Warning: Sexual Content

Grace woke up to the soft glow of Paul's digital clock on his nightstand: it read 5:02 a.m.. She felt exceptionally warm, a feeling she was coming to be very familiar with sleeping in bed with a member of the pack. Paul's white t-shirt hung loose on her frame and was the only thing she was wearing. She crept out of bed to the bathroom quickly to pee. When she looked in the mirror to take in the state of herself, she placed a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle.

Her cheeks were flushed red, and she let her fingers caress the red warmth. Her hair was disheveled and her eyes held their half lidded shape somewhere between sleep and a flutter of immense pleasure. Her mind lingered back to just a few hours ago as she and Paul were clutched together, Grace on top of him this time moving needy and quick over him as he cradled his hands on her hips and ass helping her to move up and down on him and sucking softly at her breast.

She pulled the hand across her mouth back to gingerly touch her lips that were swollen and soft from rough, wanting kisses that asked for more and more. She quickly combed fingers through her hair to smooth it down, snapping herself from her reverie, and then crept back into Paul's room looking for her clothes. She had to get back to the Cullen's before Bella woke up. She was going to tell Bella about Paul, but she just didn't want to cause a fuss so early in the morning. As she shuffled quietly around the room gathering her things, she heard Paul stir from the bed.

"Mmm, where do you think you're going before the sun's even up?" his deep morning voice made her lower body tingle and she smiled warmly, whispering:

"I don't want anyone to think I've been kidnapped and my honor taken under the cover of night. I have a reputation to remain on this rez," Grace laughed. As she spotted her underwear just under his bed and leaned close to get it, he reached out with one swift arm and grabbed her. She shrieked trying to turn out of his grasp, but he held fast and pulled her to him, pressing her back against his warm chest. Grace giggled and tried to pretend to struggle against him as the hand he had wrapped around her belly snaked its way up toward her breasts.

"Paul for real, I gotta go!" Grace protested only half serious. He smiled, kissing on her neck and grumbling low in her ear:

"You wiggling is not helping your case here." She could feel how much isn't wasn't helping, alright. Paul hadn't bothered to put his boxers back on after the third time they'd gone at each other last night, so there was nothing between them—she felt him pressed against her back loud and clear.

"They're going to worry!" Grace tried again, turning her head ever so slightly so his kisses could land closer to her lips.

"Letting my nearly naked girlfriend leave my bed to run back to house full of vampires does not appeal at all to your short-fuse boyfriend," his other hand had pushed under her waist and was moving it's way down her hips, sliding between her thighs and pushing them open. Grace let out a gasp as he gently stroked her there—she closed her eyes and leaned her head back, triggering an eagerness in Paul to roughly kiss on her throat and clutch her breast.

"Say you're my boyfriend again," Grace exhaled, eyes still closed. Paul chuckled running his lips across the edge of her ear before saying,

"Maybe later. Don't want to wear my name out," he teased before fully cupping her mound and pushing down, causing Grace to instinctively arch her back. He quickly entered her from behind, rushing into her and causing Grace to let out a sharp cry before happily matching his rhythm as early morning light poured through his window.


6:14 a.m.

Grace clicked the front door of the Cullen home softly behind her before hurrying up the steps to her guest room. On the landing, Rosalie was standing at the other end of the hallway, arms crossed and giving her a knowing smile.

"And where have you been all night?" Rosalie asked, not trying to keep her voice down. Grace looked around panicked and held out a hand.

"I was, was, was, uuuuhh, tending to business on the rez," Grace said quickly and not convincingly.

"Well, your business stinks. I can smell you from here," Rosalie wrinkled her nose and turned to walk back toward the study.

"Thanks," Grace breathed to an empty hallway before quickly retreating into the guest room. She made a beeline for the shower, trying to smell herself. She didn't think she smelled that bad, but who knows.

Grace took her time in the shower, letting her mind wander back to last night as she touched parts of her body that Paul had lingered on, clutched to, or gripped. She knew what would be waiting for her on the other side of all of this. Someone was going to get hurt, but she needed to sit in this moment of happiness for just a moment longer.

Before she had left, much to the continued protesting of Paul, she begged him to do his best not to let what had happened creep into his head during rounds. He gave her a wicked grin and had the audacity to ask why, before she let out an aggravated groan and said: "I'd really like all of this to be a 'your-eyes-only' thing."

She motioned up and down to her body which Paul was aggressively staring at.

"Say no more," he said seriously. Grace had a feeling that watching a pack member drool over or make a comment about Paul's picture of her naked body would result in some serious mauling.

Grace didn't bother drying her hair, opting to let it dry natural and wavy before pulling on some dark wash jeans, a black fitted t-shirt and grey zip up sweatshirt. Grace plugged in her phone and before going downstairs to appear totally normal and not like she had been rolling around in bed with her newly anointed boyfriend last night, she checked her phone.

SMS Text—6:33 a.m.: Paul

Be safe. I'll call you after rounds tonight

Signed, your boyfriend.

Grace laughed before quickly typing her reply:

I will. Thanks for last night 3

I'll talk to you soon, from your very exhausted girlfriend

She clipped her phone shut and left it on the nightstand and contemplated mussing up her sheets to make it look like she had slept there last night. Shaking her head, she left them perfectly made up instead and made her way down to the kitchen, peeking around the corner to scope it out before busting in like she owned the place.

Alice was tentatively at the stove prodding at pancakes when Grace came into view with her hands folded in front of her.

"Good morning!" Alice cried. "Oh my goodness, I didn't think you'd be up so early!" Alice said, a tone of lilted recognition in her voice.

"Oh!" Grace said a little surprised as she came to sit at the island across from Alice, "Just an early riser, I guess. School's been a grind lately so I'm used to it I guess."

"Right," Alice looked at her with a knowing smile and then back at her pancakes, "Well! Breakfast is not ready just yet, I'm trying to learn the perfect brown of a pancake, but they'll be ready before you know it! Help yourself to some coffee."

Bella woke up a couple hours later and stumbled still in her pajamas into the kitchen while Grace and Alice chatted away easily.

"You're chipper this morning," Bella said off hand through a yawn as Alice placed a cup of tea in front of her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Grace said aghast. Could Bella really tell so quickly?

"Pink cheeks, happier than I've seen in weeks," Bella said sleepily as she leaned into her cup. Grace looked at her over her second cup of coffee and raised her eyebrows. "You're happy is all, jeez," Bella laughed.

"Thank you, I am. Very happy." She enunciated the last two words and broke out in a giggles as she made eye contact with Alice. Grace had found it very easy to get along with a feel close with Alice. She understood now why Bella liked her too. Alice was easy to love, warm, knowing, but always true.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Bella echoed Grace's earlier statement. Alice finished cutting some fresh bright peppers and scattered them elegantly across Bella's stack of pancakes before sliding it in front of her.

Alice looked to Grace for permission who gave a short nod and eye roll before Alice blurted out excitedly, "She's got a boyfriend. A real official boyfriend!" She finished the announcement with a squeal of utter delight. Bella almost choked on her tea.

"What?! Oh my god, really? Jake?!" Bella said wide eyed. It was Grace's turn to choke on her coffee. Between cough and sputters that she got out she shook her head no.

"No! No, no, no. Paul!" Grace said before clearing her throat and saying, "Paul Lahote is my boyfriend." The words rolled off her tongue easily and she liked the taste of them. Paul Lahote was hers. Her boyfriend. She crossed her legs to help quiet the throb that had returned when she thought about last night. Get a grip, Grace. She told herself.

"Oh Paul!" Bella said somewhat surprised before she changed her tone and said, "That's so great! You guys are-are great together."

"Yikes, Bella," Rosalie said as she entered the kitchen and sat next to Grace. Bella squirmed uncomfortably in her seat.

"It's an easy mistake to make," Grace interjected. "Honestly, I get around," she toasted herself and bust out laughing. Bella relaxed and laughed to shaking her head.

"So what happened?" Rosalie asked, her eyes curious and invested. Grace wasn't sure why Rosalie seemed to like Grace as much as she did. The entire night before when they were in the girl's night part of their sleepover, she had doted on Grace, fixing her hair, pushing back her cuticles, tending to her like a doll. Curious.

"Uh, well," Grace looked from Rosalie to Alice. They of course knew that she had snuck out the night before and now it was clear where she had been.

"You don't have to say," Alice suddenly waved it off.

"Nooo!" Both Rosalie and Bella chorused, surprising each other.

"No secrets, remember?" Bella said. Grace looked to her and then bit her lip, holding back a smile and said:

"I went to see him last night. He texted me and well, he gets under my skin, you know." Grace said, suddenly getting nervous at all of the eyes on her. "And…"

"And?" Rosalie prompted.

"We… we had sex," Grace finally got out closing her eyes tight and letting the exulatations from the others rush over her. "Like a lot...of sex."

"Oh my god," Bella said, blushing profusely. She was suddenly hiding her face in her tea.

"Oh, I forgot, Bella's a little virgin. Not too many details now, Grace," Rosalie chided. Bella's face flamed hot as she looked up with a grimace.

"Rosalie," Alice groaned. Grace looked quickly to Bella.

"Bella, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" Grace started to which Bella became even more embarrassed.

"Oh jeez, please don't apologize. I'm not some innocent little baby. I know what sex is. I grew up sharing a house with Renee, remember? She wasn't entirely secretive about her conquests." Bella stammered trying to gain some composure.

"Okay," Grace said still apologetically. Rosalie leaned in and said quietly.

"So how was it?" Grace blushed and tried to hold in her giddy laughter. She was a woman possessed. And she leaned into Rosalie, while Alice tried to feign disinterest but still leaned toward them while Grace tried to spill some details.

Bella speared a strawberry and looked out the window.


Back at home, Grace unpacked her bag and started a load of laundry. When she returned to her room, Bella was sitting on her bed picking at the tips of her fingers.

"Bella?" Grace asked. Bella looked up suddenly and said.

"You can tell me stuff, you know. I'm not a total prude." Bella said a little dejectedly.

"Oh my god," Grace said as she dropped her laundry basket and moved to sit next to her. "I know! And it's not a big deal really. I just didn't want to make you uncomfortable. You just seemed….uncomfortable."

Bella fidgeted some more. "I wasn't. I just-" Grace looked to Bella's fingers. "I know me and Edward aren't there yet, but I can still talk about these things."

"I know! And hey, it's totally okay to go at your own pace okay? I didn't mean to make you feel left out. Come here," She pulled Bella into a hug, "You're like my sister. Okay?"

"Okay," Bella mumbled into her hair letting out a light laugh. They each pulled back from the hug.

"No secrets," Grace said holding out her pinky. Bella let out a laugh and looped her pinky with hers.

"No secrets." They sat quietly for a second swinging their pinkies back and forth before Bella shyly asked, "So...what was it like? Was it your first time or?"

Grace broke into an overwhelming bright smile.

"So, if I'm being totally honest, no it wasn't my first time. Brad Boychen was my first, ugh," Grace stuck out her tongue and pointed to the back of her throat indicating a gag, "But this time, everything felt so new and right and he was so sweet." Grace felt her hand creeping up to hold around her neck. "And I honestly can't stop thinking about it. He just knew what to do, and I felt like with him, I knew what to do too. We just clicked together." Grace flushed and let out a sigh before looking at Bella who was enraptured.

"How did you know he wanted to...you know?" Bella blushed and then forced herself to proceed, "I mean, how did you know that you were ready to have sex. With him i mean."

"Well, I honestly did not know when I went over there last night that that was the plan. Like at all. But when I got there, I just felt like something had changed between us and we acknowledged something in each other we knew had been building for awhile. It was definitely a mutual decision. He waited for cues and I responded to those cues I think. Does that make sense?" Grace cocked her head to one side.

"Did he initiate it? Or did you?"

"Definitely him, he said he was tired of the 'back and forth' so he was making a decision. And then he just kissed me and-" Grace paused smiling again, shaking her head. "It just happened. And it was so wonderful." Grace watched Bella's face carefully for the next few minutes. It seemed like she was mulling something over so Grace went out on a limb, "Are you and Edward thinking about….you know?" Grace nudged Bella with her shoulder.

Bella's gaze shot up and her eyes were wide, "Oh no! No definitely not. I mean….Edward is….very old fashioned," she scoffed. "But that doesn't mean that I don't want to." she admitted.

Grace paused before asking her next question. "Can I ask? Ummm, like how will that work? I don't claim to be an expert on the mechanics of vampire-human sex, but...I don't if you had..thought about it?" Grace stumbled over that last bit and blushed profusely. She really didn't hope Bella thought that she was thinking about how her and her boyfriend would have sex.

"I think it works like normal?" Bella said a little unsure. "I mean, we've definitely gotten to a point where I thought things were about to go farther, but he always stops. It's so…." she made a face, "Frustrating. I totally get that he wants to wait, but if it was up to me…" Bella stalled there, letting her curtain of hair cover her face.

"Woah, Bella," Grace said jokingly, "You're a total sex freak."

Bella's jaw dropped before she made a sound of protest and smacked Grace with her history binder.

"Whatever," she laughed, "I'm not the one having wild all nighter sex with a half human, half wolf."

"Hey, he's fully human when we do it," Grace laughed. She heard a car horn honk out in front and looked over her shoulder.

"Who's that?" Bella said. Grace crawled across Bella's bed and opened her window that looked over the front yard. Paul was leaning against the passenger side door of his forerunner, arms crossed in a cream colored crew neck sweater and jeans, smiling up at her when she leaned out.

"What are you doing here?" She called out, a smile breaking over her face and her belly swelling with warmth already.

"Come down from your balcony, Juliet so I can say hi to you the right way." Paul called back up. Delighted, she pulled back from the window and bolted toward her door saying over her shoulder, "It's Paul!" to Bella. Once down the stairs, she pulled on her boots and bounded out the front door, running full tilt toward him and crashing into his open arms.

They're lips collided effortlessly and he kissed her like he hadn't seen her in weeks, holding her to him and lifting her body up off the ground. When she broke away from the kiss she said, breathy: "Hi."

He put his forehead to hers, kissing gently at her nose before saying softly, "Hi."

"Was that the right way to say hello?" Grace asked, cocking her head to the side and feeling her feet touch the ground.

"To your boyfriend, yes," Paul laughed, leaning down to softly kiss her again.

"What are you doing here, again?" Grace asked.

"It's bonfire night babe. Go get dressed." Paul patted her hip and let another hand come up to tuck her hair behind her ear. "We're 'coming out' tonight, so I want to show you off a little bit"

"Oh!" Grace said, her eyes widening nervously. Did everyone already know?

"Word gets around the rez," Paul said shrugging and letting his hands move up and down her arms instinctively to warm her up. "Don't worry, your rep is cleanly in tact. Pack's honor." Grace laughed at this and kissed him again, relishing in the feeling of getting to do it anytime she wanted.

"Okay, just give me ten minutes?" Grace said stepping back. Paul nodded and Grace turned to jog inside.

In her bedroom she got dressed quickly, pulling on a cream colored chunky knit sweater with a thick turtle neck to match Paul's and some black, tight jeans. She ran a brush through her hair a few times and opted to tie half of it up in a loose knot, letting the rest fall down around her shoulders. It was getting long, she'd need to get it cut soon. She patted some orange red lip tint on that blushed against her warm brown skin.

"Can you do me a favor?" Grace said over her should to Bella who was propped on her bed with a book.

"Yeah, sure." Bella said.

"Can you cover for me? I might be getting home kind of late tonight." Grace said smiling knowingly. Bella smiled.

"Of course!" Bella replied.

"Are you going to be okay tonight?"

"Oh yeah, Edward should be here soon." Bella said. Grace came over and kissed the top of her head before waving goodbye and hurtling down the steps, pulling on her boots once more before she skipped down the steps toward Paul.

He broke into a wide smile and when she reached him again, he bent his head down and kissed her softly before whispering, "You look beautiful."

"Thank you." she smiled up at him. He opened the passenger door for her and when she got in he closed it behind her.

When he hopped into the driver seat, he took her hand into his and said "Ready?"

"Ready." She breathed. She hadn't been this excited since her junior prom. Something about declaring her and Paul as a couple to the rez felt so satisfying and nerve wracking and thrilling.

He pulled her hand up to his lips to kiss and then they were off, the sun just beginning to set behind them.