Chapter 23

"So, how was it to meet Angela?" Bella asked as she skimmed her fingers through Paul's hair while he rested his head on her naked belly. Paul hummed; he didn't want to talk about it now. He was feeling too damn happy and relaxed to talk about that bitch. He was fucking high, and his wolf was ecstatic; his imprint had wanted him to mark her, and he had.

They'd met Angela at the beach earlier for a short chat, and Bella had been right; her presence had made all the difference for the wolf. After he'd seen and felt that Angela was no threat to his imprint, he had calmed down and not tried to rip off the head of that bitch. Paul, on the other hand, could not get away fast enough. He won't ever forgive Angela for what she did; he hated her guts. After a few awkward minutes of Angela showing him the baby's ultrasound image and telling him how he was doing, Paul had left. When Bella had followed him home half an hour later, he'd fucked her hard against the front door, and it was then that Bella had asked him to mark her. Paul hadn't asked why; he knew it was to seal their bond even more tightly.

And then they'd gone to bed for a round two. Now they were basking in an afterglow after a round three. Damn, life was good for one, Paul Lahote.

Bella continued running her fingers and nails on his hair and scalp. Feeling the shivers all around his body, Paul groaned. "I love it when you do that." He could stay in this bed with Bella forever. It was late afternoon. An autumn storm had arrived at La Push, strong wind howled in the trees, and heavy rain pattered the windows while he was warm in bed with the woman he loved more than his life. He sighed contently like the pussy whipped fucker he was.

"It was as you said," Paul finally replied. "the wolf was okay after he saw you being okay with her. When you hugged her, he stirred up a bit, but the look in your eyes calmed him." Paul was slightly surprised; he hadn't expected the wolf to be so adaptive. But it was yet another way how the imprint soothed the beast and made him more human.

"I'm so happy to hear that. What about you? How was it for you?" Paul heard from her voice that she was uncertain if she should ask him that.

Paul lifted his head and looked up at Bella's eyes filled with concern for him. Her fingers moved to brush his other cheek. Leaning into her touch, he gazed into her eyes, falling deeper and deeper for her. He moved up, and before kissing her, he whispered against her lips, "I am good as long as you're there with me." And there had never been truest words.

"Did it hurt?" Paul asked as he softly kissed his mark on the junction of her neck and shoulder. It was still a bit red, but all healed. Wolf's salvia was a fucking miracle worker. But they knew that already; it had healed Bella's bullet wound.

"It did hurt quite much when you bit, but it was dimmed by the magnificent orgasm you provided. I guess it's the reason it's done while fucking."

Paul did not like to hear that it had hurt, but it had also been the most intense release for him. "It almost knocked me out. Every time is a fucking mind-blow with you, but that had some serious extra mojo."

"Yeah. The beast took control for sure."

The wolf had knotted himself inside Bella again, but this time, they'd continued straight to round two after Paul had carried Bella to bed.

"It's a good thing this imprinting thingy is for life. You have absolutely ruined other men for me," Bella giggled and kissed his neck.

"Damn, woman, don't mention other men in our bed!" Paul growled and pressed her onto the mattress with his body and fused his mouth to hers for a punishing kiss.

Bella melted under his body as the kiss deepened. His cock hardened against Bella's hip, but when Bella's stomach rumbled loudly, Paul realized they hadn't eaten any lunch. Needing to feed his woman, Paul ḱissed Bella once more and got up from the bed.

"You take a shower, and I'll make lunch," Paul said, getting into his jeans and pulling Bella up from the bed, tightly against his body, kissing her deeply.

"You are too good to me," Bella sighed against his lips and vanished into the bathroom.

He made them tuna steak sandwiches with a Korean cucumber salad and had it all ready when Bella finished her shower and joined him in the kitchen. They sat down to eat.

It was some caveman shit, but Paul always felt immeasurable pleasure watching Bella eat the food he'd made. She moaned, chewing her first bite. "Oh wow, what did you put in this? It tastes incredible."

"It's roasted sesame oil, ginger, and lime," Paul grinned and took his first bite. Damn, it was good.

"I'm so spoiled," Bella sighed and took another big bite.

They kept staring at each other while they ate. Paul truly understood what being pussy whipped meant. This woman before him had him by the balls and in every way that mattered, and he wouldn't want it any other way.

"I'm damn relieved that your theory was right," Paul said. He knew that Bella wanted to talk about seeing Angela. "Since she's going to have my kid, it's easier that I don't feel like killing her."

Bella placed her sandwich on the plate and took a sip of water.

"It's the best thing. I know you'll be an awesome dad. It would have been terrible for you to lose that, and the little boy needs a father."

Paul was starting to feel the same way. Hell, life was strange sometimes.

"I will be good because you will be there helping me," he stated, knowing it to be a fact.

Bella smiled. "You know I'll be there as much as possible. I will be so happy to get to know him and see him grow. I'm sure he'll look just like you. Do you have any baby pictures of you?"

"I might. But honestly, I haven't gone through the stuff my parents left behind." His memories of his parents weren't good, and he had hidden the two boxes containing their stuff in the closet in the third bedroom.

"If you want, we can go through them together someday," Bella offered because she was fucking fantastic person.

"Yeah, maybe." He wasn't in a rush to do that, though.

"How…" Bella started but stopped, clearly uncertain if she wanted to continue. Paul waited. Bella took another bite from her sandwich, and Paul saw strong emotions swirling in her eyes. "How did you feel about seeing the baby? The little boy?"

Shit.

"I don't know… Does it make me a bad person if I say I didn't feel much of anything?" Paul asked, and it was a confession of sorts. He wasn't sure what to think when seeing the image hadn't stirred any strong emotions. Of course, he was glad to hear the baby was doing well, but the black-and-white image was just that, an image. It would have made all the difference if it had been Bella's baby.

Bella looked at him, her eyes soft. "No. It makes you an honest one. You will love the kid when he's born, but I understand that the circumstances make it impossible for you to connect with him before he's here."

"You will help me to get ready?" Paul asked, surprising the hell out of himself. But fuck, this time next year, he would have a baby in this house. Because he would make damn sure he had a role in his kid's life. He should plan which one of the two extra bedrooms would be good for the kid.

A brilliant smile spread on Bella's beautiful face. "Of course, I'll help you, Paul. You need to come to Seattle. One of my friends had a baby last year, and she constantly gushed about this one store in the city. We could see what kind of stuff it has."

Paul smiled. That didn't sound so bad. Buying stuff for the kid with Bella. Paul knew that she would be great with the baby. He remembered how she'd been with Isaac and Joshua when they'd first met in the cafe when he'd imprinted on her. And she would be a doctor; he would always be taken care of by the best.

"Do you want to try to see Angelay without me?" Bella asked.

"No, I don't see why I should." And Paul did not want to.

"Well, you might run into her while doing groceries or going to the mall," Bella offered.

"I'll find out when and if that time comes. We now know I can handle being around Angela, and that's enough for me."

"Okay. Sorry if you feel like I'm pressuring you. I just want things to be as easy for you as possible."

"I know you do. And it's okay. Just let's not waste any more time talking about her."

Bella nodded, smiling, and finished the sandwich.

Paul was confident that all would be well. Although it wasn't ideal, they would be okay.

AN

So that was the wrap-up for this story. I guess it was pretty sudden; I hadn't planned it to be the last chapter when I started writing it. But don't worry, there will be an epilogue, which is well on its way to being finished. I will most likely post it during the weekend if I have time to finish it.

Give me your thoughts.