"I like it when you laugh."

Her eyes snapped up to meet those chocolate/amber orbs. He wasn't flirting and he wasn't joking. He did have a small smile on his face, as if he were content that she was happy.

"I don't laugh very often." "We'll have to fix that. That's probably the best sound in the whole world."

Paul looked down, a small dot of red coloring his cheeks. Nina's blush was brilliant scarlet.

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Paul needed to watch himself. He was toeing the line pretty closely with all the compliments and if he didn't watch it he would cross the lines Nina had drawn so clearly between them. And that would be the end of everything.

He cleared his throat, "Well, I'd better get to the store before the rain picks up again. Emily's waiting on me." "Oh, sure."

Did she seem disappointed? She bit her lip as she hesitated and Paul didn't turn away from her, he couldn't if he'd wanted to.

"Hey, do you want a ride? My house isn't far from here and I need to pick up a few things anyway."

Paul couldn't answer right away. She kept surprising him.

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Nina blushed again as Paul just stared at her. Why was she so awkward? He clearly wanted to leave now.

"You don't have to, I just thought you might want to get out of the rain or something."

He continued to stare at her and she turned scarlet as she turned away and started heading back to her house. "Never mind! I'll leave you to it."

Then Paul was beside her, reaching out to stop her. His stare was intense and focused as he said with all the sincerity he could muster, "I would love a ride. Thanks."

Nina's blush went from pink to scarlet again and she tried to smile as she led the way to her empty house and struggled to determine what the hell was wrong with her.

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Paul could not believe his luck.

This day had started off so...tragic. He had been absolutely positive that Henry would insist that he stay away from Nina. That's what Paul would have done in his place. He had been quite certain that he would never see her again...aside from when he stalked her. For her protection, of course.

Now he was following her into her house and grinning like an idiot as she ran around all flustered looking for a clean towel.

They were both soaking wet from the rain and Paul was creating a puddle in the doorway, not wanting to track mud or anything through her fucking PRISTINE house. Seriously, he hadn't noticed the last time he was here because he was so upset, but the place was immaculate.

Everything was shining and white. There wasn't a speck of dirt anywhere. There were no dirty dishes or clothes laying around. The magazines on the coffee table were displayed neatly. Hell, even the trash was empty and smelled of cleaner.

Paul suddenly felt extremely unworthy. He felt dirty and like he was going to ruin something just by standing there.

He wasn't used to this. A home shouldn't feel so...clinical.

His house had never been welcoming but he had never worried about smudging something either.

Emily and Sam's house was probably the most relaxing and inviting place on earth. You immediately felt warm and welcome when you walked in their door. It wasn't perfect by any means, there were always too many people and not enough seats. It wasn't spotless (it couldn't be with all of the wolves traipsing in and out) and something was always cooking.

This was...sterile. Cold.

How did she live like this? Was she one of those people who had to have everything just so? What was it called? Obsessive-Compulsive.

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Nina let them into the house and quickly ran to get towels.

She typically preferred a hot shower after being drenched but she would worry about herself after Paul was dry and warm.

She came out of the guest bathroom with the largest towels she could find and offered them to him. He hesitated before reaching out and accepting a towel from the stack in her arms. He was very careful as he patted himself dry and then he looked at the floor and at the towel and seemed to panic for a moment as Nina dried her hair.

"Do you have a mop?"

Nina's brow furrowed as she considered Paul's question. Of course she had a mop but why did he need it?

"Yes?"

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Paul was so worried that he was going to break something or stain something that he almost couldn't bring himself to accept the towel Nina was offering. But then he saw the ever-growing puddle and realized she would probably have a bigger issue with water damage. Still, he was careful as he used the ridiculously soft WHITE towel to dry the water from his skin and hair.

When he was as dry as he was going to get while still wearing the soaking shorts and t-shirt he looked at the puddle surrounding him.

At home or at Emily's he would just use the towel to get up as much water as he could and let the rest air dry. There was no way he was using her towel as a mop.

A mop! "Do you have a mop?" He looked up at her with desperate hope in his eyes.

She looked hesitant and a little confused as she replied, "Yes?"

Paul grinned magnificently and gestured at the puddle growing around them both. "I'll get this mopped up and you can go change into something dry. If you want."

He stuttered over the end of his declaration, realizing at the last second that she may not be comfortable changing with him in the house. Even if she could lock him out while she did so.

Paul wanted to kick himself for being so stupid sometimes.

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"Oh! Don't worry about it. I'll clean it up." and she stopped wringing out her hair to go and look for the mop.

Nina considered what it must look like to Paul, how unseemly! She tried to keep everything clean and organized so Henry could be proud of his home and his wife. Besides, it wasn't like she had anything else to do all day besides clean.

She berated herself some more as she left muddy little footprints down the hall to the closet and retrieved the mop. She should have towels handy for visitors, and a rug in the entry...

She grabbed the mop and bucket quickly and hurried back to where Paul was standing looking distraught. She got to work immediately, hesitating only long enough for him to blush and step aside so she could mop where he'd been standing.

"I am so sorry about that! I should have placed the mop in the hall closet for when it rains, especially because it's always raining."

She tried a sheepish smile on him, hoping he could forgive her thoughtlessness. She couldn't quite understand the look on his face and she quickly turned back to the task at hand.

Nina didn't want to keep him from his errand by taking the time to properly mop. She would have to satisfy herself that Henry wouldn't be home that night and no one else was likely to surprise her by visiting before she had the chance to get things back in order. So she got up as much of the water as she could and then told Paul, "I'll just put on some dry clothes real quick and we can go."

She didn't look at him again as she disappeared down the hall.

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Paul tried not to stare as Nina scampered off to what must be her bedroom to change. He really tried.

He was still pretty wet and he didn't want to make a mess by sitting down. Then he noticed the little muddy tracks from her sneakers and smiled. Then he frowned at the rest of the pristine house. He knew this must be bothering her.

Paul picked up the mop and got to work. When he was done he put the mop back in the hall closet and prepared to wait. He wasn't worried about Emily or how long he was taking. He would wait for his imprint as long as she needed.

But she was quick about it and appeared in the hallway a scant few minutes after she'd disappeared down it, looking flushed and hurried but wearing dry clothes and ready to go.

"Sorry I took so long. Are you ready to go?" Paul couldn't help the smile on his face as she came towards him any more than she could help the blush. "That was quick! Emily takes forever to get ready." he rolled his eyes gently in an effort to get her to join in his joke and relax a bit.

He turned to open the door for her and realized there was an absolutely torrential downpour happening outside.

Paul wasn't averse to the rain but he didn't want Nina driving in it. No way. He would walk.

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Paul is always so nice. Nina thought as she followed him to the door. He didn't make her feel bad about taking so long changing clothes and he even moved to open the door for her.

Then he stopped, blocking the exit.

Nina soon learned why. She peered around his bulky figure to see the river her driveway had become and looked up at the ever-darkening sky seeing no end to the downpour.

She wouldn't let him walk anywhere in this kind of weather. She was suddenly very grateful she had made the offer to drive him. She would have felt truly awful if she thought he was out in this mess.

But it was coming down pretty heavy. She could barely see the flash of her car's headlights as she used the remote start to get it warmed up. Was it really safe to drive in this? Could she convince him to stay and wait it out?

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Nina clicked the remote start on her key chain and Paul could dimly see the flash of lights. Barely.

No way was he letting her drive in this.

He turned, blocking the door before she could slip past him into the downpour. She looked up at him with a confused look on her face and he melted. She was so cute!

"It's pouring cats and dogs out there. Don't worry about driving me. I'd hate for something to happen to you. I'll just walk back to Emily's, it's closer."

She looked upset. Why was she upset?

"We could wait it out."

She was hesitant as she mumbled the words. But then she looked back up at him with determination. Paul could not help the utter Glee.

She would be safe and he could stay with her. She couldn't be more perfect unless she were single.

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"We could wait it out." Nina was worried he would insist on walking back to Emily's. In which case she would absolutely insist on driving him. No matter how uncomfortable confrontation made her.

She finally looked up at him, and squared her shoulders and straightened her spine for the argument she was sure he would make. But she looked up into a big goofy grin and those amber eyes...

She had to shake her head and step back from him. She busied herself with turning off the car so she wouldn't have to look at that perfect smile.

He hadn't said anything, but the smile gave him away. It was obvious to anyone on the planet that he would like nothing more than to stay and wait out the storm with her.

"Are you sure it's okay?" he looked worried when she looked back up at him, like he'd over stepped his bounds or was worried she might get in trouble if he did stay.

"Of course it is. I'll get you something dry to change in to while I clean up the mess I made." and she turned to do just that when she noticed that there were no more muddy tracks on her floor. The mop was nowhere in sight. She looked back up at him quickly and caught the sheepish smile on his face.

"I already cleaned things up a little bit. I didn't like the idea of you coming home to clean up a mess I'd left. I put the mop in the hall closet."

Nina didn't know whether to be grateful or mortified. She couldn't help the mortification. A guest in her home had thought it necessary to clean! She could never redeem herself. But as she looked around at the spotless floor she couldn't help the surge of gratitude that he had thought of her and done something to be helpful.

"You didn't have to do that. I would have cleaned it up. I'm the one who tracked mud all over the place." "It's no big deal. I didn't mind. And you wouldn't have tracked mud everywhere if you hadn't been worried about getting me a towel."

It was true. If she had come in alone all covered in mud she would have stripped at the door and thrown her things immediately into the wash. But still...

"Thank you very much. I appreciate the help." she was blushing with shame and gratitude as she said the words. But Paul just smiled back, seemingly put at ease.

"I'll go grab you some dry clothes." "Thank you."