I woke up before the sun rose but waited so that Isabella could sleep a little longer. Then I left at sunrise, running home in wolf form.
If my reason for going to Forks was to help her sleep, I couldn't go around watching her masterbate and sniffing her car seat.
YOU DID WHAT NOW? Sam asked.
Oh shit! Sam was in the pack mind. What was he even doing here? He didn't have patrol for ages. I phased to human. I'd just run home like this. It was Sunday anyway. The only thing I had scheduled was a patrol at 8:00 am.
As I was running, I noticed a black wolf keeping pace with me a few yards away. I stopped short.
"What do you want, Sam?"
He phased beside me. "Things are getting exciting, huh, Paul?"
"I don't know what you mean," I said. I didn't want to talk to him about this.
"You've seen her masturbating?"
"That was an accident! I just wanted to see what book she was reading. I didn't expect her to be masturbating."
"So what book was she reading?"
I grinned. "I don't know, man. I couldn't read the title."
"I bet."
"No, the angle of the book was wrong so I couldn't see the letters clearly. I really wanted to know what book she was reading."
"Hey, what book is Anna reading?" Sam asked.
I furrowed my brows. "What are you talking about? I have no fucking clue if she even reads."
"Yeah, that's what I thought." Sam said that like it was supposed to mean something to me.
"Does Emily read?" I asked.
"Yes, she does."
"What book is she reading right now?" I asked.
"I forget what it's called but it's a romance novel. It's about an outcast woman who reunites with her ex, who is also a Duke and… why do you ask?"
I sighed. "Why are the spirits convinced that our soul mates are all sweet girls who read raunchy romance novels?"
Sam smiled. "I don't know but it's a winning combination."
"How did you handle it, Sam, when Emily wanted nothing to do with you?"
"Paul, there is no reason to think that Isabella will respond the way that Emily did. Emily's response was entirely because she was friends with Leah."
"Still, how did you handle it?" I asked.
"Badly. I saw her masterbate a few times too, and then she started keeping her curtain shut. She wouldn't talk to me. Sometimes I'd leave her alone for a few days to see if it would help but the sleep deprivation made us both crazy. Don't let it get to that place if you can help it."
"How do I help it?"
"For one, talk to her more than you watch her masterbate," Sam advised with a smirk. "Think of kind gestures you could do for her. Let her know you're thinking about her without creeping her out. Maybe ask Jared. Or Emily. She'll tell you what I did right and how I won her over."
"How did you win her over?"
"I tore her face off and tried to kill myself."
"Is that a joke? Because that's not funny."
"It's not a joke. It's not funny. You know I caused her scarring by phasing too close. I took it pretty hard, but I was not physically able to kill myself at the time."
I took in a few deep breaths. "Ok, I will not do any of that."
"Yeah, don't."
"Instead, I'm going to try to find natural ways to talk to her, sleep in the woods behind her house, and try to think of sweet things I can do to show her I care."
"Yeah, and talk to Emily," Sam added.
"I was going to go while you were on patrol."
"Ah," Sam rubbed his temple. "I'd rather you did it while I was there. I don't like Emily being alone with other men."
"That's a little possessive, Sam," I teased.
"Ok, I see your point," he said. "I was going to go visit Isabella today, have a one-on-one chat about how she's doing after being left in the woods. You cool with that?"
I was snarling and I had no control over it. "Yeah, that's fine," I said through gritted teeth.
Sam laughed. "Cool. So you can come over for lunch with Emily and me. If I don't see you before 2:00 pm, I'll assume you're coming to see Emily while I'm on patrol. Then I'll go visit your Isabella alone."
"You're the fucking worst."
I ran home and ate breakfast, then I did my patrol. I was at Sam Uley's house by 11:30.
"Paul, I heard you imprinted!" Emily greeted me warmly.
"I did, yeah, two days ago."
"What does she think of you being a werewolf?" Emily asked curiously.
"She doesn't know that. Was I supposed to tell her that, Sam?"
"Eventually, yeah." Sam gestured for me to sit down at the kitchen table with him. "I wasn't kidding about needing to talk to her. I was just hoping it was something we could do together."
I sat and asked, "So you plan to tell her about the pack?"
"No, not necessarily. I plan to ask her what she knows about the Cullens. She might not have even known he was a vampire."
"Hard to believe if she was getting frisky with him."
Sam chuckled. "It's hard to believe that she was getting frisky with a vampire. Wouldn't it have killed her?"
I thought about that. She was alive. I couldn't imagine a vampire being able to maintain control long enough to fuck her without killing her. "Still, when they kissed and he touched her, he must have been ice cold."
"So I want to know what she knows and what she'll admit to. Then we'll go from there."
"And you want to do that today?"
"Unless you have plans? Is Anna stopping by again?"
"Shut the fuck up." I turned to Sam's fiance. "Emily, I was hoping to get your perspective on the imprint early on."
Emily was puttering around the kitchen, making our lunch. "You know my perspective is distorted because of everything with Leah, right?"
"Yeah, Kim said Isabella's response will be somewhere between hers and yours, so I want to know yours."
"I was obviously attracted to him right away. I mean, look at him." She ran her fingers through his hair as she walked by. He was almost purring at the touch.
"Obviously," I winked at Sam.
"But sometimes being attracted to someone isn't enough," Emily continued. "Leah was my best friend, and I loved her dearly. I still do. I wanted her happiness more than my own. Even when I wanted Sam, I wanted him to go back to her more. It wasn't until… well, I realized he wanted to end his life. I wanted him alive above all. Being with him was the best way to ensure that happened. I lost Leah in the process though."
"So you wanted to be with him? It wasn't just an unrequited crush? Or were you coerced and manipulated by his suicide attempt?"
"I wanted to be with him," Emily said without hesitation. "Almost from the beginning I wanted to be with him. But he was with Leah. Then he dumped Leah and it was such a mess. I loved him from the start though. I think that's what you wanted to know, right? I'm sure your Isabella is feeling the same way."
I scoffed. "She doesn't even know me. And if she did know me, she wouldn't like me at all. How can she possibly love me unless she is being coerced into it by the imprint voodoo?"
Sam looked me in the eye. "Are you being coerced to care about her?"
"It doesn't feel like it." I took a sip of the water Emily had put down for me. "It feels like it is me making these choices. But these aren't the choices I would have made a week ago so I really don't know at all."
"If the imprint pushes you two together and it makes you both happy, what's the problem?"
"I don't know, is it real love?"
Emily and Sam both stifled a laugh. Emily asked, "what is real love?"
"I don't have a fucking clue," I admitted.
"Good answer," Sam said. "Me neither, but I know it when I've found it." He kissed the palm of Emily's hand.
"I can give you a definition if you'd like," Emily said. "One of my books has a definition on the dust jacket."
"That might be helpful, Emily."
She got up and ran to her bedroom. She came back with a book with a long-haired man on the cover holding a woman in a flowing dress. It was one of those romance books.
She started reading from the dust jacket. "True love is never just lust; it is a mutual romantic affection that is pure and wholly positive."
"Ok, thank you, Emily," I said a little sadly. "I'm not sure that's us though. There's nothing mutual about what's going on with us. She wasn't sleeping in the woods behind my house last night to help me sleep."
"If she knew it would help you, she might do it." Emily said kindly. "I'd do that for Sam in a heartbeat." Sam smiled at her and she kissed the top of his head.
"That's a nice thought. I'd rather have Isabella in my bed, though."
"Maybe she'd do that too if she knew it was what you wanted," Emily suggested kindly.
"I kind of doubt that," I said.
Emily set down all the food. Sam and I were too busy eating to say another word for some time. Then there was no food left to eat.
I asked, "Sam, when were you thinking of visiting her?"
"Emily made pie, then we'll go."
"Emily made pie?" This was good news. "Is there enough for me?"
"Of course." Emily said, getting up to bring out the pie. "I made an extra so you can take one home."
"A whole pie? Just for me? What flavor?"
"I made apple, blueberry and pumpkin. You can choose which one to take home, then choose which one to share with Sam, then the remaining one will be for Sam."
"Why does he get first pick?" Sam asked, clearly pouting.
"Because I make you pie whenever you want." She ran her fingers up his arm.
I got right to business. "Tell me how you made the blueberry pie. Canned, fresh, or frozen blueberries?"
"Frozen."
"Sold. I'll take that one for myself. Did you use canned for the other two?"
"No, I grow sugar pumpkins in my garden and the apples were fresh."
"Emily, you're making this very difficult," I said. "We'll have the pumpkin now. That's pretty special, that you grew the pumpkin yourself."
The pumpkin pie was amazing, perfectly spiced.
I held the blueberry pie in my lap as Sam drove us to the Swan residence.
Isabella's red truck was there but the police cruiser was gone.
Sam was surprised to see me carry the pie with me to the door. "It's safe in my car, Paul. I will not steal it."
"I know," I said. "I want to see if Isabella wants some."
"How generous of you," Sam said dryly.
Isabella opened the door. She was wearing yoga pants and a tank top. She looked edible.
"Paul!" Her face split into a grin, "and, um, I'm sorry, I forgot your name," she said, looking up at Sam.
"Sam Uley," he extended his hand for a hand shake.
She shook it. "You're the one who found me, right?"
Sam nodded.
"Come in, come in." She opened the door wide for us. "Is that a pie?"
"Blueberry," I said. "I was curious if you really did like berries or if that was just a line."
"Why would that be a line?" She asked, scowling at me a little but in a playful way. "What would I gain from falsely stating that I like berries?"
"Berries are very popular, Isabella. It's generally frowned upon to dislike something so popular."
"So you thought I lied to prevent my popularity from plummeting?" There was some sass in her voice and I loved it.
"I never accused you of lying. Trust but verify. That's all I'm doing. Will you have some pie?"
"Only if you two have some with me. I don't enjoy eating alone."
"I'll have some. Sam's not hungry." I grinned at Sam. He was not grinning back.
We followed her into the kitchen. She cut a sliver for herself and a large wedge for me.
"Isabella, I was hoping to see you eat more than that," I said, pointing to her plate with my fork.
"You like the idea of feeding me, huh?"
"I might," I admitted.
"Is that why you've been leaving me granola bars?"
"It could be."
"So it was you in the tree last night?"
"I plead the fifth. But if it was me, it was only because I wanted to see what book you were reading. I wasn't trying to creep on you."
She got up and went into the living room. I followed her, feeling like I owed her an apology.
She grabbed something from the coffee table and turned around, walking right into me. I grabbed her by the waist to hold her steady.
Both of our hearts were beating so fast.
"I didn't hear you following me," she whispered looking up into my face, now only inches from hers.
"I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to apologize."
"Apologize?"
"For last night. It was inexcusable."
"I was just … I came in here so I could show you what book I was reading. All you have to do is ask."
"So you're not pissed at me?"
"No." She shook her head lightly. "I was worried about you. You could have stuck around to let me know you were ok."
"I'm ok," I said, gently pulling her body flush against mine. This felt right.
"Good."
"You would have let me stick around after that?" I brushed my palm across her cheek. I wanted to kiss her so bad.
"Yeah, you fell out of the tree. I was ready to call 911."
With my hand, I was angling her face up toward mine. "That's so kind of you. Next time I fall out of your tree, I'll stick around so you can tend to my wounds."
She cocked her head a little without pulling away. "Why does it sound dirty when you say that?"
I brought my mouth closer to hers so I could feel her breath on my lips. Blueberries. Her breath smelled like blueberries. "You must be projecting." I moved my mouth closer still, almost touching my lips to hers.
Sam loudly cleared his throat from the doorway. Fucking cock blocker! I thought he wanted me to have her.
Isabella pulled back from me a little and I straightened my back. "Yes, Sam," I said, clearly irritated.
"I was thinking we might want to discuss the reason for our visit."
"Wasn't it the pie?" I asked.
Sam shook his head. Isabella giggled. She grabbed me by the hand and brought me back to the kitchen. I really liked how she dragged me around like this. It made me feel like I was under her thumb and it was so hot.
We all sat around the kitchen table.
"Isabella, we have some concerns about the way the Cullens treated you," Sam began.
"It's Bella." I felt sucker punched. I had been calling her Isabella this whole time.
"Ok, Bella," Sam said, "we have some concerns-"
"What does it matter now?" She asked. "They're gone."
"It matters because we have an agreement with them and we want to make sure they didn't break it." Sam continued.
"The treaty? Yeah, I know about that."
"They told you?" Sam asked, beginning to get angry.
"No, Jacob told me."
"Jacob Black?" Sam clarified.
"Yeah, we're friends."
"You're friends with Jacob Black?" I was a little jealous now.
"Yeah," she was getting defensive now. "I've known him forever. We practically grew up together. He's like a little brother to me. And he told me some of your old stories, superstitions he called them."
"But you must have noticed that your boyfriend was actually cold," I said, "when he kissed you, when you made love?"
"I don't want to talk about that stuff with you guys. He dumped me and left me for dead in the forest. I'm looking for someone a little warmer next time around." She glanced at me and then quickly glanced away. "Is that all you came here for?"
"One more thing," Sam said, "did any of them hurt you while they were here? Other than dumping you and leaving you for dead in the forest?"
She let out a light laugh. "Other than that, no, not at all. Well… uh, no." She was lying.
Sam and I exchanged a look. He knew she was lying too.
"So what's the book, Bella?" I asked. "You said you'd show me."
Her voice was suddenly tender. "Paul, I like it when you call me Isabella."
I nodded, relieved. "What's the book, Isabella?"
She shivered a little at her name. She handed me the book. "You can borrow it. But it's a library book so don't lose it."
I picked it up. "Ok, thank you." I looked at the front with the lovers in an intimate embrace. Then I read the excerpts on the back.
"Are we ready to go, Paul?" Sam asked me.
"Oh, sure." I stood, book in hand.
"Don't forget your pie," Bella reminded me, standing up to hand it to me.
"Oh that's for you," I said. Sam stared at me in disbelief.
She laughed. "There's no way my dad and I will finish the pie before it goes bad. You should take it."
"Maybe you should invite someone over to help you eat it, someone with an appetite." I said, stepping toward her again.
"Do, uh… Do you want to come over after school tomorrow and help me eat it?"
"I could do that. What time do you get home from school?"
"I'm home by 3:00 pm."
"It's a date." I said, brushing my hand on her cheek again.
"Paul!" Sam called, "I've got to get to work soon."
"I'm on my way." I kissed her cheek, breathing in the scent of her hair. "I'll see you tomorrow." I whispered as I pulled away.
I jogged after Sam, book in hand. He looked like he was ready to leave without me.
"Why didn't you let me kiss her?"
"Did you really want me there for your first kiss?"
"No! But I really wanted to kiss her even more."
"Maybe on your date tomorrow. I don't think you have anything to worry about with her. She's definitely into you."
"You think so?" I asked hopefully.
"Uh, yeah, Paul, you two have good chemistry."
"Is that what chemistry is? Like how we can talk about nothing but it's still fun and kind of sexy."
"That's exactly what chemistry is. Have you never had that before?"
"No, never. When I've talked to girls before it's all just innuendo and foreplay. Sam, does it get boring, being with the same girl?"
"Nope. You kind of try to master each other's bodies and it just gets better and better."
"That sounds nice."
"Does it feel like it's going to get boring?"
"No! I kind of adore her already. Although I don't like that she's friends with Jacob Black."
"Because he'll be alpha one day?" Sam was kind of obsessed with the alpha shit, who the rightful alpha is, who the best alpha would be. I didn't think it really mattered.
"No! He probably won't even phase now that the Cullens are gone." I explained, "It's because he's a weaselly little twerp who will try to undermine whatever Isabella and I have together."
"Fair point. So you got yourself a date."
"I did. I've never been on a date."
"It's just going to her house for pie." Sam said calmly. "It'll be like today except that I won't be there."
"So I can finally kiss her." I sighed.
"Finally? You've known her for two days!"
"I know, it's like a record. Hey, has Emily read this book?" I held it up for him.
"Yeah, it's about-"
"No spoilers."
"You're actually going to read it?"
"Of course. I have until Wednesday to finish it."
"Why Wednesday?" Sam asked.
"That's when I'm meeting her at the library."
"She invited you to the library too?"
"No," I said. "She and Kim hang out at the library and Kim invited Jared and me to come too."
Sam groaned. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into."
"That's why I need to finish the book. So I can find out."
"Good luck with that."
I opened the book and started reading while Sam drove. He dropped me off at my house.
Anna's scent lingered around the front door. I took a look around, not wanting to give away the location of my key. Slowly, I walked around the house. I could smell her on all the windows. She had tried to break in!
When I got back to the front door, I called out, "Anna, want to come in?" while stealthily grabbing my key.
"Yes," she came out of the woods. "I've been craving some make up sex."
"Stay back! Don't touch me." I felt like one of those priests in the movies trying to ward off evil spirits. "You need to know that it's never going to happen. I don't want you anymore. I'm not saying that to hurt you. You just need to let me go. I'm not interested in continuing what we had and I never will be. Please don't try to break into my house again or I will definitely call the cops."
"Why are you being so cruel to me?"
"Cruel? Just go find someone else! There are plenty of men out there that want to fuck you. I'm just not one of them."
She huffed and walked away. I went into my house. I wanted to read the book while lying in bed, maybe while masturbating like Isabella did. But when I lay down on the bed, the smell of skanky women overwhelmed me. I needed a new mattress.
I went online and ordered one. It would arrive by the end of the week.
I read on the couch. I could easily masterbate and read at the same time sitting on the couch. Mostly I was thinking of Isabella's hand in her pants, how her jeans were unzipped, what I would have done if I were in the room. She was so fucking hot.
I read until I was too hungry to go on. Then I stopped and made myself supper. I made a big pasta Alfredo loaded with chicken. I continued reading while I ate. The book was good, gripping for sure. It wasn't one that I'd pick out myself but it was a fun read.
Around 9:00 pm I made the short run to Forks. The first thing I did was put a granola bar on Isabella's seat in the truck. Then I walked around the house to make sure she was safe. Charlie was watching TV in the living room. Again, Isabella was reading in bed.
I did not climb the tree. I went to the clearing and laid down to sleep. The sky was clear tonight. I watched the stars until I fell asleep.