Chapter 3

A.N. Lemon ahead

They pulled up to a pleasant looking two storey house. Seth rushed to open the car door for her. The rain had drenched his hair, trickling down his chiselled cheeks.

With a cryptic glance, Bella placed her hand in his extended one. He pulled her to her feet and in that same sinous movement slid his palms under her butt and lifted her up into his arms.

Bella gasped. He strode without stopping, climbing the short steps to the door and kicking it open.

"Carrying me over the threshold? Really?" Bella said teasingly. "That's for good girls, Seth. I gave up being good awhile now."

"I know exactly how bad you are, Beast. Good girl or not, you're good for me..." He said, glancing down at her. Bella longed to see his familiar warm dimpled smile but he regarded her seriously.

Bella sighed. Without thinking about it, she reached for him, trailing her fingers along his sturdy jawline. The natural fever of his skin had burned away the cold rain drops.

"You can't know that, Seth." Bella said softly. He continued walking through the living area then moved up the stairs, still cradling her in his arms. He moved into a large bedroom darkened from the lack of light and the rain laden clouds outside. Gently he lowered her down onto the edge of the bed. Walking over to the floor length window, he shoved the curtain aside, letting in the remnants of the dwindling daylight to illuminate the room.

"Tired?" He asked softy, turning to face her.

Bella shook her head silently, biting her lip. Then she remembered who she was now. No longer was she the shy, awkward girl who'd left Forks three years ago. She released her lower lip, glancing around.

"I've never been to your place. Where's your mom...and Leah?"

Seth walked slowly towards her, sliding his tee up his torso before tossing it aside.

"Leah's got a place of her own. And so do I. This isn't the house I grew up in, Bella. It's ours."

"Seth...we have to talk about this." Bella began plaintively. He stepped between her legs, reaching down to cup the slim column of her neck using his delightfully firm thumb to trace along the side until he was brushing the throbbing mark on her skin. Bella tilted her head with a soft sigh to accommodate his touch. Knots of tension dispersed, her shoulders slumping as all her anxiety at returning to Forks unravelled with each firm caress of his long, hot fingers.

"We'll talk, baby." Seth murmured. She could hear the unspoken 'later' in his deep voice. She inhaled an anticipatory breath, nodding.

He grasped her cold palms in his, pulling her up. For a moment, they just held each other close.

"Come, let's wash this rain off you..."

"Yeah..." Bella sighed, "Today was rough..."

Seth looked at her, cocking his head to the side in that way that reminded her of the animal residing within him.

"It was? Hmmm...well, you're going to have a rough night as well..."

He led her to the adjoining bath.

To her surprise, her face flamed at his blatant quip and she had to remind herself that he was less experienced than she was. But damn if he didn't act or show it...

Bella chuckled softly.

"What?" Seth asked.

"You kept saying in Seattle how much I've changed. But you've changed a lot as well."

"For better or for worse?" Seth asked.

"I didn't really know you all that well...when I lived in Forks. But I'd say for better."

Bella's smile slowly disappeared as she remembered all those nights, the nights she hadn't gone out looking for trouble, that she'd spent alone before he'd showed up to find her in Seattle.

"What is it?" Seth asked.

"It's just that...so many nights I cried myself to sleep." Bella said with a shake of her head. "I thought I'd dissolve in my own tears. That I'd stop existing, thought all those tears would dehydrate me of life itself."

He leaned down to press his lips softly to hers. She sighed, and he kissed her deeper, harder, gathering her closer.

She opened her eyes slowly when he raised his lips from hers.

"It'd be at least a hundred times worse for me if you were to leave me, Bella..."

Bella ducked her head, blinking away the moisture that involuntarily sprang to her eyes. Smacking her lips together, she peeped up at him then stared at the tile again. She couldn't say anything to that, couldn't even think of him going through any kind of pain, far more for causing him pain...

Bella slowly released a held in breath, melting against his bare, hot chest. He never moved his arms from around her.

"Alright." Seth said again. He tilted her chin with the tips of his fingers, dark eyes darting between hers. "You're here now. Tell me what you need now, Bella?"

"I need you to fuck me..." Bella said without further preamble.

She was most certain he could feel the accelerated thud of her heart. He bent his head to her again, feeding her soft, sweet kisses, one after the other like the most decadent hors'doeurves. Stoking her hunger for him...

Seth grazed his fingers down the length of her neck.

Then with breath-taking speed encircled his hand around her neck eliciting a gasp from her.

But his touch was light and warm. He backed her towards the shower wall with his hard body, pinning her to the cold tile with a firm press of his hips. He slid one of his hands down her body, drawing away slightly to cup her intimately right at the seam of her pants between her legs. The heel of his hand pressed right on the spot where she already tingled for him, for his complete possession.

"I own this...I'm alpha of your pussy, Bella."

His bold murmur was resolute without an inkling of hesitation. He was so sure, so confident...

And he was one hundred percent right.

The things he did to her, the way he spoke to her made her respond to him as if he held some sort of magical command over her body. A fresh wave of arousal washed through her as if to acknowledge that thought.

"You kept my pussy away from me for too long..." He murmured, lowering his head to sink his teeth into the soft skin at the crook of her neck.

Head falling to the side, a whiskey moan tunnelled through her throat.

He deftly stripped the too many layers of her clothing until she was left in her skimpy panties.

Then his hot body was against hers. He pulled her up into his arms once again. The bathroom sink held her derriere as he laid her down right there. Not feeling the sting of her teeth on her lower lip, she stared up at him as he stood between her parted dangling legs, watching as his lush mouth curved into a sensual smile.

With one gruff movement, he grasped the back of her thighs until her legs were hoisted in the air, exposing every bit of her to his avid eyes.

"Mmmmm, baby...my pussy is so wet..." He murmured, his deep voice rubbing at her senses like how silky smooth sheets would slide against her naked body.

She tasted the firm, tangy abrasiveness of his thumb when he pressed her lower lip, releasing it from the edges of her teeth.

"You love to bite that lip, don't you?" He asked. Leaning forward, he captured her lip between his teeth, pulling then nipping at the reddened plump, tender skin of her bottom lip. Bella gasped against his mouth, arching her back and he slid his tongue between her parted lips.

She gripped his broad shoulders, nails digging into the sculpted, silken flesh as he tongued her mouth hotly.

She lingeringly licked at her lips, drenched from their messy kissing as he dragged his mouth from hers, trailing a molten moist path down her neck. She gasped, her body jerking with each searing swipe of his tongue. When he suckled her nipples roughly, she arched up again.

Tingles made an electrifying dance along her lower tummy when the soft darkness of his hair brushed against her skin there. Those tingles shot down even lower when he nuzzled his hot face between her thighs.

"Been too fucking long..." Seth growled against her and her hips jerked from the vibrating feel of his voice resonating along the smooth, bare flesh of her most intimate lips. Bella was doubly glad now that'd she'd endured that trip to the waxing salon a few days before...

He didn't tease her. He lavished the glistening petals of her flesh with his tongue, seeking out that innermost tight bud that would throb at any given moment just from the thought of him. He pulled at the strings of her control with each suckle of his hot lips. And she came almost instantaneously.

Bella inhaled sharply, head swimming when he lifted her up in his arms with an almost dizzying speed. Her legs were anchored around his waist, the heels of her feet digging into his taut lower back. She gasped, eyes flying open when the cool tile of the wall molded her spine.

Warmth bathed her cheeks from the heat of his gaze and she fully opened her half lidded eyes to take in every glorious, gorgeous feature of his face.

Their eyes were locked together as he rubbed the swollen tip of his hard length right along folds of her flesh still wet from his tongue. He didn't pierce her and there was a teasing glint sparkling in his eyes.

"Do you want me to let you go, Bella?" He murmured. There was no hint of playfulness in his deep voice.

"No...never..." Bella hissed through gritted teeth, moving her hips against him where he held her so effortlessly, just poised right over his stiff, enticing warmth.

"Good. Because I won't." He muttered, sharply tilting his hips forward and driving into her in one smooth upward stroke. The back of her head hit the wall with a dull thud as she arched her neck back but she wasn't even aware, a cry wrenching from her.

He slid one large hot hand between the wall and her back, moving his hand up to cradle her neck and the back of her head from the unapologetic wall.

"You fit into my arms so perfectly, Bella..." He whispered.

"And you fit me..." Bella sighed. "...so right..."

"Mmmm...yeah..." He breathed out. His back muscles moved sinuously under her fluttery hands when he slid almost all the way out of her then thrust back in, blossoming a flurry of sparks throughtout her entire body.

Then he did it again.

The rhythm of their bodies came together in a symphony of slapping skin and breathless moans and whimpers.

He licked at the droplets of sweat trailing the side of her face like a man possessed of unquenching thirst, slamming into her without pause as he held her in his arms.

Bella flexed her legs around his throbbing, hard body, sinking her nails into the taut, slick skin of his back.

"Wet my cock, baby..." The hot, rasping tone of voice right by her ear was a command, one she couldn't deny...

She clung tightly to him where he filled her so completely. His driving thrusts steered her, prodded her with indescribable pleasure, puncturing all the need she held for him like a dam deconstructed.

With a choked moan, she burst around him.

The splashing sound of her essence as it hit the floor echoed around them. Bella cried out, her words incoherent even to her...

"Yes...yes, Bella. Sweet baby...yes...I fucking love you..."

The breathless tone of his voice tapered into a deep tenored moan. The sexiness of his silky voice was quadrupled when he moaned just like that...

She could feel the rush as he flooded her, could feel her insides flame with the searing onslaught of his heat.

For this moment, she couldn't remember why she ever wanted to leave...

Being with him, the night seemed to fly past like the shooting star they both saw while cuddled out on the back porch. Bella sat comfortably atop his sturdy thighs, their arms wrapped around each other on one of those swinging porch chair sets. Snuggled up so close to him, she didn't need a sweater for the balmy Rez breeze.

They looked at each other and grinned.

"I could almost believe that was an angel flying past..." Seth said, dragging his eyes away from her to glimpse at the sky. "Feels like I'm in heaven right now..."

"Yeah, look at us." Bella said with a giggle. "We're sitting out here like a couple of grans."

"I can take you out. But I'm being greedy tonight. I want you all for myself. You don't mind, do you?" He leaned in even closer, nuzzling her.

She turned to straddle him, planting a soft kiss on his lips.

"It's what I came here for..." She murmured.

"You know you're somewhat of a...danger to me." Seth stated quietly.

Bella's eyes widened. She leaned back to look at him fully. "Whatever do you mean by that?"

"I need you. But you don't need me." He looked at her calmly, his deep voice soothing but something tugged at Bella at the hint of resignation and despair in his voice.

She wanted to vehemently tell him that wasn't so. That she needed him too. But the words died on her parted lips. She still didn't think she could stay here permanently.

"You don't need me, Seth." Bella said instead. "What you need is to get out there."

"Get out there?"

"Yes. Go places. Experience life outside your perceived borders. Cross the line that others have drawn for you and just...live."

"It's not so easy, Bella. I just can't leave. I've got duties here and I can't abandon them. From the second I phased, fate decided that I have to spend the rest of my life here..."

"That's unfair!" Bella said bluntly.

"Yep. You know what they say about life. But it's not all bad. Being part of the pack is a central part of who I am. Plus the Elders have put things in place in terms of education and even housing."

"I don't know, it's just...it's like if you're serving a life sentence..."

"I don't see it that way." Seth insisted.

"The choice should be yours, Seth. You shouldn't have your life dictated to you. You shouldn't have to settle."

"Bella, I grew up all my life here. And this may be shocking to you, but I love it here. I always will. Besides, the wolf dictated that you're my imprint..."

Bella shot off his lap like a bullet swivelling on her heel and stalking off.

"Bella? Bella! Come on, that's not the way it sounded..." Seth said. He easily caught up to her, catching her hand in his but she slapped his grip away. He stepped in front of her, leaning down to press his warm head to hers.

"Your wolf made a poor choice, Seth. You deserve better. You deserve the girl I was before...shit happened."

With his thumb, he smoothed the drawn brows of her scowl away.

"Let's get this straight." Seth whispered. " I would choose you regardless of any goddamned imprint. I met the girl you were all those years ago though you might not remember me. She was sweet but she was soft. I'm in love with the woman you are now, Bella. Strong, don't take nobody's shit and resilient. You're no shrinking wall flower any longer and I like that. You're a rose with thorns...more beautiful, more sharp. I'd choose you as you are right now, over and over again."

Bella breathed out a ragged breath, slowly raising her eyes to meet his.

"You're my medicine...you always know what to say to make me feel better, dammit." Bella muttered. "I love you..." She added softly.

"Bella..." Her name was a broken whisper on his lips. Even as he affirmed his love with those responsive three words, Bella already knew. It was all in the way he treated her...

He drew her back into his arms. For a moment they stood there on the back porch, the only sound, the chilled night breeze whistling through the trees that led to the forest.

"I'll only ever say this once and only to you." Seth broke the serene silence. Bella looked up at him finding his dark gaze already on her.

"There were a couple of times I wanted to leave here... " He said. "Explore beyond these borders as you call it. And that's one of the reasons I love you. You challenge me. You make me question things I've always readily accepted. You make me wonder if life is really escaping me... But loving you is like a release for me, Bella...a mental release from being a permanent part of the pack. I...thinking about it,I don't want to hold you back from what you truly want to do. It's one of the reasons why I took so long to tell you that I imprinted on you. I watched you in Seattle living your life, being spontaneous, being you and for a moment you made me want to forget who I am, forget everything and run away with you...from all this."

"I understand how important the pack is to you, Seth." Bella said, cupping his cheek. "I'm...actually ashamed how much I opposed it. I mean...it's essentially who you are. And I wish more than anything in this world that we can go off somewhere far away from here together. But I wouldn't ask that of you. I'm not going to say that I'm going to stay...it'd be totally unfair to tell you that right now when...I'm still on the fence about being in Forks..."

A nerve ticked in his jaw but his eyes were gentle on her. He didn't respond verbally. Instead he dipped his head down, claiming her mouth with his until she was breathless. He swept her off her feet and back into his arms, striding back into the house...

For all the pride she felt in her earned independence, Bella loved Seth's inherent dominance. With him, she let herself go in a way she never had before. She loved the marks he always left behind, showing just how intensely he'd possessed her so completely...

Just as much as she'd possessed him. If it weren't for his heightened healing abilities, the marks she grooved into his skin would linger much longer...

In the early, dark hours of the new day, she awakened to see him staring at her where he lay beside her. She drowsily asked why he wasn't sleeping.

He said, "I just wanted to touch you, to know for certain that you're really here, to make sure you're not a dream..."

"So you dream about me?" Bella asked softly.

"Since I first saw you on First beach five years ago..."