"I think I could love you until even the sun grows tired of coming back every spring to forgive us for another season of hiding."
—Hanif Willis-Abdurraqib | In This Scene
• • •
By the next morning, any pretense of sorrow seemed to have left them.
Serenity enveloped them in a blanket of comfort as warm and forgiving as their tangled embrace and light filtered in through the break between curtains as Bailey stirred below the sheets. Something warm and heavy kept gently gliding along the back of her head while what felt like a pair of soft, wet lips kept sponging light kisses along her cheeks, her chin, her nose, and down her jawline, her neck, and her exposed shoulder from where her oversized t-shirt appeared to have fallen throughout the night. Groggily, Bailey let loose a soft sigh from the back of her throat and blinked her heavy eyes open only to be met with the sight of a familiar russet-skinned chest. Thinking nothing of it, Bailey squeezed her eyes shut once again and stretched with all the might of a sleepy kitten whilst an equally as sleepy mewl slipped past her puffy lips.
"Morning," a deep voice grumbled soft in her ear, the word followed by a sweet nibble of teeth on her earlobe. Two kisses were then pressed to her closed lids and Bailey blinked upon their end.
"You slept a long time, baby," that same voice continued as those same lips pressed gently against the crook of her neck while Bailey struggled to awaken fully. "Was startin' to think you'd never open those pretty blue eyes for me."
"Mmm," was all that escaped her mouth in response, the corners of her lips lifting into a fatigued, blissful smile that softened the previous puckered pout they had been shaped into earlier. A kiss was pressed to each corner and the rough day-old stubble that scratched against her chin registered in her mind as Paul's.
"You gonna let me see 'em?" He cooed, all manner of usual hard stoicism having disappeared under influence of the sleepy golden-haired girl curled up like a kitten atop his chest. "You gonna let me see those pretty eyes of yours?"
Bailey pouted when his thumb moved to pull gently down on her bottom lip. His dark chuckle resonated in the quiet air around them when it sprang back up against her teeth with an audible plop! and his chest vibrated beneath her in tune with his laugh.
"Don't wanna," she mumbled petulantly, burrowing her face into the pillow beside her when he laughed once more. "M' too tired."
"Too tired, huh?" Paul smirked, the mirth in his eyes made evident through the jesting tone of his voice. "Well what's it gonna take to wake you up then?" He asked her smoothly, hand on the back of her head flattening so that his fingers could thread through her mass of blonde curls. "What's it gonna take, hmm?"
"Shh," she mumbled incoherently, unwilling to wake from the exhausted slumber the events of the day before had placed her under. The bath she and Paul had taken last night had all but put her to sleep by the end of it, and by the time the water had run cold and the moon shone high up in the sky, Paul had lifted her tiny body from the tub, wrapped her in a towel without giving in to the strong temptation to peak at what he had already seen, and pulled one of his t-shirts over her head before tucking her underneath the covers. Then, after he'd blown out the candles and pulled on his own pair of pajama pants, he'd slipped in beside her and held her in his arms as he thought about all the reasons why he loved her, and all the reasons why he'd never change a thing. The light of the moon had blinked through the curtains behind his bed and illuminated her blonde curls in its silvery glow, and as he stared at her with all the rapture of a man head over heels, he'd eventually fallen asleep just the same.
Now though, after waking nearly an hour before her, Paul had spent the time admiring her in the early morning light. He'd seen what she looked like during the day — all bright and lively and full of flushed cheeks and smiles. He'd also seen what she looked like come the night — all curious and wide-eyed and aglow with blessings of the moon. But if he thought she had been something before, in the morning she was something else. Because while she was still full of flushed cheeks and aglow with the aftermath of sleep, she was also so much more. She was soft sighs and tender touches, lazy smiles and hazy eyes. She was pouty petulance and easy happiness, and if Paul had ever thought he'd seen something beautiful beforehand, it paled in comparison to what lie atop him now. Because Bailey was wonderful — beautiful and bashful and full of so much light and depth — and Paul loved her. He loved her. But now, under light of the morning sun and the soft haze of serenity, Paul knew she didn't need to hear it just yet. They still had so much to talk about — the healing wound on her thigh and how she felt about it, his anger over her keeping secrets and how he felt about it, and just how they would proceed with everything else in between. They had so much ahead of them, and the time for him to profess his newfound feelings could wait. After all, the Imprint pair had a forever resting in their midst, and so instead of uttering those three words that would undoubtedly mean so much, he opted for a laying an open-mouthed kiss on her cheek instead.
"Will this wake you up?" He murmured against her freckled skin, continuing his onslaught of sloppy kisses across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. When she didn't stir, he slipped her off his chest gently and situated himself above her, nudging her legs apart with his knees so that he could rest between them comfortably. His lips once again found home against the skin of her neck now instead, and he let his elbows rest on either side of her head as he nibbled ever-so-slightly on the tendon that pulsed in time with her heartbeat. "How about this?" His husky voice rasped against her throat, tongue soothing the gentle nipping of his teeth and eliciting a soft sigh from her lips at the sensation.
"Paul..." she sighed faintly, his name naught but a whisper from her lips. Her eyes remained closed, but the tell-tale flush of her cheeks alerted him that they wouldn't stay so for long.
"Would it wake you up-" he continued, sitting back on his heels and letting his hands trace along the expanse of silky skin on the outside of her thighs until he reached her knees. Allowing his right hand to rest there and draw lazy circles with his thumb, he reached back with his left to lift her leg by the ankle and bring it to his lips. "-if I did this?" He pressed a soft kiss to the arch of her foot, smiling to himself when she unconsciously wiggled her precious little toes as a result. Undeterred however, Paul continued to leave a trail of kisses up her leg — one at her ankle, four up the length of her calf, two on her knee, and a beginning three up her thigh. His lips stopped halfway when her small hand suddenly darted out to curl into his hair and upon looking over to meet her wide-eyed gaze, he smirked.
His name escaped her on a gasp. "P-Paul!"
"There they are," he smiled, relishing in the view of her glimmering yet alarmed cerulean orbs. His hand lowered her leg back down to the mattress and he returned to his position situated above her so that their lips now rested only a few inches away from touching. "Thought I'd have to do something to really shock you if you didn't wake up soon."
Cheeks burning with a bashful red blush, Bailey whined in the back of her throat. "Paul," she grumbled, reaching between their snug bodies to tug his shirt lower down her thighs. Her entire body felt as if it were burning, veins alight with a fire only he could spark that left her simmering in a warmth she was so unfamiliar with. The feel of his lips on her skin had been intoxicating and the electric zing! his kisses shot up her spine all but left her breathless. It was a wonderful feeling to wake up to, she admitted to herself despite it forcing her heart to beat rapidly inside her chest and her head to feel so light she worried it might just float right off her shoulders. Remembering it had her falling right back into an earlier daze — the very one Paul's intoxicating lips had put her under — and unbeknownst to her, it had her eyes glazing over with awe too. It was a wonderful feeling, she remarked once again, the ghost of his kisses staining her skin once more.
It was a wonderful feeling indeed.
Paul's sudden chuckle vibrated through his sternum and into Bailey's and pulled her from her daze. He slipped his left arm under the back of her neck so that her head rested in the crook of his elbow and leaned down to press a sweet kiss to the corner of her mouth. "You've got that look in your eyes," he commented, tilting his chin up to rub his lips across her forehead.
"What look?" Bailey breathed, body alight with a comfortable sort of tingling that had her curling her fingers at his hips into the waistband of his pants. The feeling of his lips was distracting — that paired with his hot, bare chest pressed against hers and his stubble tickling everywhere he touched. His body felt so good above her own; his unnatural warmth enveloping her small body like a blanket while his weight pressed down on her heavily into the mattress. Bailey had never known intimacy like this: where two bodies could fit together so perfectly and feel as if they were created to do so all along. In all her years, she had never put much stock into boyfriends and lovers and future partners simply because she had always believed herself content with what she had. Because she had her Gran and old man Jodie, and for the most part she had Charlie, and when Renée wasn't acting significantly more horrible than was her norm, Bailey had Bella too. But now, with the memory of Paul's kisses on her lips and the feel of his hard muscles pressed into the soft ones of her own, she realized she had never been more content in her life. Paul was it for her.
She just never knew how much she needed him until now.
"That look like you're just waiting for me to kiss you."
Bailey blushed and pouted, staring into his glimmering mahogany eyes with the mesmerizing blue of her own. She tried to muster up any inklings of courage left over from the night before as her mind whispered its coy reply, but as she spoke the words aloud, there was no mistaking the trembling of her voice. "W-well what if I am?" She stuttered, and Paul's reaction was instantaneous.
The mahogany in his eyes darkened in time with the growing of his smirk, and in a move so swift Bailey lost the breath in her lungs, Paul flipped them so she lay on top. "If you are-" he started, voice a deep, dark grumble that had her squirming against his chest. "-then I guess I'll just have to give my baby exactly what she wants."
Then as his lips finally lowered down onto hers, the two Imprints lost and found themselves in one another's embrace for what felt like the first time but would most certainly not be the last.
---
(For those of you interested in reading the mature scene that follows along with this chapter, head over to my profile and add Beneath Silk Sheets to your reading list. For all you babes asking for the more saucy aspects of Bailey and Paul's relationship, I promise you won't be disappointed!)
---
It was late into the afternoon by the time the Imprint pair had showered, eaten, and gotten dressed. The weather outside was surprisingly pleasant — not too warm neither too cold — and permitted for yet another trip to the beach. Charlie had long ago called and asked what time he needed to get her, asked whether she still wanted to be picked up at all or if she planned to spend the day with Paul, and though her answer would have undoubtedly been a trembling 'yes, please' the night before, after taking a bath wrapped up in her Imprint's embrace and waking up just the same, all thoughts of leaving him disappeared from her mind. His hand held hers tightly as they traipsed along the sandy shore, and as seagulls cawed overhead as they dived in and out of the beams of sunlight peaking through the clouds, a peace settled inside her that had never been present before. Despite all that had happened in such short a time, Bailey had never felt happier in her seventeen years. She had a father who loved her, a best friend and sister who felt the same, a new set of shifter friends and vampires alike, and to put the icing on top of the cake, she had a beautiful boy who towered over her and kissed her freely throughout the day. There was nothing more she could have asked for, she decided as she tilted her face up to bask in the sun. And as the light highlighted the flushed skin of her cheeks and nose, Bailey swore it felt as if her Gran were standing right there beside her.
'Look how you've grown,' she could hear her say, that gravelly voice so clear in her ears that Bailey humored the idea that she was, in fact, losing her very mind. 'So beautiful and brave.' A gentle breeze blew the stray curls around her face and Bailey swore it was her Gran's hand pushing them off her forehead. 'So strong.'
A lot has happened, Bailey thought, squeezing Paul's hand in hers as he took a seat atop a rogue log of driftwood and pulled her down to rest in his lap. His arms moved to circle around her stomach and she leaned into the warm plain of his chest with a sigh while his nose nuzzled into her neck.
'And so much more will continue to come your way.' Her Gran's voice replied. 'But you've always been tough, Bailey-Wren, and with that boy in your corner now... I don't think you've ever had a greater fighting chance.'
Bailey sighed, staring out at the waves lapping gently along the shore like a long-lost lover returned home. Her heart ached — clenched with pangs of loss. I miss you, she thought, pressing back more firmly against Paul's chest to alleviate the hurt. I miss you so much.
'No need for that, darling. I've always been right here.'
And though that gravelly voice no longer sounded after that, Bailey knew her words rang true. She could feel her — looking back now, she realized she could always feel her— and when she peaked over her shoulder and up into Paul's dark mahogany orbs above, the reflection of her Gran's stared back at her, begging to tell him what she kept hidden so deep.
"Baby?" He asked.
Seeing the concern in his eyes, she took a deep breath and decided she would confide in him.
"I miss my Gran," Bailey began, pulling his arms tighter around her and resting her hands over his so she could play with his fingers linked atop her belly. "With everything that's happened these past few weeks, I just... I miss her."
"I know you do," he murmured gently, smiling small when her brows furrowed ever-so-slightly to form a crease above her nose. "You call out her name a lot in your sleep, baby."
Her eyes grew sad and she sighed, looking to the sandy shore as she realized just how much his words made sense. "I-I guess I miss her a lot, then."
"And you probably always will," Paul remarked quietly, beginning to fiddle with her small fingers in return as he pressed a sweet kiss to her temple. "She was the only person you had supporting you for a long time baby, and now that she's gone..." he shook his head, unable or unwilling to say the words out loud. "It's okay to miss her. It's okay to miss her every minute of every day, and it's okay to feel sad that you do."
"But I don't," she countered in a voice no louder than a whisper. "I mean, I'm happy. Here, with you, with Papa and Bella and Jay and the pack; I'm happy."
Paul shifted her body sideways in his lap so that they could look upon one another face to face and freed one of his hands from her grasp to smooth back her hair. "You sound like you're trying to convince me-" she frowned in protest and opened her mouth to respond, but a quick finger to her lips kept her from doing so. Paul's eyes met hers with a knowing look and he shook his head. "I believe you baby, I do," he told her, lowering his finger as she was successfully pacified. "But you've been through a lot. With your Gran, moving to Forks, finding out about us Quileute boys and finding out about those stupid bloodsuckers. I mean, that's not even counting the whole mess with Quil." He continued, growling lightly in the back of his throat before just as quickly softening. "Hell, that's not even counting the whole mess with me. Because trust me baby, I know I haven't exactly been doing you any favors." Paul looked down at her sadly, tenderly, and brushed his thumb back and forth across her cheek as if committing the feeling to memory. "But if there's one thing I've learned from all the shit I've been through, it's that things will get better. They always do. And you've got a lot of people standing behind you now, baby. We'll all help you." His lips pressed a firm kiss to her forehead this time. "I'll help you."
"I-I know you will." Bailey replied, tilting her chin up to run her nose along the length of his jaw in an affectionate manner she realized had rubbed off from him. "It's just that- it's been so hard," she choked, feeling hot tears well up in her eyes as she looked down at her leg that was scarred and would remain so forever. "My leg, it- it's so... so- Paul, it's-"
"Breathe, sweet girl," Paul cooed in her ear, hugging her close to him and tucking her head firmly against his chest. She did as he said, ear centered over his beating heart while she tried to pace her breaths in time with his. Eventually, after several seconds went by, the panic in her chest had lessened to slight tremors in her hands.
"I knew you would get angry," she eventually spoke, breaking the silence that fell between them as Paul waited for her to regain her bearings. "I knew you would get angry if I told you I wanted to meet the Cullens and I knew you wouldn't let me go when I did." Her eyes met his through a sheen of tears and Paul could've sworn he felt his heart crack at the sight. "So I kept it from you." Fingers curled into the hem of his shirt as if it were second nature and Bailey anchored herself to him desperately. "And with Quil, I- Embry kept talking about how angry you were — how Sam was worried about what you'd do if you saw him. So when he gave me Quil's letter, I- all I could think about was how furious you'd be if you found out, how furious you'd be if you read it, and I- I just thought that- that maybe you shouldn't know. That maybe it'd be better." Bailey sighed then, long and soft and sad, and she rested her head tiredly against the crook of his neck. "I realize now that I was wrong though. And I'm sorry for that." She echoed, sounding much like a broken record from her endless apologies the day before. "I'm so sorry."
"I know you are," Paul replied, caressing her cheek with the back of his hand in a tender gesture that had her aching heart racing against her ribcage. "But the secrets have to stop," he added, not scolding, but gentle — a plea. "I can't help you if you don't let me, and even if you think it'll hurt my feelings, even if you know it'll make me angry, you've gotta tell me what's going on. 'Cause I know I get mad easy, baby," he told her, smiling as she stared up at him with those wide, glossy eyes of hers that he found so utterly endearing and so breathtakingly beautiful. "But if there's one thing you oughta know about me-"
Her eyebrows furrowed and she leaned in, anticipating the words set to leave his lips and getting caught off-guard by a swift kiss to her own. Paul smiled down at her as she blinked in surprise and rubbed his nose gently against her small one.
"-it's that when it comes to you, little Bailey-Wren, I can't ever stay mad for long."
And when her lips pulled up into a grin so soft Paul felt his heart physically lurch, he realized that of all the things he had ever said to his little golden-haired beauty, his last words had never been more true.
• • •
Author's Note
So... hope everyone likes fluff two chapters in a row because... well, there you have it! Anyway, if you happened to miss the little blurb earlier, I've posted a new Story on my profile intended only for the mature scenes between Paul and Bailey titled Beneath Silk Sheets! Once again, it is mature, and it should be pretty self-explanatory in terms of where it picks up because it's literally just this exact chapter with like 3,000 more words slapped in the middle that depict a saucy little scene. Soooooo for those of you hoping for some written *intimacy* between our favorite Imprint pair, go give it a little read and maybe even a comment on your thoughts and if you want more or think I totally failed! (Lol *nervous sweat*) Nevertheless, thank you once again for all of your support, sweet readers! I honestly couldn't do this without you!
—Vanillarain13