent and entertaining story, Bella's eyelids grew heavy and she succumbed to her tiredness. She woke to a screen of rolling credits and her head in Paul's lap. He was fiddling with the remote and when she shifted, he immediately looked at her.
"What time is it?" Bella's voice came out cracked.
"A little after ten." He stroked her cheek. "My mom left about an hour ago. She says hi."
"I'm sorry I fell asleep."
"You should be. You missed a great movie. Now you won't understand the third one."
"Oh. Sorry."
A flash of sinful smirk. "It's okay. I'll think of a way you can make it up to me."
Bella scoffed, sat up, and folded her arms. "I am not letting you see my bottom, Paul."
"I had something else in mind."
He rushed forward, closing the small gap between them and crushing his lips to hers. Instinctively, one of his hands reached up and twisted into her hair whilst the other sought out her waist. He held her close enough to kiss but not so close that she would be flush against him. A quiet squeak escaped Bella caused by the unexpected kiss. Paul's lips were soft and inviting and as she closed her eyes and leaned into the kiss, she started to feel hot and flustered. The last time she had been in such an embrace was with Edward and the two instances couldn't have been more polar opposite if they tried. Kissing Edward was like revelling in a chill wind whereas with Paul it was like bathing in glorious sunlight; both were enjoyable but she was unsure whether she preferred winter or summer.
Pulling away, Paul kept his hands where they were but gazed at Bella without speaking. Her cheeks were pink and her lips were plump from the kiss. A smile splitting his face, he dived right back in and kissed the girl in his arms; this time pressing his mouth on hers in a more urgent fashion. He congratulated himself when Bella returned the kiss with the same feverish behaviour. Her own hands had landed on his biceps and Paul lifted her up and pulled her forward until she was sat in his lap straddling him.
It did not shock her when Bella felt Paul's broad hands cup her bottom and squeeze it softly. The moan that travelled from his chest did though and she fought back a blush that she could make the alpha male moan in pleasure.
"Jeez, I've been wanting to do that since I saw you naked." Said Paul between rushed kisses.
For good measure, he gave her bottom another squeeze and his head fell back as he let out another appreciative moan. Bella's hands moved to his chest when he fell back and she took a second to steady herself before moving her mouth from Paul's and down along to his neck and collarbone. Adrenaline was pumping through her veins and her head spun. She felt like she had lost control over her own body. There was a fire deep inside her and as it spread throughout her willing body and set her nerve ending alight, she struggled to keep herself contained. Paul was now in her blood. His scent was all over her. He was her veins. In her head. In her soul; dismantling her barriers, destroying her self control, igniting her until she was a bonfire blazing with carnal need.
Pulling her away from his neck by her hair, Paul made Bella face him and meet his eyes. There were trumpets in his head and his hormones were heightening the effect of every touch. Mere months before he had hated the woman on principle. Now, all he could think of was how much he never ever wanted to stop kissing her.
"God damn…" he gulped then kissed her again, ravaging her with his mouth.
There was a bang at the door. The two ignored it until it turned into a series of thumps and Paul growled in frustration.
"Shit! Go away!"
"Yo, man. Open the door!" Jared's voice filled the room.
"I'm busy!" He yelled back, ignoring his best friend and focusing solely on kissing Bella.
"We have patrols!"
"Go away!"
"Paul! C'mon, man. I can't be arsed with Sam being on our back over this!"
Punching the sofa cushion, Paul reluctantly let Bella go and set her down gently next to him.
"I'm coming!" He shouted to Jared. "Don't go anywhere. I'll be back in a few hours."
"I should go home." Bella replied, embarrassed by her wanton behaviour.
"No. Please. Just wait for me." He begged, stealing one last kiss.
Yanking open the door, he scowled menacingly at Jared who stopped talking mid sentence when he noticed Bella perched on the edge of the sofa, messed up hair and cerise coloured cheeks. The presence of Jacob Black's best friend stunned him. He was used to seeing Bella around the reservation and it was no secret that both she and Paul had been spending time together because of Sam's guard duty punishment, but to see her in such a worked up state so early in the morning in Paul's home was more than enough to arouse his suspicions.
"You have really shitty timing." Paul pouted, moving aside to let Jared in.
"Nice to see you, Bella." Jared greeted the young woman, who smiled sheepishly back at him.
"We were watching a movie." Paul offered up, shoving his feet into his sneakers, the scowl on his face refusing to budge.
"I'm sure you were." Said Jared, eyeing the menu screen on the TV.
Leaning down, Paul pressed a chaste kiss to Bella's cheek as it were the most natural thing in the world. "Don't leave."
Pushing his best friend out of the house, Paul slammed the door shut and bounded down the path away from him, his body burning with unspent energy.
"What the hell are you doing with Bella Swan?"
"None of your goddamn business." Snapped Paul.
"You know how Black feels about her."
"Stay out of this, Jared. I mean it. This has nothing to do with you and it definitely has nothing to do with Jake."
"This is going to cause trouble, Paul." Argued Jared, yanking Paul to a stop.
Kicking the dirt beneath his feet, Paul sighed. "I like her. Is that really so bad?"
"Since when do you like Bella?"
"Since I saw her naked." He answered honestly despite hating how it made him seem.
"Christ man, you're a damn train wreck."
"Maybe…" said Paul with a slight smirk. "But I still like her."