Bella POV

My last sight of Edward was the utterly stunned look on his face after Paul had spoken. Then the door closed with a loud 'snick'. Even as the door swung shut, Paul was moving toward me in a purposeful stalk, clearly having meant what he'd said. Curious about his possible reaction, I opened the hands holding up the sheet I was wrapped in. The release of pressure sent the sheet fluttering to the floor; I wasn't wearing anything underneath.

Paul jerked to a halt as my nakedness registered. "Sweet Spirits," he murmured. He considered something for a moment. "Nope. Shower first. But we'll definitely add the living room to the list for later."

Paul started moving again. I was confused when he started to bend over, but then I squealed when his movement let him pull me onto his shoulder, so that my breasts pressed against his shoulder-blade and my face bounced against his back. Paul's hand rested against my ass, not entirely—or so I guessed—to keep me from falling.

His construction experience clearly helped him out, as he kept me on his shoulder even while he turned the water on for our shower. When it started to steam, he set me down in the large glass shower stall and quickly stripped off the boxers he'd put on to answer the door. We both stood still for a minute, looking our fill at each other. He was even more impressive out of his clothes than he'd been in them earlier today. Broad shoulders, clearly defined pecs and abs, lean waist—no love handles here—and a massive erection. He was long and thick; definitely ready for another round. As I took the time to fully appreciate him, a pearly droplet emerged from the darkening tip of his cock; without thinking, I reached out, swiped it with my finger, and brought the droplet to my mouth. Paul literally growled when I tasted him.

He stepped under the shower spray with me. Paul's hands lifted, and it was my turn to make a noise when those rough hands of his closed over my breasts. He squeezed and I moaned, need shooting straight through me. The hands moved, and I was lifted up. When my body was pressed against Paul's, I wrapped my legs around him. That was when I realized he'd placed me so that I was basically sitting astride his cock. The sensation was amazing, but it wasn't exactly where I wanted him.

"More. Inside," I begged.

"Didn't grab a condom," Paul told me. "Plus, they don't work that well in the shower. Let me take care of you this time. We'll get back to that, I promise, babe."

Whatever I planned to say in response to that was lost when his mouth closed over my left breast. The heat of his mouth, the swirl of his tongue…only his hand cradling the back of my head saved me from cracking my skull against the shower wall. I was spared the risk of repeating the dangerous move when Paul pressed me against that same wall; that freed his hand to move down between us and start stroking my clit. Paul rocked under me as he alternated his attention between my breasts. The barrage of physical sensations became too much and I shattered in his arms. Paul lowered me to the shower bench and lathered up a poof. Then he started rubbing it over my flesh, starting at my feet and working his way up. When he stood back up, he was right where I wanted him—and I wasn't going to let him get away this time. Ignoring the fact that I was covered in scented lather, I reached out to cup my hands around his ass and pull him closer to me, opening my mouth and closing it around his tip. It was his turn to groan this time. Paul's hands shifted to the back of my head, and his hips started to rock. He was fucking my mouth…and I loved it. He was long enough that I couldn't take all of him in my mouth, but I captured as much as I could. Feeling bold, I moved my hands back around and cupped his balls. Paul groaned again, and his body shook. I circled and stroked until I felt his sac tighten.

"Bella," he growled. I didn't answer verbally, just sucked him deeply again and hummed. With a roar, Paul released into my mouth; I swallowed greedily until he was done, then licked him clean.

"Aboso-fucking-lutely amazing," Paul told me.

I just smirked. "Your turn again."

"Oh, I will," he shot back. "But we have to get cleaned up first." He hauled me to my feet, so that I stood under the spray again. Boy, he sure must have a high-capacity water tank, since the water hadn't run cold yet. While I rinsed off, he quickly soaped up and then rinsed himself off. Now that we were both clean, Paul shut the water off and reached outside the shower for a towel, which he used to dry me off, then himself. That done, he dropped the towel onto the floor and picked me up again.

It felt deliciously wicked to be carried around naked by a naked man. Paul dropped me back on his bed and pulled another condom packed from his nightstand drawer. While he rolled it onto his renewed erection—and I was beyond amazed at his rapid recovery time—I scooted up the bed until I reclined on a pile of pillows. Paul crawled up the bed, crouching over me. As his head came down and claimed my mouth in a kiss, his length slide inside me in a single stroke. Our shower activities had clearly only warmed us up. Paul set a hard pace, and before long he was wringing every last drop of yet another orgasm from both of us.

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Paul POV

We must have both fallen asleep again after our third round of the day. I wasn't sure what was different about this woman compared to all the others I'd been with, yet couldn't deny that there was some kind of difference. I started to move, but stopped when I realized that Bella was using my shoulder as her pillow. Her dark hair spilled over my chest in a mahogany blanket. What I could see of her face was peaceful—quite a change from the grief and pain of today.

I couldn't figure out why Cullen had cheated, not if he'd had this woman waiting for him. But I certainly wasn't going to argue with it, not when it meant that she was here and in my bed. I'd meant what I told her earlier—I absolutely wanted to do this with her again, and again…

"Thank you," Bella said quietly, shifting more onto her stomach and lifting her head to look at me.

"Back at you, babe." Being a practical kind of guy, I asked Bella if she was hungry. Getting an affirmative answer, I slid out of bed and pulled a clean pair of boxers from my dresser drawer. Decently dressed, I headed for the kitchen to survey the dining options. A few minutes later, Bella joined me, dressed in the same clothes she'd been wearing earlier.

"My suitcase is still in the car," she explained.

"Want me to grab it for you?"

"You don't have to do that," she tried to dissuade me.

"Not a problem. Take a look in the fridge and cabinets. Whatever you want, I'll fix." It only took me a minute to grab her keys and pull a small rolling suitcase out of her trunk. I went ahead and took it into my bedroom, figuring Bella would want to change into fresh clothes. Back in the kitchen, I was just in time to watch Bella putting a frozen pizza onto a baking tray.

"Thank you," she said, moving past me and down the hallway. Figuring she'd want some token healthiness to our meal, I pulled out some cans of fruit from the pantry and dumped them all into a bowl for a fruit salad.

Bella came back to the kitchen just as the pizza came out of the oven, wearing an outfit a lot like her other one, just in a different color. We sat at the kitchen table that I rarely used; I typically ate in the living room in front of the TV. I was more a man of action than words, and I wasn't sure what I ought to say. However compatible we'd proven to be in bed, we didn't know much at all about each other.

"I'm sorry he showed up here," Bella said once we'd both eaten some of our dinner. "I don't know why he did, or how he literally ended up on your front porch."

"You handled yourself pretty well, given what he did to you." Personally, I thought I'd handled myself pretty well, too; after all, I hadn't gone after him, even though I'd wanted to. She did have a good point, though, about him finding us so quickly.

"I just wish I knew why he did it. I can't understand how I was so blind to what was going on in my own relationship." Bella's free hand ran through her tangled half-dry hair.

"You weren't willfully blind, you know; he was just good at playing things the right way to keep you from suspecting."

"I guess so, but it doesn't make me feel any better."

"It'll suck for a while," I agreed. "But why not take it one step at a time? With what you saw today, do you still want to marry him?"

"No!" was the exclamation that tore out of her. She'd basically said as much already, what with dropping the ring at his feet earlier, but it still probably needed to be said out loud. "With what I saw today, I don't feel like I know Edward at all anymore; at least not the Edward he's obviously become over the last two years. I don't see how I could ever trust him again."

"Once a cheater, always a cheater. What did you mean about the last two years?"

"I stayed at U-Dub when he transferred to Cornell. That's where he met her—Tanya. She was a student there in the same program as Edward."

"So he was with her for up to two years, but came back here and proposed to you?" She nodded. "Wow. That's…messed up."

"Yeah. I wish I knew why he did that, too."

"You gonna ask him?"

Bella shrugged. "I'm not sure. I know I'll have to see him again at some point, but I really don't want to."

"You'll have to," I agreed, holding out my hand to her. The diamond engagement ring she'd dropped onto the porch winked from my palm. "Guess he forgot to take this with him."

"Damn it," Bella groaned.

"Don't have to do it tonight, though," I offered. "You're welcome to stay here—face him with a clear head later."

"You don't mind?"

"Nah."

"Then, thanks again."

We finished eating and took the dishes back into the kitchen. After insisting that she would help clean up, Bella said she wanted to get some sleep. "Do you want me to take the couch?"

"Something wrong with the bed?" I wanted to know.

"Um…it's yours?"

"And?"

"And the last two times you've had me in that bed today, it wasn't for sleeping," Bella snorted.

I smirked-she did have a point. "Well, if you don't want my bed, there is a guest room. And you don't have to thank me for it," I added, seeing that she was about to do just that. "Do you need to let anyone know where you are?"

"Crap. Dad." Bella bolted for her phone, which was lying on my coffee table. "Dad, hi. No, I'm fine. I'm sorry I didn't call you before now. I've just had a bad day and—no, I'm fine, really. No, I don't want to talk about it right now. I'll stay here tonight and—what? He did what? How dare he? No, don't. I'll deal with him tomorrow. Please, dad. I just need tonight to get things figured out. I'm fine, and I'll see you tomorrow." Bella ended her call, turned off the phone, and headed for the bedrooms as if she'd forgotten I was there. I figured she needed a little time to herself, so I messed around in the living room for a while before going to check on her. By the time I did, the door to the guest bedroom was closed, and Bella's suitcase was missing from my bedroom. Even though I ought to be tired after the rounds I'd done with Bella today, but I wasn't. I lay awake for quite a while, listening to quiet sobs from the other side of the wall.