"So..." Paul began, his voice raspy. "Are we good now?"

I loosened my hold on him, a little embarrassed at how tightly I was clinging to him. "Yeah," I replied softly, untangling my fingers from the belt loops on his jeans. "I got a little carried away."

He met my gaze and gave me a lopsided smile. "Maybe we need some ground rules?"

I frowned and nodded as I backed away from him. "That would be a good idea," I replied, already missing his arms around me.

He pulled me back into his arms and I hid my smile by lowering my gaze. "Maybe we could help each other out," he suggested.

My mind immediately went straight into the gutter. "Like friends with benefits?"

He laughed that warm laugh that made me smile so hard I couldn't hide it. "That wasn't what I had in mind...but," he paused and ran his tongue over his teeth and his eyes went dark. "Anyway...what was I saying?"

"Friends with benefits?" I reminded him, trying to stifle a giggle.

"Yeah," he nodded, then shook his head. "No that wasn't what I meant." He guided me over to the bed and we sat on the edge. "I was just thinking that...since you wanna work on learning to trust men again and you do enjoy the affection, then I could help you with that. And won't push you for more than you're ready for."

"And what do you want me to do...for you in return?"

"Well," he paused to brush my hair over my shoulder. "I was thinking that being around you has been good for me. You keep me calmer and maybe you could teach me some things."

"Like what?" I asked, raising my eyebrows expectantly.

"Not that, Rach!" he blushed. "I know how to do that. It's all the other stuff I suck at."

"Like what?"

Paul shrugged and glanced away. "I just don't know how to talk to girls. I can get them into bed...but talking about feelings and shit. No I can't do that, I just push them away."

"You? No way! You would never..." I teased.

"Very funny," he replied as he tickled my sides.

"Stop!" I squealed, pushing him back onto the bed and pinning his hands to the mattress. "You give up?" I challenged, my long hair dangling over his face.

His breathing sped up and his eyelids are grew heavy. Then I realized I was straddling him. Wow, Rachel, why don't you torture him some more? "Sorry," I murmured, releasing his hands and sitting up to give him some space.

That's when I felt him underneath me. He was hard and I gasped in response. "Oh, God. I'm sorry," I apologized again, scrambling to climb off of him.

He gripped my hips tightly and held me still. "No, I'm sorry. Pablo kind of has a mind of his own."

"Pablo?" I snickered.

"Yeah," he sighed. "I think he likes you."

Paul sat up and I wrapped my legs around his waist. "Maybe we need a safe word?" he suggested.

"Pablo?" I suggested playfully.

He dipped me back, threatening to drop me on the floor. I grabbed the back of his neck in order to keep from falling. "Paul, quit!"

He jerked me back to an upright position, our lips mere inches apart. "You are never to tell anyone about Pablo, understand? Pick another word."

"Jailbait," I teased, letting my tongue peek out from between my teeth.

"No!" he argues, dipping me back again, my hair brushing the floor.

"Cheesecake!" I squealed.

He pulled me up, slower this time. "Cheesecake?"

"My favorite dessert," I explained.

"Okay. That works for me. And we'll use it when..."

"The sexual tension becomes too much?" I suggested, absently toying with the hairs at the nape of his neck.

"That's...good," he murmured, his eyes drifting closed for a second.

I ran my fingers through his hair and pulled gently. He growled softly. "So I'm not the only one who likes their hair played with, huh?" I teased.

When I raked my fingers over his scalp, he declared, "Cheesecake!"

I laughed when he dipped me back to the floor. I gripped his forearms and squeezed when he didn't bring me back up. "Just say the safe word and I'll pull you back up!"

"No!" I argued. "I can stay here all day."

"Stubborn ass," he breathed, pulling me back into his arms.

I held him closely and buried my nose in the crook of his neck. When I inhaled deeply, he whispered, "Did you just sniff my hair?"

I chuckled lightly and lied, "No."

"What do I smell like?" he mused, knowing that I lied.

I took another whiff and sighed, "Fresh cut wood, salty air from the beach, and...something sweet...cookies maybe?"

He laughed and squeezed me tightly. "Cookies sound really good," he murmured as his stomach growled loudly.

"You should've eaten that sandwich I made for...Jake."

"I knew that wasn't for me," he smirked.

"I didn't even know you were here. Wait, why are you here?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"No."

Paul stood up and I reluctantly unhooked my legs from behind his back, sliding down his body. He squeezed his eyes closed when my body brushed over his ever present erection. "I wanted to see you," he finally said.

"Maybe you should use the safe word for...um Pablo down there. You could give me a warning if I'm making it...too hard for him," I suggested.

He smirked at me and nodded. "Well, if you can't feel that you're making it too hard for him...then we have a problem." He winked at me and I rolled my eyes.

"Well yeah, when I'm pressed up against you, I feel it," I paused to cross the room and face him again. "But if we're not touching each other and let's say, I'm across the room, then you could say it."

Paul nibbled on his lower lip. "You think you can get Pablo's attention from the other side of the room?"

I shrugged, wondering if I was assuming too much. "No?"

He approached me and reached for my hand. "You always have his attention, Rachel. Always."

I smiled a little as he took my hand in his and guided me to the door. He pulled the door open to find Jacob standing there. "Were you listening at the door?" I accused.

Jacob ignored me. "So you're back...yay!" he commented sarcastically.

"Hey, smartass, he's here chopping wood, which is your chore by the way!" He slammed his bedroom door before I could finish my tirade.

"It's not a big deal, Rachel. I just told Billy I'd help out since I was waiting for you to come home. And I should get back to it."

"Thanks."

He tossed me an appreciative glance, his eyes scanning my body. "Hey, Rachel?"

"Yeah?"

Paul winked at me as he opened the front door and sighed, "Cheesecake."

"What the hell does that mean?"

I jumped when I heard Jacob's voice behind me. "Jesus, Jake."

"Cheesecake?" he echoed.

"Inside joke," I murmured, hiding my smile from my brother.

Jacob followed me into the kitchen as I pulled ingredients from the fridge and began preparing tonight's dinner in the crockpot. He continued to stare at me. "What?"

"You're not gonna tell me what that means?" he pressed.

"Are you really gonna let Paul chop all that wood that Dad has been asking you to take care of for three weeks now?"

"Is he really gonna keep hanging out here everyday?"

"I can have guests over, Jake! I don't need your permission to have a friend over. You don't ask me if Embry or Quil can come over. Hell, they damn near live here. I cook for them and clean up after you guys constantly..."

"And you bitch about it constantly..."

"Wouldn't you? I didn't come home to be your maid and cook!"

"But you did come home to screw around with Paul Lahote? Seriously, Rachel?" Jacob accused angrily.

"What is your deal? You are like a broken record with this shit. Why?" I demanded.

"Forget it!"

I reached for his arm, forcing him to face me. "What's wrong?"

Jacob clenched his jaw and scowled. After taking a deep breath, he finally said, "Me and Dad haven't seen you in two years. You work all the time and you spend every spare minute with him. How fair is that?"

I sighed and pulled my bratty brother into a hug. "I miss you, Rachel. I want to spend time with you with you while you're home from school. See how easy that is to say, Jake?"

He finally relaxed and hugged me back. I heard him laughing and it finally felt right between us again. "I'm sorry we haven't hung out much since I've been home, but we can fix that tonight, okay?"

"I'd like that," he admitted. "I guess I should go help him with that wood, huh?"

"Yes, you should." I smiled as he trotted off.

~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~

"Do you guys want some cookies?" I asked, offering a plate to Quil and Embry.

"Oh yeah! Thanks, Rachel," Quil gushed, grabbing a handful.

"Watch the crumbs!" Jacob scolded, earning an appreciative nod from me.

Jacob and I had planned on doing movie night alone, but we let Embry and Quil join in too. We had all enjoyed dinner together and now we were settling in to watch The Fast and The Furious.

"Cookie?"

Paul smiled and took the whole plate from me. "Looks good."

He was sprawled all over the couch, not leaving me much space to join him. "Move over."

"No way," he argued, reaching for me and pulling me down to join him. I turned over with my back to his chest and I snuggled against him. He held the plate of cookies and I took one.

"These are good," he murmured into my ear. I turned my head toward the sound of his voice. He kissed the sensitive skin on my neck and he nibbled my earlobes. I scraped my nails over his thighs and whispered, "Cheesecake."

"Ooh you made cheesecake, Rachel? That sounds really good!" Embry commented, eliciting laughs from me and Paul and a scowl from Jacob.

"Are you ever gonna tell me what that means?" Jacob grumbled.

"No!" I chuckled as Paul tickled my sides.