Chapter 21

Bella cracked her eyes open. A soft morning light greeted her. She yawned and tried to stretch her body, only to find it impossible to move as Paul's heavy limbs restrained her tightly against him. He was wrapped around her like a grapevine, his breath fanning her neck. A shiver ran through Bella's exhausted body, reminding her of all the pleasure they had shared the night before.

Bella had never felt as comfortable and relaxed, happy and joyous when waking up only after a few hours of sleep. Yes, she was sore, and her body hurt from all the activities, but it was a feeling of being alive, of being loved and cherished, being wanted, and yes, truly well-fucked. A broad smile spread on her lips as she turned around in his arms, facing him. Paul didn't stir; he was still fast asleep. They had finally let the sleep take over hours after midnight.

Bella's eyes roamed Paul's face. When he slept, he looked more like a boy than a man. His features were relaxed, his full lips slightly parted, still swollen from all the kissing and biting. Heat rushed to her cheeks, and her lower abdomen clenched with need. It was crazy how much she wanted him again, needed to be filled by him.

A few stray strands of his inky black hair fell over his closed eyes. She brushed them gently, admiring the dark and long eyelashes that rested softly on his sharp cheekbones. He was beautiful beyond anything she had ever seen, and she still could not quite grasp he was hers and that he wanted her.

But there was tiredness in his features, dark lines under his eyes, and she knew it was because of her because she had stayed away. It had hurt her to see him so agitated and stressed yesterday. But she knew she had done the right thing. Now, she was free to love him. She would never get her friendship back with Tyler; he would never forgive her, but Bella had learned to accept that. She had hurt Tyler in the worst possible way, and at first, she had missed him, but not anymore. All of that was worth it, worth of him, Paul.

Bella traced her finger lightly on Paul's shoulder and down his muscular bicep, admiring the russet color of his skin so much darker than her own. She followed the lines of the tribal tattoo from his bicep trailing the collarbone and down the pectoral and back to his upper arm. The symbol was beautiful, grafted with an angular and geometric style distinctive to the Native American tribal art. Around the silhouette of a powerful wolf, swirling patterns of tribal symbols created the mystery Bella had found herself truly fascinated by. She was no longer trying to understand it, not too hard anyway, only living the part given to her in it.

She leaned to kiss the spot under Paul's collarbone, where a triangular shape stretched over his skin.

Paul stirred and slowly opened his eyes. His eyes focused on hers, his gaze hazy. A brilliant smile reached his sleepy eyes and spread on his lips, showing the perfect line of his white teeth.

"You're here," he whispered, his voice thick with sleep.

"I'm here," she answered, emotion thickening her raspy voice. Their lips touched as they both moved to kiss one another at the same time. Paul's lips were dry after sleep; Bella nipped and licked them, moistening them. The kiss heated fast.

"Damn, Bella, I want you so bad," Paul whispered as he moved to kiss her neck. "I could live in you, never leave."

Bella's body responded to his words and was instantly ready to take him. Paul inhaled deeply and growled against her neck, "You want my cock," his husky voice fanned her cheek as he moved on top of her. He hooked his arm under her knee and, lifting her leg, opened her up to him and slid inside her.

They both moaned as he filled her deliciously, stretching her from the inside. Nothing had ever felt as good as having Paul loving her, giving all he had. The way he made love to her with reverence filled her with love so strong she felt like crying. And this she had risked by staying away.

"You're mine," Paul said against her lips, his eyes gazing intensely into hers.

"Yes, yours," Bella affirmed, blinking the tears from her eyes. Paul kissed the tears away. "I love you; I love you; I love you," he chanted, picking up the pace of his thrusting, his body getting more demanding and harder. Deep, hard slides brought her fast to the brink of release. She didn't try to fight it; she moved her hips to meet Paul's.

Her whole body was humming, and Paul's touch electrified her every nerve ending, every caress, and every breath on her skin. Every hard and demanding slide into her body made her feel more alive than she'd ever had before. She didn't know if it was because of the imprint, or if it was just them or both, but she had decided she didn't care. They felt good together; they were right together.

"I'm yours," Paul said, sliding out and slamming forcefully in again. "Only yours."

Bella gasped as Paul's length hit the spot inside of her, and orgasm spread, clenching and spasming through her whole body. Paul kept fucking her with hard thrusts. "No fucking way … no one else than you."

"Ah… yes!"

Paul followed her soon with you and kept his weight on her as she loved him to do. He kissed her face, her eyebrows, her mouth. "I love you," Bella sighed into his mouth. "I love you," Paul replied.

He slid easily from inside her. The wolf hadn't knotted inside of her after the first time. It really had been the strangest of things. Paul pulled the quilt over them, and they fell asleep again, wrapped tightly around each other.

The next time Bella woke up, Paul was looking at her. His eyes were intense as always, and his lips curved into a soft smile.

"What time is it?" Bella asked, her voice cracking.

"Almost midday."

Bella blinked; she didn't remember when she had last time slept so late. "How long have you been awake?"

Paul's smile widened, "Awhile. I could spend the rest of my life watching you sleep. Did you know your nose twitches when I touch the scar on your chin?" Paul moved his finger to her scar and brushed it, and sure enough, Bella's nose twitched. It made her sneeze and yawn at the same time. She hid her face in the pillow.

Paul laughed. "What should we make for the breakfast?"

"I'll eat anything. I'm starving," Bella said, stretching her arms over her head and arching her back.

Paul moved on top of her, his prominent erection pocking between her legs. Her body reacted immediately, but her mind and especially her stomach needed substance, food, lots of it.

"Down, boy," Bella giggled. "The only thing that happens now is we'll have something to eat."

Paul groaned. Bella pushed him away, laughing, and he moved to get up from the bed. He picked a T-shirt from the floor and threw it at Bella.

"Wear this. I've dreamed about seeing you in my T-shirt in my kitchen while I make you food. And don't even dream about putting anything else on."

Bella laughed and pulled his t-shirt over her head. It was cold from being ditched on the floor, but it smelled like him. Paul grinned as he pulled grey sweatpants on and tugged his erection in; for a second, Bella lost all focus while she stared at the college-clad bulge. The man was ridiculously delicious.

"You changed your mind?" Paul asked, lifting his brow and moving back to the bed with a predatory expression on his face. Bella shrieked, jumped off the other side, and ran to the kitchen, Paul following her, laughing.

He caught her and pinned her against the kitchen counter. His lips captured her in a fierce kiss as his hands roamed under his t-shirt, cupping her ass and pulling her tightly against his erection.

"For your information," he said as he licked her neck, "I'm planning to fuck you on every surface of this damn house before I let you go."

God, this man was going to be the death of her. "You need to give a girl a little break. Feed. Me. Now."

Paul gave her one long kiss before letting her go and pulling ingredients from the fridge.

They prepared a huge breakfast—well, more like a lunch—with eggs, bacon, grilled vegetables, bread with cream cheese and fruit salad, and lots of tea and coffee.

Being so domesticated with Paul felt nice. She could get used to this, but she knew it wasn't possible. He lived here in La Push, and her life was in Seattle. It would be at least eight years before she would start working as a pediatrician. And where would she be working? Was Paul still tied to stay in La Push? She didn't know.

Then she remembered what she wanted to discuss with Paul, knowing he would not like her asking.

"Have you seen Angela?" Bella asked, blowing into her hot tea and taking a sip. She winced, too hot still.

Paul groaned. "Damn, Bella, can't we have our first breakfast together without talking about that bitch." He leaned back on his chair, lifting his face upwards and rubbing his hands over his face.

Paul's reaction didn't surprise Bella. He had avoided talking about Angela and the baby every time Bella had asked about them on the phone. Perhaps he was right that bringing her up at this moment wasn't a good idea, but Paul would not talk about her voluntarily. She had tried.

"Sorry, Paul, I didn't mean to ruin our morning together, but you can't keep ignoring the situation. You ..."

"I'm not ignoring shit," Paul interrupted, anger flaring in his voice. "I have talked with her on the phone a couple of times and know she and the baby are doing well. But that has to be enough. I can't see her, and I don't want to."

"What do you mean you can't see her?"

"My wolf wants to come out and kill the baby."

"Seriously?"

"Would I joke something like this?"

"Sorry, no, you wouldn't." This was far more serious.

"I've told you that the wolf isn't the baby's father because a wolf can impregnate only his imprint. It is as fucked up as it sounds. The wolf gene goes through only to the imprint, and if a man gets someone other than his imprint pregnant, the wolf won't recognize the kid. It's not his. And although it's not natural behavior for normal wolves to try to kill young ones, it seems to be ours."

"Yes, it's species-specific behavior for lions. That is pretty wild. Has this happened before in the shapeshifter's history?"

"There isn't much evidence since the old documents only have recorded the packs and their imprints, but we found one journal, a shapeshifter named Achak from the late 18th century, and he had a child with a woman who wasn't his imprint."

Bella was afraid to ask, "What happened?"

"He killed the child and couldn't bear living with what he'd done and got himself killed by a leech."

Bella paled, gasping in horror.

"So yeah, so this isn't a light matter."

Bella reached out to touch his hand, and they intertwined their fingers. Paul lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her wrist.

"She managed to corner me at the beach yesterday."

"What happened?"

Paul sighed heavily and turned to look outside. It had started to rain.

"I didn't notice she was coming, and it was too late when I realized she was there. I can't be near her. My wolf goes frantic whenever she is around, and I have to fight against phasing. Yesterday I almost fucked it up but thank fuck for Jacob, he was there before nothing happened, but it was damned close, too close."

Bella squeezed his hand. They were silent for a while, and an idea started to form in her mind. "What would you think?" Bella started, knowing Paul would not like her idea. "What if I was with you when you saw her?"

"What? Hell no!" Paul pulled his hand away from hers and tugged both of his hands into his hair, tugging it.

"Aren't you overreacting a bit?" Bella huffed. Paul was being unreasonable. They had a serious problem, and it needed to be sorted out somehow.

"I don't want you to have anything to do with her." Paul started to pace back and forth.

"Excuse me, Paul, but it's not up to you. Besides, she is my friend, although we haven't kept in contact for the past few months. I've sent her a few text messages, but she hasn't replied to any of them. I must say that I'm a bit worried about her."

"Worried?! What the fuck? Don't be fucking do-gooder in this, she made that shit to herself."

"I know she did. But that baby is yours, and I'm with you. How the baby was made isn't significant anymore because the baby needs a father, and you are the father. I don't think we have a choice. If I can help you and the baby form a father-child relationship, I want to be there for you and the baby. And especially if the wolf wants to harm the baby, I think I must. We don't have a choice."

Paul mumbled something Bella didn't catch. He was angry, but Bella knew he knew she was right.

Paul stopped pacing and sat back in the chair. They stared at each other for a long time. Bella could see Paul's mind working, and his expression told her he wasn't happy with the conclusion he was reaching.

"But how would that work out? We can't tell her shit about anything."

Bella sighed. She didn't know. The most probable outcome was that Angela wouldn't want anything to do with her after she learned that she was with Paul. And it was another thing that had eaten her up while boiling in guilt about Tyler, but as with Tyler, she hadn't done anything on purpose. They had to find a way to make things work.

"Maybe we could start slowly. I go see her, and you'll be somewhere close by. See how the wolf reacts when he sees me with Angela. Perhaps if I show him I'm okay with the situation, he'll be too."

"Are you okay with it? Really ok?" Paul asked, searching her eyes, clearly worried about her answer.

"I am now. It was one of the things I've thought about a lot. You can't change what happened, and we are meant to be together, so Angela and the baby will be part of our lives. And..." Bella considered if this was the right moment to bring this up; probably not, but she had to talk about this at some point. "I know we haven't talked about this, but I have never thought about having children myself. I'm not against it in principle, but the thing I've wanted the most in life is to become a pediatrician, and having a child while still studying isn't going to happen. After I start working, I don't know if there will be any time for children. And I don't want to become a mother when I'm over 40."

Bella watched Paul, trying to make what he felt about this, but his face didn't give anything away. At least he didn't look disappointed.

Paul grabbed her hand and pulled her to sit on his lap. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, pressing his face against her neck, he inhaled deeply. Bella felt his body relax, and she kissed his template. Paul took another deep breath and placed a kiss on her neck.

"I fucking hate that Angela is having my baby, and to think that that the kid could be the only one I ever had…" he mumbled against her skin. He kissed the spot again and then turned to look at her. His eyes were shiny, and Bella's breath hitched when she saw the vulnerability in them. "But I can handle anything as long as I have you. And I don't care about children. I mean I must care about the one that is on the way, but becoming a father had never been in my plans either if for different reasons."

Bella kissed him. "You always have me." It wouldn't be easy, but they would make it work somehow.

They stayed holding each other when a long howl interrupted their cuddling. Paul bolted from the chair. "Fuck, it's Jared. That means we all need to phase. Bella," Paul pulled her tightly against him. "Stay inside. Don't leave anywhere."

"Okay," Bella nodded against his chest. Paul moved so he could kiss her. It was a fierce and burning kiss.

"I love you, Bella! So damn much it hurts." And he was off.

Bella sighed and turned around to look at Paul's home. She hadn't had a chance to look around his home yesterday, as he had taken her straight to the bedroom after lunch, and they stayed there apart from a long shower. Paul hadn't allowed her to leave the bed even for dinner but had ordered pizzas for them. Bella decided to clean the bedroom. Pizza boxes were still there, and the bed linen needed changing.

The room smelled of pizza and sex. Bella opened the window to let the fresh air in. She took the linens to the washing room and looked for new ones from the cupboard. Finding beautiful blue linens, she returned to make the bed. The rain had intensified, and the wind had picked up. Bella closed the window, collected pizza boxes and soda cans from the floor, and took them to the kitchen, where she cleaned up what was left of their breakfast.

She made her a cup of tea and decided to study a bit. She had planned to stay with Paul for a week and a half, but that meant she had to do some work online and read for the next exam. She realized that she had left her bag in the car and needed her keys to get it. Where did she leave her jacket? The keys were in the pocket. Finding her jacket on the floor, she pulled out the keys and walked to the door.

She opened the door but was startled still.

"Angela?"

AN:

So the story continues... Let me know what you thin.