Chapter 3

Paul was looking at his reflection in the mirror. He'd just come out of the shower and dried his hair with a towel. Paul was happy that phasing hadn't affected his appearance very much. His years-long regular training and weekly sparring sessions with his MMA coach had made sure he'd been in excellent shape.

He had gotten a few inches taller, gained more muscle mass, and his shoulders were a little broader so that the t-shirts he owned looked a bit too tight on him. His old jeans didn't fit him anymore, so he bought new ones. But other than that, he looked pretty much the same as before phasing. His facial features hadn't changed. He'd always been a good-looking guy, a smug fucker, and he'd become ever more so after turning into a massive furball.

The recent additions to the pack weren't as lucky; Jacob, Embry, and Quil had changed considerably after phasing, but it was because they were all teenagers still. And hence they had more explaining to do when they went back to school. If they went, that is, Sam thought they could be homeschooled. Well, good luck with that.

He looked at the tribal tattoo on his right bicep, which he liked wondering why he had never thought about inking his skin before. It was not his choice to get this one, but luckily he liked it.

Would Bella notice he'd changed, other than the tattoo? He was getting ready to go to see her. She had come back from New York late last night after staying there a week longer than she'd initially planned, and Paul couldn't stay away from her any longer. It's been almost two months since he'd last seen her.

Sam had tried to talk him out of it, but he had told him to go fuck himself. Sam hadn't taken that very well, but he'd saved the alpha order this time. Sam did order him not to say anything about their secret, though. Sam didn't trust him not to spill the beans, which he accidentally might do since he was so used to telling Bella everything. It would be painfully hard to lie to her, which he knew would happen sooner or later.

Sam had used the alpha order to keep him away when he had first phased four weeks ago. While he was running mindlessly around the Olympic Peninsula, he had gotten desperate and had tried to get to Bella, and Sam had no other choice than to force him to stay away from her. Paul had been fucking furious at the time, but it was good Sam had done it because Paul was sure he would have phased in front of Bella if she had told him face to face about what Mark had done to her. And phasing close to Bella was the last thing he ever wanted to happen.

He had phased breaking yet another phone when he had listened to Bella crying in one of her messages. Paul had been trapped inside the fucking beast while she'd been hurting. It had made him lose his mind that he couldn't be there for her. When he had finally been able to listen to her voice without phasing, he had called her. It had taken almost two weeks.

He wanted to kill Mark for what he had done to Bella. That fucking prick was dead to him. Even though he was happy that Bella was now free of him, he never wanted her to experience that kind of shit. What the hell had Mark been thinking? Even he, a total dick towards women, wouldn't do something like that. He'd called Mark after he could keep it together and given him an earful. Mark had told him to go fuck himself and had ended the call. Their friendship was probably history, but he didn't care. If he got what he wanted, Mark wouldn't likely want anything to do with him anyway.

Paul pulled on his new jeans and went to look for a fresh t-shirt. It was a cold October day, and even though he didn't feel the cold like he used to, he needed to put on enough clothes to look normal. The sweatshirt he'd gotten from Bella on his birthday this year was now the right size, it had been a bit too big before, but he had worn it anyway. It was dark green with a small white Under Armour logo on the chest.

When Paul had waited for Bella to come back home, he'd tried to find more about imprinting. He'd gone to Old Quil to talk about the possibility of Bella being his imprint. The old fart had said the same thing as Sam: only Native Americans could be imprints.

When Paul had tried to talk about imprinting in general and if the wolf could deny the imprint Old Quil had blown the gasket. Old Quil had thrown him out but not before telling him that the imprinting was the most sacred thing for the Quileute spirit warriors, as he so eloquently called them over-grown dogs, and to talk about denying an imprint was a sacrilege.

Fuck that. Paul would find a way if needed.

Paul wasn't sure if he even wanted to imprint on Bella. He hated the mere idea of that shit being forced to be with someone. Sam and Jared hadn't been able to convince him otherwise, although they've tried to talk "sense" into him.

Sam and Leah had been perfect for each other. Everybody had seen that. But all of a sudden, Leah was dumped, and a bitchy cousin of hers was all Sam could ever want. And Jared had sat next to Kim in high school for three years, never giving her second thought, but then he turned into a big animal, and now he claims he's madly in love with her. Well, that's just sick. Plain and simple.

Paul left his house and jogged to his truck, and took the direction towards Port Angeles, where Bella was staying in her apartment. Her mother had bought it for her a year ago. It was for her to have a place where she could practice uninterrupted. Yeah, Bella's mom had money; well, the family did. Bella's dad had died when she had just turned 15, leaving all his inherited money to them. Bella had an 8-year-old little brother Benjamin who she adored. Paul loved the snip, too, not having any siblings on his own. He was a happy kid with Down syndrome and had the coolest collection of Lego minifigures he'd ever seen anywhere, including the internet.

Bella's mother and Ben had flown to New York to spend some time with Bella; hence she'd stayed there longer, and they had stayed behind to have an appointment with a heart specialist. Ben had a heart condition and needed surgery before he turned ten. Bella had come home because she had an audition end of this week. Paul hoped Bella would win the first prize, a soloist position for Seattle Symphony Orchestra for the following year. It would mean she wouldn't travel as much.

Paul was so deep in thought that he hadn't noticed he was already parking in front of Bella's apartment building. He sat behind the wheel for a while and tried to get his heart to slow down. It was beating out of his chest; Paul was nervous about seeing her, and it wasn't only because of the imprinting shit. It'd been so long since he'd seen her last, and he missed her like crazy. Had she missed him? Was she heartbroken because of what Mark had done to her? She hadn't sounded broken-hearted on the phone, mainly pissed to have been treated like the prick had. He smiled, remembering her ranting about the asshole she wished she would never see again.

He collected his courage and got out of the car.

He did honestly hope that he wouldn't imprint on Bella. When she opened the door and looked at him with those deep and shining eyes, none of that gravity bullshit Sam had told him happened. Instead, his heart jumped into his throat, and his cock twitched in his jeans. She looked more beautiful than ever.

Bella's big eyes lit up when he saw him, and a huge smile spread across her gorgeous face. Paul's heart was hammering so loud he was certain Bella heard it. God, how he loved this woman.

"Paul!" Bella shrieked and jumped on him. He helped her wrap her legs around his waist and wrapped his arms around her. They hugged tightly, and Paul couldn't help but breathe in her addictive scent that was stronger than before, thanks to his wolf senses.

"You're hot, Paul. Are you sick?" Bella gasped and withdrew to look at his face. She touched his forehead and his cheek. He leaned into her touch.

"No, I'm not sick."

"Okay... um... how come you're so hot then?"

"I've always been hot," Paul smirked.

"You silly." She swatted him on his chest. "Oh, I've missed you so much," Bella said, hugging him again. "Don't you dare to do that kind of disappearance act on me ever again."

"I've missed you too. And I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you before you left. I'll never forget that I wasn't there when you needed me," Paul said, walking inside and closing the door behind them. He took them to the living room and sat down on the couch. Bella moved to sit on her knees beside him and took his hand. It was her habit to fiddle with his hand and fingers while they talked, but now her every touch made him shiver.

"I've needed you many times, but you've always been there before," she said. "I just got so worried that something had happened to you. And when I couldn't get hold of Sam or Jared, I started to panic. And it took almost two weeks before you even called me. Thank God I was so busy I would have gone out of my mind otherwise."

Paul felt shit. He could not tell Bella about the wolf; it would make things complicated at its best.

"I promise it won't happen again, ever," Paul told her. He was adamant about not disappearing from Bella ever again. Not sure, though, how him turning into a big fucking wolf worked in that scenario. He had told Bella that he'd started to help Sam with tribal security, and they'd been helping to find a missing girl who had taken them out to the wilderness for over a week without network coverage, and above all that, he had lost his phone in the woods. Paul hated to lie to Bella, but he had no choice; but it helped that Bella was often so wrapped up in her musical world to notice what happened around her.

Paul looked at Bella, and he was fighting against his want - no, his need - to kiss her. Bella was smiling at him, and her thumb made circles on his wrist. He was desperate to know what she was thinking, but he asked about the audition instead of asking.

"How are you feeling about the audition?"

"Surprisingly not anxious or nervous, well maybe a little nervous. I know that I've done all I can, and we'll see how far that takes me. Patrick says I'm ready."

"Do you want me to come with you to Seattle?" Paul asked. Sam had given him two nights free from patrolling, not willingly, but his promise to shut up about how Sam had ruined his friendship with Bella made him give up. Sue had also given him two days off.

"You would do that?" Bella asked, looking surprised.

Shit, had she already lost confidence in him.

"Sure. We could make it two nights in Seattle. What do you say?" Paul held his breath. Please say yes.

"That's an amazing plan. I think I need a little break from playing and get something else to think about. Patrick will be there for the audition, but he's leaving back to La Push right after it. We could do something fun. I have a reservation in Four Seasons; my mom insisted that I book a room there. Is it okay if you sleep in the same room? We can take one with separate beds."

Oh, Bella, we don't need separate beds if I had anything to say about it.

"That's awesome. So, we'll leave on Thursday morning and come back on Saturday. I have to work on Saturday night," he told her.

"Yay! I'm so happy to be able to spend some time with you. I've missed you so much," Bella said and squeezed his hand.

Paul wasn't able to take his eyes off her sparkling eyes.

"Have you talked to Mark?" he needed to know. He wasn't sure if Bella wanted to talk about that dick, but he needed to know how she was feeling about him now.

"No, I haven't. I texted him to take my stuff to Patrick so that I could get them from there. I didn't have much at his place anyway."

Bella sifted and turned to face him. He was very aware of how her knees were touching the side of his thigh. His hands were itching to touch her, and her scent made him crazy. She was still holding his hand, and her fingers were now playing with his. It was like she was a bit nervous.

Bella glanced under her lashes and blushed. What was she thinking?

"Paul, I..." Bella started, but Paul couldn't take it anymore. He cupped his hand behind her head and crushed his lips against hers. Bella froze for a second, but then she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her body.

Her soft lips were like drug to him. He was addicted from the second he touched them. Now that he was finally tasting them, he could never be without them again. They kissed hungrily, teeth nipping, lips bruising, hungry mouths molding against each other. She bit his bottom lip and sucked it in her mouth, adding fuel to his already burning want.

And Bella was right there with him. She moved to straddle him, and he groaned. Paul was already so hard it hurt. Her movements on his hard dick made him moan loudly. He grabbed her hips and pressed her closer to his cock, making Bella moan. She started to rock on him, and he bucked his hips against her.

"Fuck Bella, if only you knew how much I want you," he said, placing open-mouth kisses all over her neck and face.

"Paul, I want you too, so bad."

Paul peeled off his jacket but never stopped assaulting Bella's neck. They had to break free for a few seconds when they both took off their shirts, and Paul groaned when he saw her green lace-covered breasts.

He attacked them with his mouth sucking her nipples through the lacy material. Bella arched her back to push her chest closer while her hands tugged his hair pulling him closer to her.

"Oh my God, Paul … Oh, that feels so amazing..."

"Let's go to the bedroom. I don't want our first time to be on a couch," Paul said and got up from the couch Bella wrapped around his body. She was kissing his neck, making him see stars.

Paul carried Bella to the bedroom and placed her to sit on the edge of her bed. He kneeled between her legs and looked at her. Her big eyes were shining full of something he had never seen before; lust for him. Her lips were swollen and moist.

"You are fucking beautiful, Bella," he said and crushed his mouth again on hers. His dick was twitching against the zipper. He needed to get them both naked fast.

He moved to her neck sucking and nipping.

"Paul, please, no marks on my neck. I can't go to the audition with hickeys. You know how easily I get bruises."

"Yeah, I try to remember."

He started to open the string on her sweats, but his fucking hands shook, and he only managed to tighten the knot instead of getting it open. He had to control himself not to tear the pants off; he had never wanted anything this bad.

"Let me. You won't get it open with those humongous hands," Bella giggled.

Paul used his hands to open the bra instead.

Paul was mesmerized by the sight of her creamy full breasts. He had often ogled them through her shirt when she wasn't watching and felt ashamed, but now he cupped the other one into his big hand. So soft and round; fucking perfection. The nipple puckered under his ministrations, making Bella moan.

"Sweats off," he grunted, and when Bella lifted her ass, he pulled them off. He gasped when he noticed she wasn't wearing any panties. The scent of her arousal was so powerful Paul was almost knocked out. He could stop the animalistic growl escaping his mouth just in time. He didn't want to startle Bella.

He skimmed his hands over her hips, and Bella spread her legs wider when he moved his other hand towards the center of his all senses. He slid his finger over her wet folds and pushed it into her. Fuck she was tight and so wet.

"Fuck Bella, you feel so good," he said, looking at his finger disappearing into her pink wet soft pussy. His mouth watered.

"Ah … Paul..."

Bella cupped her hands around his head and pulled him into a feverish kiss. It was insanely hot how they ate each other's mouths, moaning, and grunting. He added another finger and curled his fingers inside of her.

He continued pumping his fingers in and out, and just as Bella's walls started to clamp around his fingers, she bit his bottom lip, and he almost came into his jeans.

"Paul!" She threw her head back, and she looked like fucking goddess, her lengthy hair spreading over the bed and her cheeks and chest flushed deliciously pink.

"You are fucking gorgeous," Paul said, withdrawing his fingers from her. "I want to taste you."

"Um... That isn't a good idea," she said, breathing heavily. "I might not be safe. I don't know who Mark has fucked before that bitch and if he used any protection. I'm on the pill, so we didn't use condoms," Bella said, embarrassed.

That fucking bastard.

"That's alright, baby; I might have a condom. Wait a sec." He got up and tried his jeans pockets even though he knew there weren't any since today was the first time he used them. How the fuck he hadn't made sure he had rubbers with him.

He turned around the room, looking for his jacket. Ah, he left it on the couch. He went to the living room and saw his coat where he had left it on the sofa.

Please, please, please, he chanted in his mind.

The first three pockets came empty, and he was starting to feel desperate, but there, in the inside pocket, he found three condoms. He took them all with him and rushed back to the bedroom.

"Good thinking. It's good to use these," Paul said as he closed the door behind him. "I must go for the tests too. I've never fucked bare, but one cannot be too careful," Paul said when he walked towards the bed. Bella had scooted herself up on the bed and rested her back against the headboard. She had pulled the sheet between her creamy long legs, covering her breasts. It was the sexiest sight he'd ever seen; cheeks flushed, and pink lips were swollen from all the kissing. And she was his to have. Fuck, this was going to happen. He'd wanted her so long.

"How are you feeling?" Bella asked.

"No words, baby. Happier than ever," he said and started to open his jeans. Bella blushed some more.

"Me too. I probably should feel something else so soon after Mark, but being with you just feels so right."

Her eyes widened when she saw his enlarged shaft springing free from his jeans. He took them off and tossed them on the floor.

"You don't need to feel anything towards that prick. Mark lost us both when he pulled that shit on you. The truth is that I've loved you since the first time we met."

Bella gasped, and her eyes filled with unshed tears.

"Really?" she whispered.

"Really, but I think that in the end, it was good to become friends first, and now we have solid ground we can build our relationship. Not saying that it wasn't fucking hard to watch you with him, but all I wanted was you to be happy, and until recently, I thought you were happy with him," Paul confessed. That shit had been painful, but it was in the past; they were here now, together.

"I was too wrapped up in my playing that I hadn't realized there was hardly anything left in our relationship until he did what he did. But let's not go there," Bella said. "I've never told you that I wanted to ask you out there on the beach that day, but you were dating that Sally girl," she told him.

Paul wasn't sure he believed his ears.

"Why you never told me?" he asked.

"Why should've I? I was with Mark, and we were friends. But I guess I could have told you. But none of that matters now, does it?"

"No. All that matters now is this, us finally being together," Paul said, sitting on his knees on the bed. He started to pull the sheet covering Bella, but she didn't let it go.

Her eyes sparkled mischievously, and she bit her bottom lip, knowing precisely what it did to him.

He surprised Bella by grabbing both her ankles and pulling her towards him. She shrieked.

He tugged the sheet from her, and now she was spread wide open in front of him. He had never seen anything so beautiful. He grazed his hands over her thighs towards her glistering center slipping in one finger. He leaned down to kiss her. The kiss was sweet, and his heart was bursting. He was drunk with happiness feeling Bella's soft lips molding perfectly against his. She sighed softly, and it was the most arousing sound he had ever heard, and it shot straight to his already weeping cock.

"I need to be inside you, Bella. I've waited for this for two years."

"Yes, please, Paul," Bella said, running her hands over his biceps, leaving goosebumps in their wake.

"This tattoo is so sexy," she said.

"Oh yeah?"

"Hmm..." she replied, circling her finger around it.

He opened the first condom and started to roll it over his cock.

"You are huge," Bella said, staring at his manhood, "will it fit?" she giggled, sounding a bit nervously.

"It's just perfect for you, baby."

Not wanting to wait any longer, Paul lined himself with her entrance rubbing his dick over her slit, making Bella moan, and started to push inside her wet tight pussy.

It felt like nothing else. To love someone you were about to fuck was something Paul had never experienced. His heart was hammering in his chest, and his whole body trembled.

He went in slowly. Paul knew he was a big guy, and he didn't want to hurt Bella.

"Paul, that's... ah … you feel so good," Bella moaned, arching her back.

Her walls were clamping, milking him deeper, and he almost came on that feeling alone.

"This won't last long, baby. You feel too good," Paul panted after sliding in balls deep. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut, trying to prolong his orgasm but opened them again right away; he never wanted not to see Bella. He leaned to kiss her again.

"Baby, look at me. I want to see your eyes. I want you to see my eyes."

Bella opened her eyes and gasped.

"Can you see how much I love you? Adore you!" Paul said, his throat thickening. He couldn't keep anything inside, not anymore. "Want to worship you! Make love to you every day, many times a day."

Bella nodded, tears welling in her eyes.

He started to move, thrusting into her over and over again. She met his thrust moving her hips in perfect rhythm with him. Paul realized that they were making love; he had never made love to anybody. The feeling was so incredible and intimate, and all this time, they were staring into each other's eyes. Paul felt tears prickling in his eyes. Fuck he was going to cry, but he didn't care.

Bella lifted her hand and wiped a single tear from his cheek. He turned his head and kissed her hand. Jesus fuck, this was so much more than he had thought it would be.

Bella moved a bit and wrapped her legs around his hips. He went deeper into her hot tight wet pussy, a piece of heaven. Jesus fuck, it was incredible. Long slow thrusts. He felt his balls starting to tighten. Damn, it was too soon. But there was nothing he could do about it.

"Baby, I can't keep it much longer. Come with me," he said, pinching her clit and crabbing the headboard with his hands. He started to slam into her faster, never taking his eyes off hers.

"Ah, Paul... Yes!"

As she went over the edge, her walls gripping him like a vice, he came crying out her name; finally, he could shout her name.

"Bella!"

The feeling was out of this world, and he didn't want it to end. He rode them down from their pulsing high and collapsed on the bed, taking Bella with him and hugging her to his chest. His heart was hammering, and Bella placed her hand over his heart after kissing the spot. He entwined his fingers with hers. For the first time in his life, he felt completely satisfied and fucking happy. Finally, they were together as they were supposed to be.

Bella lifted her head and reached up to kiss him on the lips.

"Paul... I love you. I'm madly in love with you. I think I've been since the day we met," she whispered and kissed him again.

AN:

Hey, thank you ALL so much for your reviews, favs, and follows. They are all very much appreciated. I love your input on the story, and I'm always happy to read what you think should happen. I know what I want to happen and how, but you never know where the characters take the story.

Happy New Year 2022! It is almost here.