Okay, so I did say that if anyone wanted any kind of TW/CW for intimacy of any kind to let me know, but then I realised it wouldn't do any harm if I just put on anyway. So here it is, your official warning that there's some touchy-feely crap in this chapter. This absolutely isn't my usual thing to write, so it's gonna be bad, but I've done my best without being too graphic. Enjoy, I guess?

Chapter Eight

That day, alone in Paul's house, they had been surprisingly tame. She wasn't sure which of them had kept things calm between them, but they'd somehow stayed clothed the entire time. She didn't know if it was when he suggested watching a movie or when he asked if she wanted to order a takeout, but sex just didn't seem to be on the cards that day and she was a little glad for it. Sure, she wanted it, but she also wanted to get to know him more.

Well, that was an entirely different day. Today, however, she wanted him. She really freaking wanted him and she could feel, as she was straddling his hips, at least part of him felt the same.

He groaned gruffly into the air beside her head as she kissed and nipped at his neck, his hands holding almost painfully onto her hips as they ground down so very gently. "Fuck." His voice, much to her delight, was barely a whine. "River, you gotta stop, I can't-"

"What's wrong?" She asked, sitting back up immediately, feeling heat pool inside her at the sight of his hungry eyes and dishevelled hair. She almost had to remind herself not to just dive back in at him.

He chuckled, reaching up and taking her cheek in his palm. "Nothing's wrong. I just, uh, this is... a lot, you know?"

Oh crap. She immediately felt guilty. She was pushing him further than he was comfortable. Quickly, she clambered off his lap and fell beside him onto the couch. "I'm so sorry." She blurted out. "I should have asked if you were comfortable-"

"What? No, I'm comfortable."

"I didn't mean to push. I'm really sorry, Paul. I should have made sure were were on the same page about where we were going-"

"River." The smirk on his face and the glittering smile in his eyes stopped her in her apology's tracks. "You're not pushing me. This is hot. You're hot. I'm enjoying this. Like, maybe more than you think?" He nodded down at his lap, suddenly looking bashful.

Her eyes followed his nod then shot quickly, embarrassedly, back up to meet his. "You think I didn't notice? You know I'm used to making out with girls? It was kinda hard to miss." She smiled, glad when he smiled back with a laugh.

He nodded and took a deep breath. "Not what I was implying." He told her, leaning closer, catching her breath for a moment. "I'm saying that you're really fucking good at all this and I'm gonna nut in my pants if we don't stop."

Oh. There it was. She opened and closed her mouth, shocked. Se knew that he was enjoying things, but that much? Of course, she'd heard that guys came quicker than girls, but she didn't realise that some making out and light grinding would do the trick. "So we should take of your pants." She found herself saying, swallowing hard when he looked at her with what she could only describe as wonder.

"We should?" He croaked, breathing a little heavier.

She stood, not replying. Instead, she reached out a hand and waited for him to take it, pulling him with her as she began rounding the couch and heading toward his room. With wide eyes, he followed her.

Once they reached the back of the couch, she stopped them and turned, facing him. She guided his hand up and placed on her chest, just between her breast and her shoulder, letting her own hands fall to his shorts. Doing her own pants up in the morning was a struggle enough with the cast still on one of her arms, but she managed to flick the button of his shorts open with minimal effort, moving then to the zip. "You don't have to do this." He grumbled down at her, assuring her of what she already knew as she eyed him hungrily.

To reassure him, she stepped in and caught him in a bruising kiss, knocking his still hand down to her breast in the movement, moaning into his mouth, encouraging as she finally managed to pull his zipper down, dropping his now slack shorts as they fell away from his hips, pooling at his feet.

Then, just as quickly, she stepped back, almost stumbling away from him if not for the doorframe that she managed to practically fall into on her way. Pain shot through her ribs, gripping her tight for a second, but she ignored it, grabbing the collar of her shirt with her good arm and whipping it off just as quickly as Paul caught up to her, plastering them together again.

For a moment, they shared a tender, somewhat reassuring kiss, seemingly asking one another if this was what they both wanted, checking in, but with a whine from River and a growl from Paul, they were back and hot and heavy as ever. Paul found himself with his face in her neck as she struggled momentarily to undo her own pants, shimmying against the doorframe behind her. He kissed and nipped, sucked and licked, anything to make her squirm and pant, anything to feel her writhing against his naked body.

Just as quickly as she'd found herself struggling with the button on her own pants, she'd freed herself and kicked them down, feeling Paul still as he seemingly caught sight of her bare legs. She made a mental note to wax when she went home. She knew that guys, especially ones her age, were a little more sensitive about realistic body hair on women. "Shit, I'm sorry." She panted, screwing her eyes shut and letting her head fall back against the doorframe with a loud, thankfully painless, knock.

Paul, confused, stepped back a second and regarded her with the softest, horniest eyes she'd ever seen. "You okay?" He rasped. "You want to stop? Don't be sorry, we can watch a movie or-"

River smiled and laughed. "If it's a turn-off, you can say." She told him, hoping that it didn't come off too bluntly. Between the lack of ever having had a boyfriend and the recent case of having a bandaged leg, shaving or waxing had truly been the furthest thing from her mind.

"A turn-off?" Paul asked, clearly unsure of what was going on. "You mean, am I turned off by you... taking your pants off?"

"The hair." She clarified, rolling her eyes and silently crossing her arms over her body, suddenly self conscious. She may have acted confident, but the truth was that this entire situation was terrifying. She was a muscular, athletic, relatively masculine woman who'd only ever dated or slept with women. She had no idea what she was doing when it came to men, nor did she know how she actually felt about the actual act of sex with one.

For a long second, Paul just looked at her. She grew more and more nervous with each passing second. Then, out of the blue, he laughed. He laughed at her? She felt embarrassment swell in her. Was this it? Was this the culmination of the sick, twisted joke that, deep down, part of her still thought he was playing? She prepared to shove past him, to pull her clothes back on and run if she had to, but when his arms crashed either side of her head, trapping her in, as his body snaked closer, as his erection pressed firmly into the bottom of her stomach, she was helpless and loved it. "I don't care about a little body hair, River." He grumbled down at her, giving her no time at all to respond before trapping her further in a kiss, curling his arms around the back of her and using his new grip to sweep her up into his embrace.

She half screamed into his mouth, though truthfully it was mostly a moan. She melted as soon as he steadied her. She hadn't ever thought that she'd enjoy being picked up. Hell, she was usually the one doing the picking up, usually the one calming a nervous partner, usually the one laughing off worries about unshaven legs or other inconsequential things, but now? Well, she liked this, that much was certain.

As he took the few short steps toward where she already knew his bed lay, she gladly let her hands find his hair, fisting it at the nape of his neck as her legs embraced his hips, not that she needed to even try to hold herself up. She found herself wrapped deliciously around him right up until the moment that he all but threw her onto the bed. She'd seen his bed before, of course. It looked exactly like the kind of bed that a teenage boy would pick out, with a wooden frame that she wasn't certain would hold them both, a mattress that looked like it had known him his entire life and bedding that she'd guessed smelled of him, but no.

She was, when she landed, entirely shocked. Taking it all in, she couldn't help but take a moment to truly look. It was all different. The frame, the mattress, the bedding. All of it was new. She couldn't help but look up at him with a raised brow and a smirk. "Been planning this, have you?" She joked, filled with excitement when he simply fell on top of her, catching himself effortlessly with a single hand on the frame behind her head. She more than gladly let her legs fall open for him.

Chuckling, he shrugged over her. "Emily may or may not have threatened to cut off my junk if I ever let you sleep on that old bed." He looked a little sheepish, leading River to wonder what exactly had been said between them. Now, however, wasn't the time to ask.

"Remind me to thank her." River joked, reaching up and pulling his body down against her own by the slight dip of his waist.

It wasn't long before they were both panting and writhing again, only this time they both seemed much more aware of the amount of exposed skin that they both had. River was all too aware of her sports bra and boy shorts being the only things between them. She needed them gone, fast.

She pushed up, breaking them apart for a moment. Paul didn't even have time to ask if things were okay or to look confused before she all but tore her bra off, throwing it to the side in time to watch his eyes widen and his jaw fall slack for a second. She'd heard about the effect of boobs on boys, but this? Well, this was funny to say the least.

Eager, Paul strayed from their kisses, creating path of his own down the side of her neck, sounding almost in pain when she arched up slightly and grazed his chest. They both knew exactly where he was headed. River wasn't sure which of the two of them was more excited, all she knew was that it all felt so damn good, especially considering his apparent lack of practice. When he finally reached his target, she briefly questioned if it was even possible that he was a virgin, especially given the way that, with enthusiastic guiding hands and breathy consent, he took one of her nipples into his mouth while palming the other side of her chest.

For an instant, it was almost too much. She could feel that familiar swell of feelings building, burning through her. Christ, he'd barely even touched her. She wondered briefly if this was what it would always feel like with him, or was this the result of her recent dry spell? Whatever it was, she didn't care, so long as he didn't stop.

All the while, as he edged her closer and closer, she too let her hands begin travelling. Her eyes stayed mostly closed, held shut in bliss, but when her fingers tumbled down the distinct V that usually fell into the hidden depths of his shorts, she opened them and caught his eye. He stopped his beautiful torture for long enough rise back and up kiss her, going immediately back to work a moment later, leaving her breathless. "Is this okay?" She panted, needing more than anything to hear him give his consent.

He lifted his head again, looking so deep into her eyes that she worried that he'd get lost. Then, smirking just a little, he nodded. "More than." He voiced, deep and dripping with sex. "I won't last long." He added sheepishly, leaning back down and placing a delicate kiss just behind her ear. "Sorry."

She caught his chin with the fingers peeking out of her cast as be began his descent back to her chest. She knew that the cast wasn't exactly sexy, but her other had was occupied as she allowed it to travel further, down where she hadn't let herself roam before now, past the beginning of the trimmed, thick hairs. Stilling above her, Paul panted, keeping her gaze as she finally took him in her hand, touching experimentally. "Fuck." He gasped, inadvertently jerking his hips lightly into her hand. He really wasn't going to last long, especially if he kept looking into her damn eyes. Still, she didn't relent, holding his gaze as she began to slowly stroke him, up and down, driving him insane. "River." Her name fell from his lips like a prayer whispered in the night, desperate and pleading.

It wasn't until his breath began to get ragged and shallow that he finally dropped her gaze, holding himself above her with one arm braced beside her head and the other skimming her sides, glancing down at her chest. Then, almost shocking him, he found his hand at the band of her boxers, looking down at her once more, this time begging permission.

She didn't answer, instead simply lifting her hips, giggling between breaths as he quickly hooked his thumb in and began to pull them down.

Once they were gone, discarded, kicked away, it seemed to dawn on them both that they were so incredibly nude together for the first time.

Knowing exactly what his plan was, Paul began to make his trip south. He pressed his lips against every inch of skin that he could find on the way down, watching as River rose and propped herself on her good arm as it was forced to fall away from him, leaving her watching him intently. When he finally found himself at his destination, he prayed to all the spirits that the guys had given him solid advice. He knew that sex with an imprint was incredible no matter what, he'd felt it through the pack mind as Sam relived it, but dammit, he still wanted to actually do well and make River feel good.

Alas, with his first long, tender, tentative lick, as he watched her head rock back as a shiver shot up her spine, eliciting a particularly high pitched breath from her, his worries began to melt away. This was his imprint, dammit, part of him would always know what to do.

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It had been at least a half hour since River had fallen victim to the most mind bending, earth shattering orgasm that had ever washed over her, yet she still found herself staring up at the ceiling of Paul's room, covered in a thin sheet that he'd draped over her as he scurried off to put cookies in the oven. She had, jokingly albeit, said that the only thing better than a great orgasm was a great orgasm followed with cookies, but that was all it had taken. She'd tried to follow him as she laughed at the adorable grin that had been on his face, but her damn legs weren't working. They were still shaking.

By the time he returned, a tray of hot cookies in one glove clad hand and a glass of milk in the other, she had managed to at least prop herself up and slow her breathing. "What game are you playing, Lahote?" She asked, only half joking.

Grinning, he raised a still-cocky brow, clearly still proud of himself. "Game?" He questioned, clambering over her and placing the milk on his nightstand on the way, setting the tray down on the bed and placing a kiss on River's forehead.

Chuckling, she let herself fall back into his bed. "You eat out like a lesbian, then you bring me cookies? It's got to either be a dream or a joke, so fess up." Though she laughed as she spoke, it became clear to them both that she wasn't entirely joking.

Paul nodded. He understood. "I've been a jerk to you for a really long time." He stated, speaking into the room more than anything. "I get that, you know, it'll take time for me to fully gain your trust. I don't expect that you'll just trust me all of a sudden. I'm willing to work at it." She could see, looking up into his eyes, that he meant every word. She wanted to ask what the hell had changed, but she didn't want to ruin the moment. "I never thought that looking into your eyes by the lockers, really seeing you, that it would make me feel so many different things, but it did. I want to change, to be better. I want to deserve you."

Holy shit. "You felt it, too?" She asked, intrigued. "I mean, by the lockers. You felt it?"

He smiled softly at her, nodding. "Like the whole world just-"

"Stopped." She finished for him, feeling her heart beating out of her chest. "I thought I was going insane." She admitted a moment later. "I mean, we'd been at one another's throats for years. I'd never thought of you that way before, then I couldn't so much as make out with someone without thinking of you."

Naturally, Paul seemed to grow a little in light of her words. "I wanted to kiss you so bad at that stupid Cullen party." He told her, thinking back to having her trapped in that doorway for a second. "God, I didn't even care it was their house, I just wanted to bend you over the kitchen island." Oh. Oh.

River actually managed to blush a little, realising that, although she hadn't known it, that was what she'd wanted, too.

For what felt like hours, they talked and ate cookies, neither of them caring to get dressed, instead just feeling one another's skin against their own, wrapped up in their own sublime world. Eventually though, as the sun began its descent, River knew that she needed to head home. Paul offered to call Sam and ask for a ride, but River opted instead to ask her own mother. It wasn't as if her mom didn't know where she was, so she made the call and got dressed, sharing a few final kisses with Paul before the light beeps of her mom's horn broke them apart.

Paul, suddenly a gentleman, walked her out to the car, even opening the door for her, greeting her mom pleasantly and helping a sore River down into the seat, shutting the door behind her. She was quick to wind down the window, telling him that she'd text him, to which he nodded happily. "Hey, actually," He started, suddenly seeming a little nervous. "I'm actually going to a bonfire down on the beach on Sunday. It's, you know, mostly just the guys, but you should come."

Wait. River's mind spun as she agreed, wondering, had she just been asked on a date? Fuck, now she needed to figure out exactly what she and Paul were or weren't so she didn't make a fool of herself.

I fear that, in going for "cute", I entirely missed the ballpark and went straight to "cringe". If that's the case, be straight up and let me know. I won't get better without criticism!

Also, fair warning, I only have a few more chapters that I've pre-written, so things may slow down a little on the update side of things as I just find the time to write. Thank you, as always, for making it this far! I really, truly, hope this is being enjoyed. Feel free to leave your thoughts etc, and a huge thank you to those of you who have/do, it makes my day when I get a little notification come through!