I groaned when I caught my reflection in the mirror. Going to bed with my hair wet was not a good idea. As I started the shower water, my thoughts drifted back to last night. I sighed as I thought about Paul's magic hands. I was also proud of myself for being brave and going for it with Paul. The whole thing was nothing short of amazing.

If only Paul's ass of a father hadn't been here.

I don't know what he said to Paul, but it sure put him in a foul mood. Luckily our shower had cheered him up a bit. I still wished that Paul would talk to me about his father. Their relationship seemed to be his Achilles heel. And all I wanted was for Paul to be happy.

I was drying my hair in the bathroom by the time he finally woke up. He ducked under the blast of hot air when he passed by me. I glanced over to see him shaking off his dick and flushing the toilet.

"Jesus, Paul. Boundaries?"

"I had to piss and you were hogging the bathroom," he reasoned, while nudging me over to get to the sink.

When I switched off the dryer and brushed out my hair, I found him staring at me. "What's wrong?"

Paul gave me a dreamy smile as leaned against the sink with his hip. He reached for my hair, twisting some between his fingers. "You are really beautiful."

"Oh stop," I told him as I squeezed past him on my way to his room.

He followed me eagerly, spinning me around to face him when I reached into my suitcase for some clothes. I already had a bra and panties on, much to Paul's dismay. He was already trying to unhook my bra.

"No, no, no, Mr. Naughty." I scolded, twisting out of his embrace.

Paul flopped back on his bed, tucked his hands behind his head and pouted. "Why does it look like you're getting ready to go somewhere?"

I slipped a red sweater over my head and scowled at him. "I told you I had to go to Sue Clearwater's for lunch today."

He groaned overdramatically. "Do we really have to go?"

I looked up from buttoning my jeans to find Paul doing a sexy pose on the bed and I nearly choked. "I thought we'd go for round two...I think I still owe you an orgasm."

I covered my mouth and tried to stifle a giggle. "Um...we really need to go soon. I don't think we have time."

"It won't take that long..."

"Oh somehow I doubt that," I smirked.

"It didn't take you that long to come last night..."

"Yeah and it probably would've been even quicker had you not spent all that time teasing me," I reminded him.

He smiled in that devilish way of his. "The teasing is what made it so good. That...and when you got forceful with me." He wagged his middle finger at me and then crooked it at me, urging me to join him on the bed.

"You're so funny!" I paused a beat. "Can I use your phone?"

"To call who?"

"I need to call Kira and see if they've changed our work schedules yet."

"Go ahead."

By the time Paul joined me in the living room, I was almost done with my phone call. "Yeah...I know, Kira...Well I appreciate you trying...Okay, I'll see you soon...Yep...Bye."

I stood at the end of the couch with the cordless phone in my hand still. Paul flopped down on the couch and reached for my hand. "Is everything okay?"

I nodded absently as I returned the phone to it's stand. I scowled at Paul when I realized he had only put on his boxer briefs and still wasn't fully ready. "I told you we have to leave soon."

He pulled me into his lap with my back to his chest. He pushed my hair aside and whispered against my neck. "What did Kira say?"

I sighed as I covered his hands with mine. "She said we both have to work tomorrow night. We can't trade since we have the same shift and no one else wants to work for me. So I have to leave in the morning."

I felt Paul's arms tighten around my waist and I steeled myself for a battle or at the very least, a tantrum. "I have to work tomorrow too. How are you getting home?"

"I think I'll just take the train. It takes longer but then no one will have to drive me."

"I could take you," he offered quietly.

I reached back and smoothed his face with my palm. "You can't. You just said you have to work."

"We can leave tonight."

"You can't do that. You would be too tired to drive home," I reasoned.

Paul shrugged and held me closer. "I could stay at your apartment tonight and leave early tomorrow morning."

I let my head fall back on his shoulder and sighed, "You would do that for me?"

He pressed his lips to my ear and hummed. "I'd do anything just to spend a little more time with you," he breathed, his voice husky and full of desire.

"Is that so?"

He gasped when I pushed his hands down to the button on my jeans. "We're gonna be so late," he warned, even as he unzipped my jeans and slid them down a little.

"I promise it won't take long. " I shuddered when he pushed my panties aside and slid a finger into me. "Oh, Paul," I moaned before angling my face back to steal a kiss from him.

He cursed when he found me slick and ready. While one hand went to work plunging deep inside me, the other slid under my sweater, over my bra, as he began to pinch my nipple. The pain of it shot straight to my core and helped me get there even faster.

I rocked my hips into his hand as the heel made contact and I started to climax. I called out his name as my orgasm slammed into me. I shook so hard in his arms as I clenched around his fingers. He held me so lovingly as I rode it all out to the end. He always seemed to know just what I needed.

When I finally calmed down, I tried to return the favor, but he refused. He said we were even for now and I could make it up to him later. And all that did was make the anticipation absolutely unbearable. I couldn't think of anything but what I would do to him later and how good I could make him feel.

By the time we finally arrived at Sue's for lunch, we were very late. Jacob pointed it out, of course. "This lunch was for you. Can't you even show up on time?"

"Sorry. We...uh...lost track of time," I replied weakly. I glanced over at Paul, who gave me a sexy smile and a wink. Then I looked at Embry, whose face was twitching.

"I think we can all figure out why you were late, Rach," Embry replied, his face serious but his tone was...sad?

Lunch was just as awkward. Paul sat on one side of me and Embry on the other. Leah sat next to Paul and whenever Paul talked to her, Embry talked to me. He was funny and tried making me laugh whenever he could and it made me wonder if Paul was right, did Embry have a crush on me?

I also started to wonder if it was my fault. I thought I was helping him get the girl he wanted at that party last night, but I never dreamed that Embry had feelings for me. I was deep in thought when Rebecca asked me something from the other side of the table. Embry squeezed my knee and got my attention. As I talked to Rebecca, I could feel Embry' s fingers still lingering on my knee. I pushed them aside and shook my head at him.

After lunch, I was too preoccupied to have a conversation with anyone, so I offered to wash the dishes. I was deep in thought when I felt Paul slide in behind me as he added a few more dishes to the sink. I sighed as I leaned back against him and felt his arms encircle me. When he tightened his arms around me, I heard him whisper my name. And that's when I knew it wasn't Paul.

I pushed his arms away and tried to put some distance between us. "Embry, I'm sorry...I thought..."

"I know what you thought," he smirked. "It's okay."

"It's not okay. None of this is," I replied as he reached for my face. "Stop."

He held his hands up. "Fine. I'll stop," he conceded, backing away from me.

"I'm with Paul."

Embry nodded. "For now. Until he hurts you...and he will hurt you, Rachel."

"I love him."

Embry scoffed. "Yeah, okay. Whatever you say."

"Don't don't do that," I replied angrily. "Don't dismiss my feelings for him because suddenly you have a crush."

Embry nodded slowly. "Sorry. I'll...leave you alone," he retorted stiffly.

When he walked away from me, I felt horrible. I reached for his hand, which I realized was a huge mistake. He turned back to me and smiled, like there was some hope. "Embry, don't be mad. We're still friends."

He glanced down at our hands and then back to me. When he leaned closer to me, we heard Paul's voice in the doorway. "Everything okay in here?"

I pulled my hand from Embry's and nodded. "Everything's okay. Right, Embry?"

He pressed his lips together tightly and shrugged. "Whatever you say, Rach." When he passed by Paul, I held my breath, hoping Paul wouldn't start anything. They exchanged a look and Paul sneered at him, but that was all and I let out the breath I'd been holding.

~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~

"You have to leave tonight?"

"I'm sorry, Rebecca. I really tried to get an extra day, but I just couldn't make it work."

She shrugged. "I know you can't help it. I'm just disappointed that we didn't get more time."

When we came back to my dad's, I dreaded telling my family I had to leave. And I hoped that no one would ask me when I'd be back. I hugged Rebecca and promised to stay in better contact with her. She was heading home tomorrow anyway, but it had been a long time since we were both home and it was hard to say goodbye.

I knocked on Jacob's open door and poked my head in. He was sitting on the floor with Quil, playing a video game. Embry was sitting on his bed, leaning against the wall. They looked up at me and Jacob waved me in.

"I just wanted to say goodbye. I'm getting ready to leave."

Jacob nodded and smiled. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow then."

"No, I'm leaving," I replied, stepping into his room. "I'm heading home tonight."

He scowled at me. "Already?"

I shrugged as he stood. "I don't want to."

"Can you wait until tomorrow? Me and dad could take you back to school."

I shook my head quickly. "Paul's gonna take me and drive back in the morning."

Embry stood now, his jaw clenched. "He's spending the night in Seattle with you?"

"Are you jealous?"

Embry kept his gaze trained on me as Paul's voice thundered from the doorway. "Have a safe trip back, Rachel," Embry murmured before pulling me into a hug.

I felt the anger radiating off of Embry when he hugged me. He was clearly trying to piss Paul off. I was about to pull away when Quil and Jacob joined in. I laughed at their bumbling attempt at a group hug. "Okay, guys!"

Embry's hands lingered on my hips a little longer than they should have, prompting Paul to slide in behind me and pull me close. Embry just smirked, knowing he'd gotten under Paul's skin.

Jacob cleared his throat, sensing the obvious tension in the room. "Paul, make sure you take good care of my sister."

Paul squeezed me tighter and I could feel him smiling. "Oh, you know I will," he answered in a not-so-innocent tune. "She's always in good hands with me."

He pressed his lips to my neck, but I twisted away to give Jake one more hug. "Don't forget to use conditioner on this rat's nest," I reminded him, yanking on his hair lightly when he pulled away.

They laughed and I said my goodbyes, trying not to make eye contact with Embry, who I felt already had his hopes up. I didn't like the thought of hurting him and it made me nervous thinking about how Paul and Embry would act around each other with me not here to break up a fight.

I tried to put my doubts aside as Paul and I drove to Seattle. My time with my family was too short, as always. But I'd been working on a plan to bring me back to Paul sooner than later. But it meant shortening our summer and scrapping Spring Break altogether.

Now I just had to tell him.
......

A/N: I think I'm rocking these daily updates, no? Still enjoying the story? Leave me a note and lmk. Thanks!