Chapter 8

Paul felt Bella watch him curiously as he started her truck. She had admitted that her first aid kit was better stocked than some hospitals. An angry part of him assumed it was through her association with the Cullens, but the more reasonable voice reminded him of the first night he saw her, almost trip over sand.

"Are you ok?" Bella's gentle question pulled him out of his thoughts. He briefly turned his head from the road to meet her penetrating stare. He frowned when he saw the concerned crinkle between her eyebrows. Paul nodded before turning back to the road.

"Why do you ask?" His voice was soft and tentative as he posed the question.

"You were gripping the steering wheel like you wanted to break it. It looked like something was upsetting you." Bella's voice didn't get quieter, Paul could still see her concerned face in his periphery. He turned to Bella again, with his most charming grin.

"Don't worry, cupcake." He winked.

"Cupcake?" Bella scoffed, "I'd say chicken may be more appropriate."

"Chicken cupcake?" Paul offered with mock innocence. He heard Bella snort again, the tension was beginning to evaporate.

The drive back to her house was relatively silent, Paul left Bella to her thoughts. He half hoped she would fall asleep and he would get to carry her again. Bella didn't sleep though, she continued to study Paul intently. If he tried, he was sure he could hear cogs and gears turning in her brain. Bella felt truly relaxed for the first time in over a week, he was giving her space to be alone with her thoughts and tolerating close proximity to the walking can of chicken soup. She was still trying to figure him out, she could ask and something inside her told her he would answer honestly. Was she ready for that yet?

Before either of them were ready for the journey to end, they were at her house.

"How are you feeling?" Paul asked, through the imprint he felt a distant headache, but the sting in his hands was fading. Bella turned to look at him, she had noticed he rolled his sleeves up while revealing his forearms. The raw masculinity of that tiny image made her breath catch in her chest. She took a few moments to blink while calming down. Paul watched her react to him and tried to contain the smug smirk that threatened to break out. She may not be ready for the Pack yet, but she was responding to him. She showed interest in him. He wanted to laugh that rolled sleeves and his forearms provoked that reaction despite her having already seen him shirtless.

Paul cleared his throat, reminding Bella that he asked her a question. Her returning blush made him feel like he was flying.

"I'm ok… just tired now."

Paul nodded, he unbuckled his seatbelt and moved to get out of the truck, he saw Bella pout as he was moving. This time he allowed himself the smirk.

"Come on, cupcake. Let's get you all bandaged up before your dad gets home." He closed the driver's door and walked round to Bella's side. He held open the door for her, watching an unexplainable emotion flash in her eyes before she stepped down. Something in Bella was rejoicing, he didn't flash at her side like Edward used to, she got to see him walk around to her. He may be more than human, but he was human enough to understand the seemingly trivial things that she needed. She didn't feel quite so weak in his eyes. Until she straightened up, the pain made her groan. Paul flinched at the sound but restrained himself. He kept a safe distance, watching her closely.

"You good to walk it, cupcake?"

"Yeah, just stiff. I feel like I've just left the gym without warming down." Bella tried to smile up at Paul. He had to laugh.

"That's pretty much what you did." He said with a wink.

Bella pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at him. "Whatever," she said, eventually. Paul couldn't help the grin at their playful interactions. He passed Bella her keys and turned with a final half grin to gesture for Bella to go inside.

She unlocked the door and made her way into the kitchen, she felt a shiver of heat move up her back as she sensed Paul follow her. She went to the cupboard under the sink to retrieve the first aid kit.

"Take a seat, I'm just going to get rid of this chickeney mess." Bella gestured at her sweater, Paul nodded. The power of speech escaping him from the mental images of her getting changed. Bella knew exactly what he meant and grinned wickedly at him as she left.

To stop himself following her, he unzipped a pocket in his shorts and retrieved his phone. He fired off a quick text to Emily for advice about coughs. She replied mercifully quickly, telling him that honey in tea would ease the dry itchiness of a cough.

Paul used his nose to find an old squeezey bottle of honey and something called chamomile tea. He filled the kettle and set it to boil while dunking the teabag in a mug and coating it in honey. He could hear Bella coughing up the stairs so he knew he had plenty of time to get the tea ready.

A soft click told him the kettle was boiled, he was so intent on his task he didn't hear Bella reappear.

"What are you doing?" Her amused voice shocked him out of his concentration. Boiling water from the kettle splashed onto his hand.

"Ah shit!" He began shaking his hand to get the water off, almost like a parallel to Bella earlier, with her soup. Bella rushed over to him, grabbing his hand and forcing it under the cold-water faucet. She didn't need to do that; the tiny splash would be healing soon. Bella frowned, confused as she took Paul's hand back into her own to examine his unblemished skin. The rush of contact robbed Paul of his words for a moment.

"It's ok, cupcake. It barely got me." He whispered.

"Liar," She murmured in response. He looked at her with a questioning quirk to his eyebrows.

"I know it was more, I felt it, briefly." She continued, looking up at Paul. He was frozen in horror; did she feel his pain? He grabbed at her hand and examined it, there was a faint pink mark amidst the tiny pockets of burns from her soup earlier. Delicately Paul pulled her hand under the still running faucet, he had no idea what to say to her.

"Is it… is it another of those things you need to explain?" Bella's tone was sympathetic, she didn't like seeing him look so troubled. Still unable to speak he nodded. Acting on instinct, Bella moved gently into Paul's side, increasing contact. She felt him relax instantly. He took a deep breath before wrapping his arm around her. The gesture sent excited flutters from her stomach to the rest of her body. She kept her eyes firmly on her hand under the water.

"I was making tea, apparently, it's good for coughs." Paul whispered. The moment between them felt too intimate, to speak any louder would ruin it. Bella glanced from her hand to his face, twisting slightly to see him better.

"Thank you, that was really kind of you." Bella replied softly. His gentle smile made her heart start pounding at a mile a minute.

Paul heard her heart and watched her eyelids droop slightly. Before he could worry about what would come next, he heard Sam's howl drifting through the window. It was too quiet for Bella to hear but he was able to use it to step away. He was already aching for her closeness again. She looked equally disappointed.

"I have to go," he said, to try and kill the intimacy he spoke at normal volume. Bella nodded, licking her lips.

"Thank you, for everything," She breathed.

"I'll hopefully see you soon, cupcake." He grinned at her, Bella winked back at him.

"You bet, honey."

"Better than teabag," he laughed. She giggled in response. With one last surge of bravery or stupidity, Paul pulled her in for a tight hug and kissed her head. Before Bella could properly relax into him, he pulled back and left.

Sighing Bella grabbed some paper towels to dry her hand, and moved to sit in one of the chairs at the dining table. She had the steaming mug of tea in front of her, it was still slightly too hot to drink. Paul should be blistering from getting splashed by it, but he seemed untouched.

Bella idly pulled at a loose thread on her grey hoodie, she wondered if she really felt it. It was such a quick flash of pain, over before she really registered it.

"It could be residual from the soup," she rationalised out loud. She doubted it, but it was a possibility.

As it cooled, she sipped her tea enjoying the sweetness of the honey. Paul was right, it soothed her throat and took away the dry itchiness. She looked out the kitchen window and pondered the wolf howl, it almost sounded like a summons, especially after Paul's reaction to it.

She added it to her increasing list of questions for him.

Bella thought she may be readier to talk to him, but the strength of her feelings frightened her. Edward had barely been gone a week and she was ready to make a move on someone else. She would savour this week of freedom from school while she thought about the mysterious Paul.

A/N

Sorry! Shorter chapter alert!

Just to clarify, I have no intention of turning Bella into a wolf, I'm just playing with the theory that the imprint magic works both ways, and maybe she'll get some bonus abilities in the equation!

Hope you all enjoyed it :)