Chapter Two: Gravity

I live here on my knees,

Truing to make you see,

That you're everything I think I need,

Here on the ground.

But you're neither friend nor foe

Though I can't seem to let you go

The one thing that I still know

Is that you're keeping me down

You're keeping me down

You're onto me, onto me, and all over.

Something always brings me back to you

It never takes to long

-Sara Bareilles

Madeline stood staring at Paul as he bore his eyes right back into hers. Beautiful, open blue eyes met with dark and hungry black ones essentially speaking to each other before many things happened at once. Madeline broke eye contact and quickly grabbed Olivia out of the man's arms, muttering a quick 'thank you'. Before the man could speak, Jacob and Seth grabbed him by the arms and ushered him outside and completely out of her view. Her heart dropped before she could even realize it and she had some very harsh words to say to herself. What was she doing? There was nothing more important happening right now than the safety and happiness of her children. Stop it. You are not 15. You are a twenty five year old woman.

Madi put her newly refocused attention on Sue. "Hello Mrs. Clearwater. I'm Madeline Masters, their mom. How is Joshua?"

"Oh, he'll be fine, darling. Just a couple stitches on his arm. It could have been much worse, I heard. I'm glad my son was there to catch him. Those cliffs can be tricky."

Madi sighed. I mean, he was an eight year old boy. These things were bound to happen. "I'm glad as well. I don't see Seth. Please thank him for me."

Sue assured Madi she would and walked them out to the door where her car was waiting in the front driveway. It was an old Toyota Camry, worn and used, but it got them where they needed to go. They got into the car and began silently driving back to Forks and the Cullen guest house. Most of the drive was silent, until Madi's curiosity got the best of her and she began questioning her children.

"Did you all have fun?"

"Who was there with you?"

"….Besides Jacob, Seth and Nessie. There was another man, right?"

"Yes, Liv, the one who held you."

"You don't know? Of course."

Madi sighed and refocused on the road. Unfortunately, she couldn't get the man's eyes out of her head. Those gorgeous black eyes that seemed to be only for her and her alone.

The next day, Madi left Josh and Livvy at the main house, where Jacob and Leah very quickly offered to babysit so that Madi could take a quick run around the property. Jacob insisted he run with her at first, but Madi declined.

"I'm perfectly capable of going by myself. It'll be fast. Just a few miles." Madi stuck her music in her ears, kissed her kids on the cheek (they were both very focused on a game of "pinned ya" with Leah) and headed out the backdoor, sensing Jacob's eyes still on her as she left.

Madeline had gotten about a half mile out when a noise behind her made her turn with a start. One of the large tribal boys was standing on the other side of the road where she had just been a few minutes before. She scanned up his body. He was built like Jacob and the rest of them, but she didn't recognize him, at least not until she got to his eyes. Once his eyes matched hers again, she recognized him. These were the eyes that had been haunting her. They looked gaunt and sunken in, but they were the same eyes. She gasped. It wasn't an animal in front of her, it was a man. A man that she was completely and irrevocably drawn to. Completely, one hundred percent focused on this specimen in front of her. It was like magnets...or an electric current.

He stared at her with the same unblinking intensity. His eyes held a fire and passion that she had never seen before, while also holding a bit of adoration and respect. It was literally all she could do to keep their bodies apart. Just like magnets. Just in this moment alone, she felt bolder and more empowered as a woman than she ever had in her life, even when having her children. It was like she was meant to be an equal partner in what was about to occur. With her husband, she was never meant to be an equal partner in anything, especially crimes of passion. She'd never had an orgasm with her husband, but at this moment, her body felt closer to it than it had ever been and all she was doing was staring at him.

"Yes." She muttered under her breath. He had heard it.

At the same moment, both of them decided they could no longer take the tension. They both began striding toward each other, meeting in the middle of the road and their bodies collided. Their mouths immediately began attempting to take control in the hottest game of tug of war with their mouths, teeth and tongues. Their teeth biting at each other's lips and tongues attempting to infiltrate the other persons. He was incredibly tall, much taller than her 5 foot 4 frame, so at first the kiss must have been a bit awkward for him, but instead of breaking it off, he grabbed her hips and put her legs around his waist as to grant her an upper hand. Madi moaned into his mouth, which only increased the ferocity of his ministrations on her mouth.

He walked them backwards into the trees and out of the road before his mouth began attacking her neck. Madeline gasped, which again, only fueled his fire. She should have stopped him, but to be completely honest and fair, she didn't want to. In her heart of hearts, she really just wanted him to keep going forever. She weaved her hands through his short black hair and he practically growled into her neck. She began swirling her tongue around his ear and nipping at it with her teeth and finally heard the first word out of his mouth.

"Fuck." The sound of his voice was everything she wanted it to be. Unfortunately, though, it shook them both out of our passion induced haze. He let her down as they continued to stare at each other.

As she was about to introduce herself and do this thing properly, he just looked at her deeper, shame filling his eyes and whispered, "I'm sorry," as he ran away through the trees.

Did that really just happen? I mean, it was the stuff of dreams and harlequin romance novels. This doesn't just happen. But, there was something about his eyes, something about his whole person that had set me on fire. But who was he? And why did he leave so quickly? He didn't even have a chance to see how broken and used up she was before he had left like he was burned.

She suddenly found herself engulfed in a cold rain, soaking me to the bone. She began running again to try and make it back to the Cullen's house before her clothes were so soaked to her body that she wouldn't be able to remove them. It wasn't a difficult track back to her destination but she couldn't remove the thoughts of her mystery man. Those eyes. They haunted her and electrified her all at the same time. She could see the house when the intruding thoughts of her tryst on the pavement interrupted her steady pace and had her face planting on the ground due to the slickness of the gravel.

Jacob ran outside as if the sky was falling to help her up. "Are you okay, Madi?"

Madi nodded. Was she okay? Is that even a fair question to ask her right now? She had just made out with someone in the rain…someone she had no idea who was. Her and Michael had never married, so a least she wasn't cheating, and God knows he had cheated plenty of times, but she was better than him. She didn't need to stoop down to his level. He was still her children's father. Even though she hated his literal guts.

Jacob and Madeline walked back into the main house where Esme was making tea for everyone. Madi spent the next few hours in relative silence until she finally got her courage up.

"Jacob, who was the guy at the Clearwater house yesterday? The one holding Livvy?" Jacob almost choked on his drink.

"That was Paul. One of my…friends." Madi had a million questions to ask but how? How would she ask without sounding desperate.

"Oh. What's his story? What was he doing there?" Stay calm, Madeline. Stay calm.

"He has an apartment on the reservation, but he goes around to all our parents houses to check on them, eat their food, you know the usual." Leah answered from the front room where she was still playing with Josh and Livvy. Didn't Seth say she didn't like kids?

Madeline nodded and thought better of asking any follow up questions at this juncture.

"So, uh, I have an uncomfortable question for you, Madi." Jacob cleared his throat. The Cullen's made a speedy exit around her and Seth and Leah came over to sit at the table next to her. What was this an interrogation?

"Sure. I'd say you earned it." Madi answered.

"Are you planning on getting a divorce from your husband?" Leah asked bluntly. Jacob kicked her, rather hard, under the table, but Leah didn't seem to notice.

"We never married. He never asked. The kids even have my last name. So no." The three at the table visibly relaxed and exchanged looks.

"Leah, didn't you need to make a call?" Jacob asked her pointedly. She swiftly got up from her spot and grabbed her phone.

"So, Madi, are you still up for the bonfire this evening?" Seth asked. Madi smiled a small smile. Maybe she'd see her mystery man again.

"That sounds great. The kids can attend as well, correct?" Seth and Jake nodded. Leah came back into the room with a large grin. Her call seemed to go well, Madi guessed. In order to get ready for the bonfire, Madi and the kids took their leave to the guest house, leaving Leah, Seth and Jake still at the table.

"Are you going to lift your hold off of Paul now that you know she isn't married?" Seth asked anxiously to Jacob. Seth was referring to the gag order Jake had given Paul not to meet Madi or the kids or pursue any kind of relationship with her without her explicit consent. Paul was already suffering a lack of sleep and food because of it. Jacob nodded. He was still wary of this match. But who was he to fight with destiny?

A/N- Looking for a Beta! Please PM if interested. I'd like someone that likes the story already and can see the vision to where I'm going. Also, PLEASE REVIEW. The more reviews, the faster I update!