Chapter Text
A minute later, Leah was leading Bella out of the diner toward her car.
“So what's it like, sleeping in your own house?” Leah asked. “Is it weird being alone?”
“I haven't slept there yet.”
“Oh, no bed?”
“No, it's got a bed,” Bella said. “I just wasn't ready.”
“So you're still sleeping at Sam and Emily's?”
“No, I haven't slept there in weeks.”
“Where have you been sleeping?” Leah was afraid that Bella already had a new girlfriend. She wasn't sure that she was ready to know about it.
“In the driftwood, the big one.”
That was not what Leah was expecting. “Bella, that doesn't sound comfortable. And isn't it cold by the water?”
Bella put her warm hand on Leah's. “I don't get cold. It's one of the wolf things.”
Leah gulped. Bella's touch sent warm shivers through her body. “Why have you been sleeping in the driftwood?”
“Because it still smelled like you, at least for a while it did. It doesn't any more.”
“Bella, that's crazy! What if there's a storm surge? Please don't do that again.”
“Please don't walk away from me again!” Bella cried. Then she tried to chill the fuck out, taking deep breaths like Jared had taught her. She was finally talking to Leah again. She didn’t want to blow it.
“That's not fair,” Leah said calmly. “You're basically threatening self harm.”
“I'm not! The driftwood is nice. I just can't stay in that house if I have no hope that you'll join me.”
“I'll join you tonight,” Leah promised.
“Really?” Bella sounded so happy, so hopeful. “I made your room green.” She sighed. “I picture you in green a lot and I like it.”
“My room?”
“It's still a two bedroom,” Bella reminded Leah.
“Oh.”
“It's the one you helped me pick out, on your road but at the far end.”
“Yeah, Bella,” Leah gulped. “Did I blow it completely? Are you not interested in me anymore? Like romantically?”
“Leah, yes, I'm interested. I’m so interested. I just don't want to push you. If you give me another chance, I won't make that mistake again.”
“I think I might need to be pushed.”
“I can push you into my bed, if you want.” Bella said, then immediately regretted it. She did not want to scare Leah away again.
“I think that will be a good start,” Leah said, “and then I think we need to talk.”
“After I take you to bed?”
“Yeah, I was talking to my friend at work about you, not the legends stuff-”
Bella interrupted her with, “Good, Leah! That’s gotta stay a secret.”
“That, and she’d think I was insane. Anyway, she suggested that if you ever talked to me again…” her voice kind of drifted off.
Bella looked over to her. “You thought I wouldn’t ever talk to you again?”
“Well, you didn’t for a whole month.”
“You told me to stay away from you.”
“I know. So my friend told me I should… I don’t know how to say it. I guess let you know how I feel… in bed.” Then Leah hurriedly added, “If you’re up to it, I mean.”
“Fuck yeah.”
The rest of the drive was silent. Bella put her hand on Leah's knee, rubbing her inner thigh with her thumb. She was so excited.
Leah was excited but also nervous. She hadn’t been with anyone since Sam. She was worried that Sam and Bella were cut from the same cloth. She was worried that Bella would leave her once she got her into bed, just like Sam did. So, with her friend’s encouragement, she decided to sleep with Bella now before she got any more attached. Then when Bella left her, it wouldn’t hurt so bad. That's what she hoped.
And if Bella didn’t leave her… she wasn’t sure she had room for that kind of hope yet.
At the house, Bella got the key from under the matt. She opened the door and flicked on the lights. Leah nervously walked in.
“This looks really great,” Leah said, walking around.
“Thanks, it was hard to decide what you'd like without you here to tell me but I had help.”
Bella put both hands around Leah's waist. She was pushing her toward the bedroom, kissing her lips as she went. She flicked on the bedroom lamp to see how Leah looked in her bedroom. It was everything she had wanted.
“We're going to need to undress.” Bella whispered, starting to pull Leah's shirt over her head.
“Hold on… buttons.” Leah said, trying to unbutton the top buttons so the shirt could come off easily.
Leah lifted Bella's shirt off. She was not expecting the girl to have no bra on. She was staring at her perky tits. They were so perfect.
“I was working earlier,” Bella explained. She was sucking Leah's earlobe while trying to figure out the clasp on Leah's skirt.
Leah had her hands down Bella's pants, one hand on each ass cheek, pulling Bella's body against hers.
Bella got the skirt clasp figured out. She rubbed her hands up and down Leah's silky panty hose, feeling the curve of her hips, then ass, then letting one hand wander down the ass crack, probing until Leah gasped.
That gasp made Bella smile so wide. She took care of Leah's bra, then pushed her to the bed.
Bella crawled over Leah’s body, rubbing her hands up and down Leah’s thighs and butt. “I love the panty hose. Do you always wear them to work?”
“Yeah, they're required for the uniform.”
“Fantastic.”
“I hate them,” Leah said.
“I hate wearing them too, but on you…” Bella was stroking Leah's thighs, enjoying every inch of the silky panty hose clad skin as she reached for her inner thigh.
Bella stuck her face right in Leah's crotch. She breathed in deeply and said, “So fucking perfect.” She rubbed her cheek on Leah's inner thigh.
Leah watched as Bella started to pull down her panty hose. She lifted her butt to make it easier. With Leah's panties and panty hose in her hands, Bella looked down at this beautiful woman.
“You need to be naked too,” Leah insisted, a little self conscious about being naked in front of this stunning woman.
Bella stood and quickly disposed of her remaining clothes.
She crawled over Leah's body and kissed her briefly, then again more deeply.
“Is this still your first time with a woman?” Bella asked.
“Yeah, I haven't-”
Bella put her finger on Leah's lips, shushing her. “That's good. So I'm going to touch you the way I want. You let me know if it feels good, or if it doesn't. I want you to touch me the way that you want too, I'll let you know what feels good too, ok?”
Leah nodded, then reached up to touch Bella's boob, rolling the nipple between her thumb and forefinger.
“Yes!” Bella hissed, “just like that.”
Bella lowered her face to Leah's boobs, nose down in the space between them. She gathered one boob in each hand and squeezed them to the side of her face.
Leah giggled.
“I've been wanting to do this since the moment I saw you.” Bella lifted her face, then watched as the boobs fell away from each other on Leah's chest.
“I'm going to taste you now,” Bella said, dragging her hands down Leah's flat stomach.
“I didn't take a shower after work! Bella, is it too late for me to take a shower?”
Bella placed one hand on Leah's stomach, fingers splayed, holding her down.
“Way too late. You smell amazing. There is no way I'm letting you wash this off before I get a taste.”
Bella lifted and separated Leah's legs, happy to see Leah hold them in place. Bella kept one hand on Leah's thigh because she liked having it in her hand.
Bella wanted to go right for the clit but she didn't want to overwhelm Leah so she started to lick the labia around the clit, getting closer. It felt so surreal, finally being here.
She looked up at Leah's face as her tongue reached the clit. Through the gap in Leah's boobs, she could see Leah watching her. Bella felt even more eager, wrapping her lips around, then flicking and licking with her tongue
Leah was moaning erratically with an occasional “oh fuck” thrown in. Her thigh began to tremble. Bella could feel the throbbing clit on her mouth and let go, rubbing it gently with her lips until Leah was squirming away a little.
Bella climbed back up to the pillow. With one hand on Leah's boob, she brought her lips to Leah's.
“Can I try now?” Leah asked.
“Do whatever you want with my body.”
Leah leaned over and kissed down Bella's neck.
“Mmmm, that's nice.”
Leah smiled into the kiss, moving down Bella's body. She sucked one tit almost entirely into her mouth. Bella gasped.
Leah's hands were wandering down Bella's stomach while Leah licked the other nipple. Her fingers were exploring Bella's folds. She wanted to see them with her own eyes.
She kneeled between Bella's legs, which Bella has spread for Leah. She watched her finger slide in and out of Bella's hole. She brought her fingers on either side of Bella's clit and gently rubbed. Bella's gentle moans turned to enthusiastic grunts.
Leah knew she was doing it right because this was how she liked to touch herself but she wanted to taste Bella too. She turned her face sideways. Leah put her lips on either side of her clit and let her tongue slide across the top as she moved back and forth, simulating the movement of her fingers.
“Oh shit, Leah, that feels unreal.”
Leah smiled briefly as Bella ran her fingers through the hair on her scalp. Bella could not believe this was happening. Having her imprint between her legs felt like the greatest thing that ever happened to her. Leah kept up her pace until she could feel Bella quaking on her tongue.
“C’mere,” Bella said.
Leah lay down next to Bella on the pillow, looking at her beautiful face. Bella wrapped her arms around Leah and pulled her to her chest in a relaxing snuggle.
“That was amazing,” Bella said.
“Yeah?” Leah was still self conscious about her first time with a woman.
“Fuck yeah.”
“So, you had some things you wanted to talk to me about in private?” Leah reminded her.
“Yeah, I guess there's a lot that you need to know. How are you feeling about the wolf thing?”
“It's not my favorite,” Leah admitted. “I feel like learning about that, it will just get me sucked into all the Sam drama. And I can’t even know what is true and what is bullshit that Sam told you. Do we have to talk about it?”
“A lot of the stuff I have to talk to you about is wolf shit. Unless you just want to do the friends with benefits thing like you suggested before?”
“I'm not really sure.” Leah’s feelings for Bella hadn't changed. Neither had Leah's feelings about Sam. She didn’t want anything to do with Sam or Emily. But she did want Bella. She didn't know what to tell her.
“I've regretted not taking you up on that offer this whole time,” Bella said. “If I had just done that, at least I could have seen you.”
“If you just want to be friends with benefits, I guess that’s fine.” Leah was sad that her fears were confirmed. This was just about sex for Bella. Maybe it was time to go.
Bella looked into Leah’s face, feeling her sadness. “That’s not what I want, Leah. I want you. I want to spend time with you and get to know you, and yes, I want to sleep with you. But I’d rather be friends with benefits than lose you completely. I don’t want to lose you like that again.”
“Then why do you keep bringing it up?”
“Because I don’t want to lose you!”
Leah was feeling nervous. “Why do you think you’d lose me?”
“Because I did lose you! You ran away. And you don’t trust me. I want to build that trust but you don’t want to hear about the wolf shit so I don’t know what to do!” Bella was also feeling extra nervous.
Leah stroked her cheek, trying to comfort her. She had to come up with a compromise. “I want to try to make this work. I’m open to hearing about some aspects of wolf life, like your personal experiences and day-to-day life. But I don’t want to hear about anything that you learned from Sam, like legends and mythology and even history and theory, not if it's from Sam. I just don’t want to hear any of Sam’s words from your mouth. I can’t trust his words at all. How does that sound?”
“And then you’ll hang out with me? You’ll come over? Maybe even sleep over?” Bella asked, not caring if she sounded needy at all.
Leah smiled. “I’d like that. But is the wolf dangerous? Will I be safe when we hang out? Wolves are nocturnal. Will it be safe to sleep over?”
“The wolf is a protector. You'll always be safe with me. And I don’t turn into a wolf at night, as you can see right now. I am in control of my form. I choose when to turn into a wolf and when to turn into my human self again.”
“Is that your job with the council, being the wolf?”
“Yep, my top secret job.”
“So the other guys?”
“Yep. All wolves too, like Taha Aki.”
That was a name Leah hadn't thought of in a long time, but she knew the legends, at least those told by the elders. All the Quileute people knew some legends. Just like most of her tribe, she thought they were bullshit. Now she knew there had to be some truth to them, but she didn't know how much. “Emily too?” Leah asked. “Is she a wolf?”
“No,” Bella said, shaking her head. “Just me and the guys.”
“Why you? Why are you the only girl?”
“First, because I'm a direct descendant of Ephraim Black, so the gene is strong in me. But also I had to sit next to a Cullen when I moved to Forks. He was my biology partner. Being so near vampires can trigger the wolf gene.”
Leah knew the legend about the treaty with the Cullens, too. She didn't like that the old men of the tribe had forbidden everyone from using the hospital, but it made sense to her now, if they really were vampires. Maybe if Dr. Cullen treated people with the gene, they would phase too, especially if he were touching them during the examination. She vowed to never let one of the Cullens touch her.
It was all a little overwhelming for Leah. “Ok, thank you. That’s a bit too much legend stuff. I’m kind of sorry I asked, but you didn’t do anything wrong in answering, ok?”
Bella nodded even though she was not on the same page. Bella wanted to tell Leah about imprinting. She wanted to share every part of her life with Leah. But pushing Leah away again had her skittish.
Leah didn’t trust the legends or the wolf. Bella didn’t trust Leah to stay. The imprint felt what the wolf felt: distrust.
After a few minutes of just laying like that, snuggling, Bella asked, “Will you spend the night?”
“You want me to?” Leah was surprised.
“Of course. And if you ever need to get away, you know where the key is. I'm not home a lot so you could have the run of the house.”
“What if I want to see you? Where do you go? The club?” Leah was scared of the answer but she had to know.
“The beach. I haven't been to the club since I met you. I spend a lot of time in the log or at Sam's or with Paul.”
“Not Jared?” Jared always seemed like a nice kid to Leah, at least before he joined Sam's gang.
“Jared is at Sam's a lot. I see him every day too. I used to spend more time with him and Kim, just the three of us, but now I usually only see Kim at group functions or meals.”
“Did you two get into a fight?” Leah didn't know Kim well, but she didn't seem like one for drama. Bella, on the other hand… she might be one for drama.
“No, no, Kim's awesome. It's just, the things we were doing didn't seem appropriate anymore.”
Leah was intrigued. “Were you having an affair? Like your Gran did?” Sex. It all came back to sex in Leah’s mind.
“No,” Bella answered quickly, “but I was flirting with her a lot and crossing lines.”
“And Jared got mad?”
“No,” Bella shook her head gently. “He kind of loved seeing Kim doted on like that and I think it boosted her confidence, the things I said to her. I think Jared liked that. But I met you and it didn't feel right anymore.”
“You talk about me like I'm significant, like meeting me changed something. I don't really get it. Like you sleeping in the driftwood because it smelled like me. I don't get it.”
“You are significant but it's a legend thing, one I learned from Sam. Are you ready to hear about it?”
“Uhh, no. Maybe someday though.”
Bella hoped that she would be ready someday soon. “Ok.”
“So what do you and Paul do when you hang out?”
“We fight a lot,” Bella said, grinning. “He's a martial arts guy so he's taught me a bunch of stuff. But I'm faster than him, so even though he's stronger than me and more experienced, we're pretty evenly matched. We surf a lot and compete against each other, races and stuff like that. He's easy to talk to. He's just as much of an impulsive dumbass as I am, so he’s never judgmental.”
Leah smiled. She didn't think of Bella as an impulsive dumbass but she could see how she was kindred with Paul. “He sounds like a good friend.”
“He is a really good friend. They all are, but Sam's more, I don't know, he's almost like a father to me.”
“He's my age,” Leah said flatly. “And what are you? A year younger than me?”
Bella laughed. “Yeah, I know it’s weird. He's kind of a father to all of us though.”
“Paul's my age too. He can't be like a father to Paul. They've been in the same class since kindergarten.”
“And yet he is,” Bella stated simply. “Although Paul would never admit that.”
“Is he like a father because he's so patronizing?” Leah asked.
Bella laughed. “That's a big part of it.” She didn't know how to talk about the guys without talking about the legends or the fact that Sam was alpha. So she asked, “So how was work today?”
“This really hot girl came in. Otherwise it was a totally ordinary day.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. She took me home with her. It was pretty great.”
“You're so beautiful, Leah.”
“I'm glad you think so.” Leah shifted her body a little. She was supremely comfortable here in Bella’s arms.
Bella could hear Leah's breathing change. She was falling asleep. Bella was so happy to be holding her.
~O~
Just before midnight, Bella was awoken to the sound of keys jangling in the front door. She had brought in the key under the matt, so it must be one of the guys. They all had keys.
Paul stood in the doorway of her bedroom. He whispered, “I couldn't find you at the log. Hey, it smells like success in here!”
“She's still here, so fuck off.”
“Are you skipping patrol?” Paul asked.
“Oh man! Can someone switch with me?”
“Yeah, Sam wants you to skip it. I was just pulling your chain. That Quil kid is a piece of work and Sam thinks you should stay out of the pack mind for a bit. Quil is terrified of you.”
“But I need to run into Forks to get my truck.”
“Rachel and I can bring it back. Are your keys in your purse? I'm guessing you left it at the diner?”
“Yeah, thanks Paul.”
“No problem.”
Bella heard Paul rummage through her purse. Then he locked the door on the way out.
She lifted her head to sniff Leah's hair. Then she lay back down and fell asleep. This was way better than the log.