Great Chapter!!!! Please please please please please please please please please please come back and post more really really really really soon? Can't wait to read what will happen next for Max and Liz. Wow Max and Liz have been through a lot. So glad that Max and Liz alive. Like the plan Max and Liz have get their trust founds and vanish with the help of the assassins. Hopefully with everyone's help they can take down their captors. Now Max and Liz are going to have to deal with what happened to them. Hopefully Maria and others will be able to help Max and Liz through this. Who is going to check on Max and Liz?
From:
L-J-L 76
P.S - Please have more of Max and Liz in the story?
THE ASSASSIN - AU/CC/Adult - Epilogue - 11/6/16
Moderators: Anniepoo98, Rowedog, ISLANDGIRL5, Itzstacie, truelovepooh, FSU/MSW-94, Erina, Hunter, Forum Moderators
Re: THE ASSASSIN - AU/CC/Adult - Part 69 - 7/31/16
It's normal that they're unwinding now, each one in their own way. And that will give conflicts, it's just the way people react after a very stressy period. Val, Michael & Kyle are used to deal with stuff like that, they' got hard. But Alex? I could very well understand where he comes from.
The way Alex stood in front of Michael was very real. But the way Val stepped in, wasn't as much a surprise as it was for her, I think.
Liz & Max are awakening... They're alive and that's the most positive thing of everything.
The way Alex stood in front of Michael was very real. But the way Val stepped in, wasn't as much a surprise as it was for her, I think.
Liz & Max are awakening... They're alive and that's the most positive thing of everything.
Take a look at Eva's world
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keepsmiling7
- Roswell Fanatic
- Posts: 2649
- Joined: Thu Jun 28, 2007 9:34 pm
Re: THE ASSASSIN - AU/CC/Adult - Part 69 - 7/31/16
Great news, Max and Liz are back with us!
Thanks,
Carolyn
Thanks,
Carolyn
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sarammlover
- Addicted Roswellian
- Posts: 321
- Joined: Mon Feb 04, 2008 5:03 pm
Re: THE ASSASSIN - AU/CC/Adult - Part 69 - 7/31/16
Wow....so much anger and I have a moral compass too but for me all signs point to killing janus OFF the face of this earth. He is an evil evil man and jail won't/can't contain him. I am glad Max and Liz are alive and talking and safe. (For now). Great update!!!
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Double Trouble
- Obsessed Roswellian
- Posts: 925
- Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:47 am
Part 70
Roswelllostcause: Yes, he will, lol. That’s very true and Janus is one of them. Yep, they’re finally conscious and just beginning their journey into recovery.
L-J-L 76: Thanks! Max and Liz have ben through a lot, more than anyone should go through. They’ve got their plan together to get them out of sight and off the radar. We’ll be checking in a little more with them today.
Eva: That’s so true, and with a couple in the mix like Michael and Val, well, conflicts will definitely arise. Even though he hates what Janus has done and he’d like to see him punished, Alex has a difficult time being so cavalier about etching the man’s name on a bullet.
Lol, Val is still getting used to just how protective she feels of Alex. And we suspect there are some other feelings in there as well.
keepsmiling7: Yes, they are! We’ll be spending a little more time with them today.
sarammlover: Lol, Michael and Val are all for that and they’re not about to be deterred from that decision. Evil like that can’t be contained and they know it. Thanks!
Part 70
“Think he’ll stick around once this’s all over?” Max wondered aloud.
“I have no clue, honestly.”
“Me either. He doesn’t seem like the type to stick around.”
“Not at all, no.”
“I guess we’ll find out. Maybe.” He went to shrug without thinking and inhaled sharply. “Fuck,” he hissed, “that shit hurts!”
“It’s gonna take a while.” She smiled sadly.
“Yeah. Sure as hell didn’t take ‘em long to do the damage.”
“Certainly not.”
He eased back down and sighed when the pressure was taken off of his shoulders. “Somehow I never saw our lives takin’ this turn.”
“Thank God you didn’t, Max.”
“If I had we could’ve missed out on all this fun.”
Liz stayed silent and stared at the ceiling. How were they going to deal with this?
He lay there in the silence, his thoughts drifting to what was still to come. “You don’t think they’re gonna make us talk to a shrink or anything before this goes to trial, do you?”
“I dunno. Would the law require something like that?”
“They could, to determine our state of mind and make sure our credibility’s intact.”
“Yeah...”
“I know if we’re called on as witnesses we’re gonna have to tell what they did to us.” His hands clenched into white-knuckled fists. It was bad enough to have to relive it through verbalizing in front of a room of strangers. He didn’t want to have to tell it at all, but he sure didn’t want to sit down with someone who would pick apart every moment of their captivity.
“We’ll have to. They deserve it.”
“Then I hope we can get it over quick and get the hell outta Dodge.”
“I second that.” She reached over to squeeze his hand slightly.
“Soon as that’s done we’re collecting our money and heading for our beach, wherever it is.”
“Promise?”
Ignoring the pain that flared to life again, he brought her hand up and kissed her knuckles. “Promise. Guess you’re gonna have to marry me now. Y’know, that whole for better or worse part of the vows? Well, I figure we’ve already done the ‘or worse’ part.”
“It can only get better,” she agreed.
“That’s what I’m lookin’ forward to.” He closed his eyes tiredly. “You think they’ve got somethin’ out there we can eat?”
“With the assassins being here? They probably have tons of food.”
“Good, because I’m hungry. I know we haven’t eaten anything since we were taken but I have no idea how long ago that was. A couple days... a week?”
“I have no clue to be honest.” She frowned.
“It felt like forever,” he admitted quietly.
“Yeah, even longer than that.”
Silence fell over them for several long heavy minutes. The whole time they’d been captive, however long it was, their thoughts had only been for each other. The enemy hadn’t taken that from them no matter how hard they’d tried to. “We’re gonna be okay though, right?”
“Yes,” she agreed, her tone determined, and turned her head to look at him. “They broke our bodies but not our minds.”
“Or our spirits. We got involved in this mess to help Maria, but it’s about more than that now. We’re gonna do whatever we have to do to see that they pay for what they’ve done to all of us.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that.”
Max lifted his head carefully in the direction of the voice and saw Tess leaning in the doorway. “It’s the right thing to do.”
She nodded and moved closer. “It is, but you’ve both been through a lot and...” she trailed off, deciding it wasn’t necessary to go over what had happened again. “How are you feeling?”
He glanced at his girlfriend and gave her a small encouraging smile. “Safe to say we’ve been better, but we were a lot worse a day ago.”
Tess went to check their blood pressure and nodded, satisfied with the results. “Your bodies are hurt, but there’s no damage that won’t heal in a few weeks. Do you feel like eating some breakfast?”
“Yeah, I’m pretty hungry,” he admitted.
“I’ll bet.” She smiled and nodded. “Even though you probably feel like you could eat a horse right now, you’re gonna wanna take it easy and let your stomach adjust to food again.”
“So no pancakes and sausage?” The smell was driving him crazy.
“No, sorry. It’d be best to have some oatmeal. Well, let’s put it this way: I’m not gonna tell you what you can or can’t have, but from experience and a medical standpoint I’m gonna recommend that you go with the oatmeal. You try to put a full meal like that on your stomach right now and you’re not gonna like your body’s reaction.”
Max scowled at that. “Oatmeal, huh? Well, at least you’ll enjoy breakfast,” he said with a look at his girlfriend.
“He hates oatmeal,” Liz confided.
“I have one of those too. Kyle would rather eat a shoe than to ever stick a spoonful of oatmeal in his mouth.”
“Shoe doesn’t sound any better,” Max grumbled but the light banter felt good in contrast to what they had experienced the days before. “I’ll have the oatmeal, but it doesn’t mean I’m gonna like it.”
Tess chuckled. “Alright. The bathroom’s right through there,” she pointed to a door across the room. “Make sure you take it slow when getting up. You might be dizzy for a short while. I’ll be right back with some breakfast.”
They both nodded and watched her as she moved to take her leave. “Tess?” Liz spoke up when she reached the door.
“Yeah?”
“How long were we gone? An’ how did you find us?”
“You were gone a few days and,” she stopped when she saw Maria approaching in the hallway. “I think I’ll let her answer your questions while I prepare your food.”
Maria felt herself hesitating as she neared the door to the room her friends had been given. She had no idea what to expect. What if they hated her now? They wouldn’t have been put through all of that if not for her.
Tess squeezed her arm and gave her an encouraging smile as they passed each other.
“Food,” Max muttered under his breath. “Oatmeal’s not food.”
“It is too,” Liz said, giving him a light elbow to the ribs.
“Yeah, if you’re a horse.” Movement caught his attention and he nodded at the doorway when he saw Maria standing there uncertainly.
“Hey girl,” Liz greeted her with a smile while waving her inside.
Maria finally stepped into the room, trying to hide the wince that automatically arose at the sight of their injuries.
“It’s not pretty, but rumor has it we’re gonna recover,” Max joked, trying to lighten the mood. “Hey, none of this is your fault. We’re still not even sure how they located us, but however it happened, I know you didn’t send them an engraved invitation to snatch us.”
“No.” Her voice was quiet as she slowly crept across the room. “I’m so sorry about this.”
“There’s no reason for you to apologize, Maria,” Liz assured her. “It’s not your fault anymore than it’s ours.”
“I know.” And rationally, she did know. But seeing them injured and knowing they’d been tortured because the Circle believed they knew where she was, that was a little harder to reconcile.
“We survived, Maria.” Max motioned for her to sit down. He didn’t care where she sat down as long as she sat somewhere.
“I’m very glad you’re here.” She hesitated for a moment and then went to sit on the edge of the bed, close to Liz.
He breathed a little easier once she wasn’t standing over him. There was no ulterior motive behind her standing and he knew that, but it was a strategic move their captors had used to show they held all the power, and right now he just couldn’t handle it. “He kept you safe while we’ve been separated?”
“No harm done to me,” she agreed and felt bad about it, because all her friends seemed to suffer ten times worse than her.
“Don’t sound so apologetic about that,” he said with a teasing smile.
Maria smiled. “I’m trying. How are you guys doing?”
“Be better if we weren’t eating horse feed for breakfast,” he grumbled good-naturedly.
“I guess men are all the same. Michael went on and on about it as well.”
Liz’ eyebrows lifted in interest when she noticed the tone in her friend’s voice. “How’re things going with him?”
“At the moment he’s a pain in the ass.”
Max snorted. “He has moments when he’s not?”
Maria giggled. “Rarely, but yes.”
“Does that mean things between the two of you are... better than good?” Liz asked.
“Better than good?”
“Well, c’mon, if he’s even a little tolerable I’d say that’s at least good. And if things between the two of you are more than that I’d consider that better than good.”
Max rolled his eyes. “Why can’t girls ever just say what they’re tryin’ to say without dancin’ around it?”
“Don’t,” Maria shook her head.
He chuckled and nodded. “Good answer.” It said everything really.
“Things are complicated. Let’s just leave it at that.”
“I can’t imagine anything with that man being anything but complicated,” Liz laughed. She reached up to rub her throat, hating the reminder the pain brought with it.
“No kidding, yes.” Maria looked at her friend. “I’m so sooo sorry.”
“For what?”
“For all this.”
“None of this is your fault, Maria.”
“It’s a mess though. Just one big mess.”
“It’s a mess, but it’s not your fault. Sounds like maybe we’re getting closer to shuttin’ the Circle down.”
“A step closer yes.” She wished it was all over already. Or maybe not? Because it would mean she’d be all alone, right?
“I guess we’re gonna be adding our names to yours when it comes time to testify,” Liz said when Maria went quiet again.
“You sure?”
“We’re sure.”
Maria nodded. “That’ll help a lot I think. You guys...” she swallowed, “you’ve witnessed what they’re capable of.”
“Yeah, and they’re gonna pay for that.” Max shook his head carefully. “We can’t allow them to ever do that to anyone else again.”
“Yes, I agree.” Maria straightened her back. “I guess our main goal and focus should be just that. Bring them down for the sake of the entire world.”
Liz smiled. “No reason to let you have all the fun.”
“Ha ha,” she replied dryly.
“Well, once it’s done we can cut out and we’ll all feel better.”
“Amen to that.”
“Got any ideas about where you might wanna go?”
“Haven’t thought that far.” And she didn’t want to.
Max nodded when Liz shot a look at him. “Well, I guess you’ll know when the time comes.”
“I’ll have to, huh?”
“Eventually.”
“What about you guys?”
“Someplace where it’s warm year-round with white sandy beaches and miles of ocean.”
Maria’s thoughts immediately wandered off to something Michael had promised her. He had said once this was all over he would take her to his place in the Maldives. Would he stick to it? Somehow she doubted it.
“As long as it’s someplace that never ever gets cold.” Liz shuddered at the thought.
“That sounds good.” She snapped back to reality when Liz spoke.
“Add real food to that and it’ll be paradise,” Max quipped.
“Stop complaining about breakfast before you’ve even had it,” Maria chuckled.
“Maria,” he whined as well as he could with his sore throat, “oatmeal should never be given the good name of breakfast.”
“It’s food.”
“That’s one word for it.” He shifted slightly. “Just not one I’d use.”
“You will get over it. And your stomach might even be thankful for it.”
“Yep, and pigs could take to flight any minute now.” His tone was sarcastic but laced with teasing.
“You never know these days.”
“Well, I suppose that much is true.”
“Really,” Maria snorted. “By now I wouldn’t be surprised by flying pigs or anything else.”
“That’d be a sight.” He chuckled but it was abruptly silenced by a grimace when he tried to shrug his shoulders and the pain reminded him to be still.
“You guys need anything else?”
New shoulders, he thought but bit back that comment since he knew Maria well and knew it’d just make her feel guilty even though he didn’t hold her at fault for any of this. “Real food, but I guess that’s on the back burner for now.”
“You got that right.”
“Then I guess I’ll force down the oatmeal.”
“Don’t be such a baby about it,” Liz said.
“Easy for you to say,” he grumbled. “You like that crap.”
Tess joined them after a few more minutes, carrying their breakfast on a tray. “You ordered the special breakfast menu?”
He nodded at his girlfriend. “She did.”
“I have two.”
“She’s really hungry.”
“Doubtful.”
“Fine, I’ll eat it, but don’t expect me to like it.”
“You’ll survive it.”
He grunted and stared at the bowl of... mush she handed him. There was just nothing good to say about oatmeal. Well, other than the fact that it was warming his hands up.
“Jeez, you really don’t like it, huh?” Maria laughed at the expression on Max’s face.
“Ya think?” He moved the spoon around and stared at the substance that was obviously one of the biggest insults to the word food.
“Eat it for God’s sake,” Liz groaned.
He made a face and scooped a small spoonful up, staring at it for a moment. “This’s nothin’ against your cookin’ because no one could make this shit taste any better.” He stuck it in his mouth and pulled the spoon free, tempted to just swallow it. It wasn’t like you could really chew oatmeal. He chewed experimentally anyway. It was so... He paused to look down at the bowl, moving the spoon around as he studied it again while chewing thoughtfully. Okay, maybe it wasn’t exactly as bad as he remembered. It wasn’t just mushy; there were crunchy bits that helped. “What’s in it?” he mumbled after swallowing it down. “Walnuts and apples?”
“Surprised?” Tess chuckled.
“Well, it’s not gonna be one of my favorite foods or anything, but it’s not horrible.”
“Glad to hear it. Now eat and make sure to eat slowly.”
He wanted to ask about Janus, wanted to hear the demented, psychotic head-case was dead and could never hurt anyone else, but he bit the question back. Liz was relaxed at the moment, enjoying herself and he didn’t want to ruin that sense of peace.
Maria watched as they slowly began to eat and then stood up. “I’m gonna leave you two alone for a bit. I’ll see you later?”
Liz glanced up at her and nodded. “Yes, let’s do that.”
“Okay. Just pick up the house phone if you need anything.” She walked over to the door and left quietly, following the hallway down to the bedroom she shared with Michael. He’d been in an awful mood earlier and she wasn’t sure what she would find when she entered the room.
Michael looked up when the door opened and his sharp gaze locked on Maria when she paused in the doorway, searching her features. Things had gotten out of hand earlier and he’d gone after her but she’d already been gone by the time he’d managed to hobble his way back to their room. He knew she hadn’t gone far, that she’d most likely gone to check on her friends, so rather than turn around he’d simply made his way back to the bed and settled down to wait. The pain meds had started to kick in and his mood was leveling out so he remained silent, waiting to see what she would do next.
“I think I’m gonna grab a shower.” Maria walked in, not really in need of a shower yet, but it was a good excuse to interrupt his brooding mood.
“I’d join you but Harding would take my nuts off if I got this wound wet.” Not to mention he’d probably pass out from trying to stand up that long.
“Yes, she would.”
One side of his mouth lifted in a lopsided half-smile and he shrugged his good shoulder. “I’m not in a position to put up much of a fight.”
“It won’t be for long.”
“No, it won’t be,” he agreed. He couldn’t afford to be sidelined for long.
She studied him, glad that he seemed to be calmer now and went to get some clothes from the closet. When will I finally have my own stuff again, she wondered while she went through some shirts.
“Pick somethin’ sexy out,” he called, grinning to himself as he imagined the blush that would be creeping up her cheeks.
“Why would I?” She turned her head to look over her shoulder.
His brow pulled down in a frown. “What?”
“Something sexy? For what reason?”
“Because I’m injured and it’ll improve my mood.”
“Hmm,” she thought about it for a second. “Makes sense to your way of thinking.”
He waved his good hand in a dismissive motion. “Is there another way?”
“Pretty sure there is,” she chuckled and closed the closet when she had found a new shirt that looked okay.
He made a sound of disagreement.
“What?”
“My way’s best.” He enjoyed baiting her and he really didn’t know why.
“That’s your opinion.”
He shrugged his good shoulder. He didn’t really care about any else’s opinion and any guy who expressed an opinion about her regarding anything of a sexual nature was only gonna end up regretting it anyway. “Only one that matters.”
“You are so full of yourself.” She took a small pillow from end of the bed and threw it at him.
He grinned rakishly. “Strip an’ get over here an’ you can be full of me too.”
A shiver ran down her spine. “Uh...”
That definitely wasn’t an outright ‘no.’ “What she doesn’t know won’t hurt me.”
“Tess?” she guessed.
“Who else?”
“I’m not worried about Tess.”
“Then why’re you still all the way over there?”
She neared the bed slowly. “Because I’m wondering about how much you should handle.”
“I can handle anything.” He didn’t wanna think about injuries and limitations.
“Liar,” she snorted as she sat down on the bed beside him, one hand grazing over his lower arm and the few bruises and scratches there. He looked all beat up but she had to admit that it was also a sexy look for him. Like the bad boy in every movie where he had protected his girl with all that was in him.
He sighed, knowing she’d just said no. “So I’m a little banged up. The important parts didn’t take a beating.”
L-J-L 76: Thanks! Max and Liz have ben through a lot, more than anyone should go through. They’ve got their plan together to get them out of sight and off the radar. We’ll be checking in a little more with them today.
Eva: That’s so true, and with a couple in the mix like Michael and Val, well, conflicts will definitely arise. Even though he hates what Janus has done and he’d like to see him punished, Alex has a difficult time being so cavalier about etching the man’s name on a bullet.
Lol, Val is still getting used to just how protective she feels of Alex. And we suspect there are some other feelings in there as well.
keepsmiling7: Yes, they are! We’ll be spending a little more time with them today.
sarammlover: Lol, Michael and Val are all for that and they’re not about to be deterred from that decision. Evil like that can’t be contained and they know it. Thanks!
Part 70
“Think he’ll stick around once this’s all over?” Max wondered aloud.
“I have no clue, honestly.”
“Me either. He doesn’t seem like the type to stick around.”
“Not at all, no.”
“I guess we’ll find out. Maybe.” He went to shrug without thinking and inhaled sharply. “Fuck,” he hissed, “that shit hurts!”
“It’s gonna take a while.” She smiled sadly.
“Yeah. Sure as hell didn’t take ‘em long to do the damage.”
“Certainly not.”
He eased back down and sighed when the pressure was taken off of his shoulders. “Somehow I never saw our lives takin’ this turn.”
“Thank God you didn’t, Max.”
“If I had we could’ve missed out on all this fun.”
Liz stayed silent and stared at the ceiling. How were they going to deal with this?
He lay there in the silence, his thoughts drifting to what was still to come. “You don’t think they’re gonna make us talk to a shrink or anything before this goes to trial, do you?”
“I dunno. Would the law require something like that?”
“They could, to determine our state of mind and make sure our credibility’s intact.”
“Yeah...”
“I know if we’re called on as witnesses we’re gonna have to tell what they did to us.” His hands clenched into white-knuckled fists. It was bad enough to have to relive it through verbalizing in front of a room of strangers. He didn’t want to have to tell it at all, but he sure didn’t want to sit down with someone who would pick apart every moment of their captivity.
“We’ll have to. They deserve it.”
“Then I hope we can get it over quick and get the hell outta Dodge.”
“I second that.” She reached over to squeeze his hand slightly.
“Soon as that’s done we’re collecting our money and heading for our beach, wherever it is.”
“Promise?”
Ignoring the pain that flared to life again, he brought her hand up and kissed her knuckles. “Promise. Guess you’re gonna have to marry me now. Y’know, that whole for better or worse part of the vows? Well, I figure we’ve already done the ‘or worse’ part.”
“It can only get better,” she agreed.
“That’s what I’m lookin’ forward to.” He closed his eyes tiredly. “You think they’ve got somethin’ out there we can eat?”
“With the assassins being here? They probably have tons of food.”
“Good, because I’m hungry. I know we haven’t eaten anything since we were taken but I have no idea how long ago that was. A couple days... a week?”
“I have no clue to be honest.” She frowned.
“It felt like forever,” he admitted quietly.
“Yeah, even longer than that.”
Silence fell over them for several long heavy minutes. The whole time they’d been captive, however long it was, their thoughts had only been for each other. The enemy hadn’t taken that from them no matter how hard they’d tried to. “We’re gonna be okay though, right?”
“Yes,” she agreed, her tone determined, and turned her head to look at him. “They broke our bodies but not our minds.”
“Or our spirits. We got involved in this mess to help Maria, but it’s about more than that now. We’re gonna do whatever we have to do to see that they pay for what they’ve done to all of us.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that.”
Max lifted his head carefully in the direction of the voice and saw Tess leaning in the doorway. “It’s the right thing to do.”
She nodded and moved closer. “It is, but you’ve both been through a lot and...” she trailed off, deciding it wasn’t necessary to go over what had happened again. “How are you feeling?”
He glanced at his girlfriend and gave her a small encouraging smile. “Safe to say we’ve been better, but we were a lot worse a day ago.”
Tess went to check their blood pressure and nodded, satisfied with the results. “Your bodies are hurt, but there’s no damage that won’t heal in a few weeks. Do you feel like eating some breakfast?”
“Yeah, I’m pretty hungry,” he admitted.
“I’ll bet.” She smiled and nodded. “Even though you probably feel like you could eat a horse right now, you’re gonna wanna take it easy and let your stomach adjust to food again.”
“So no pancakes and sausage?” The smell was driving him crazy.
“No, sorry. It’d be best to have some oatmeal. Well, let’s put it this way: I’m not gonna tell you what you can or can’t have, but from experience and a medical standpoint I’m gonna recommend that you go with the oatmeal. You try to put a full meal like that on your stomach right now and you’re not gonna like your body’s reaction.”
Max scowled at that. “Oatmeal, huh? Well, at least you’ll enjoy breakfast,” he said with a look at his girlfriend.
“He hates oatmeal,” Liz confided.
“I have one of those too. Kyle would rather eat a shoe than to ever stick a spoonful of oatmeal in his mouth.”
“Shoe doesn’t sound any better,” Max grumbled but the light banter felt good in contrast to what they had experienced the days before. “I’ll have the oatmeal, but it doesn’t mean I’m gonna like it.”
Tess chuckled. “Alright. The bathroom’s right through there,” she pointed to a door across the room. “Make sure you take it slow when getting up. You might be dizzy for a short while. I’ll be right back with some breakfast.”
They both nodded and watched her as she moved to take her leave. “Tess?” Liz spoke up when she reached the door.
“Yeah?”
“How long were we gone? An’ how did you find us?”
“You were gone a few days and,” she stopped when she saw Maria approaching in the hallway. “I think I’ll let her answer your questions while I prepare your food.”
Maria felt herself hesitating as she neared the door to the room her friends had been given. She had no idea what to expect. What if they hated her now? They wouldn’t have been put through all of that if not for her.
Tess squeezed her arm and gave her an encouraging smile as they passed each other.
“Food,” Max muttered under his breath. “Oatmeal’s not food.”
“It is too,” Liz said, giving him a light elbow to the ribs.
“Yeah, if you’re a horse.” Movement caught his attention and he nodded at the doorway when he saw Maria standing there uncertainly.
“Hey girl,” Liz greeted her with a smile while waving her inside.
Maria finally stepped into the room, trying to hide the wince that automatically arose at the sight of their injuries.
“It’s not pretty, but rumor has it we’re gonna recover,” Max joked, trying to lighten the mood. “Hey, none of this is your fault. We’re still not even sure how they located us, but however it happened, I know you didn’t send them an engraved invitation to snatch us.”
“No.” Her voice was quiet as she slowly crept across the room. “I’m so sorry about this.”
“There’s no reason for you to apologize, Maria,” Liz assured her. “It’s not your fault anymore than it’s ours.”
“I know.” And rationally, she did know. But seeing them injured and knowing they’d been tortured because the Circle believed they knew where she was, that was a little harder to reconcile.
“We survived, Maria.” Max motioned for her to sit down. He didn’t care where she sat down as long as she sat somewhere.
“I’m very glad you’re here.” She hesitated for a moment and then went to sit on the edge of the bed, close to Liz.
He breathed a little easier once she wasn’t standing over him. There was no ulterior motive behind her standing and he knew that, but it was a strategic move their captors had used to show they held all the power, and right now he just couldn’t handle it. “He kept you safe while we’ve been separated?”
“No harm done to me,” she agreed and felt bad about it, because all her friends seemed to suffer ten times worse than her.
“Don’t sound so apologetic about that,” he said with a teasing smile.
Maria smiled. “I’m trying. How are you guys doing?”
“Be better if we weren’t eating horse feed for breakfast,” he grumbled good-naturedly.
“I guess men are all the same. Michael went on and on about it as well.”
Liz’ eyebrows lifted in interest when she noticed the tone in her friend’s voice. “How’re things going with him?”
“At the moment he’s a pain in the ass.”
Max snorted. “He has moments when he’s not?”
Maria giggled. “Rarely, but yes.”
“Does that mean things between the two of you are... better than good?” Liz asked.
“Better than good?”
“Well, c’mon, if he’s even a little tolerable I’d say that’s at least good. And if things between the two of you are more than that I’d consider that better than good.”
Max rolled his eyes. “Why can’t girls ever just say what they’re tryin’ to say without dancin’ around it?”
“Don’t,” Maria shook her head.
He chuckled and nodded. “Good answer.” It said everything really.
“Things are complicated. Let’s just leave it at that.”
“I can’t imagine anything with that man being anything but complicated,” Liz laughed. She reached up to rub her throat, hating the reminder the pain brought with it.
“No kidding, yes.” Maria looked at her friend. “I’m so sooo sorry.”
“For what?”
“For all this.”
“None of this is your fault, Maria.”
“It’s a mess though. Just one big mess.”
“It’s a mess, but it’s not your fault. Sounds like maybe we’re getting closer to shuttin’ the Circle down.”
“A step closer yes.” She wished it was all over already. Or maybe not? Because it would mean she’d be all alone, right?
“I guess we’re gonna be adding our names to yours when it comes time to testify,” Liz said when Maria went quiet again.
“You sure?”
“We’re sure.”
Maria nodded. “That’ll help a lot I think. You guys...” she swallowed, “you’ve witnessed what they’re capable of.”
“Yeah, and they’re gonna pay for that.” Max shook his head carefully. “We can’t allow them to ever do that to anyone else again.”
“Yes, I agree.” Maria straightened her back. “I guess our main goal and focus should be just that. Bring them down for the sake of the entire world.”
Liz smiled. “No reason to let you have all the fun.”
“Ha ha,” she replied dryly.
“Well, once it’s done we can cut out and we’ll all feel better.”
“Amen to that.”
“Got any ideas about where you might wanna go?”
“Haven’t thought that far.” And she didn’t want to.
Max nodded when Liz shot a look at him. “Well, I guess you’ll know when the time comes.”
“I’ll have to, huh?”
“Eventually.”
“What about you guys?”
“Someplace where it’s warm year-round with white sandy beaches and miles of ocean.”
Maria’s thoughts immediately wandered off to something Michael had promised her. He had said once this was all over he would take her to his place in the Maldives. Would he stick to it? Somehow she doubted it.
“As long as it’s someplace that never ever gets cold.” Liz shuddered at the thought.
“That sounds good.” She snapped back to reality when Liz spoke.
“Add real food to that and it’ll be paradise,” Max quipped.
“Stop complaining about breakfast before you’ve even had it,” Maria chuckled.
“Maria,” he whined as well as he could with his sore throat, “oatmeal should never be given the good name of breakfast.”
“It’s food.”
“That’s one word for it.” He shifted slightly. “Just not one I’d use.”
“You will get over it. And your stomach might even be thankful for it.”
“Yep, and pigs could take to flight any minute now.” His tone was sarcastic but laced with teasing.
“You never know these days.”
“Well, I suppose that much is true.”
“Really,” Maria snorted. “By now I wouldn’t be surprised by flying pigs or anything else.”
“That’d be a sight.” He chuckled but it was abruptly silenced by a grimace when he tried to shrug his shoulders and the pain reminded him to be still.
“You guys need anything else?”
New shoulders, he thought but bit back that comment since he knew Maria well and knew it’d just make her feel guilty even though he didn’t hold her at fault for any of this. “Real food, but I guess that’s on the back burner for now.”
“You got that right.”
“Then I guess I’ll force down the oatmeal.”
“Don’t be such a baby about it,” Liz said.
“Easy for you to say,” he grumbled. “You like that crap.”
Tess joined them after a few more minutes, carrying their breakfast on a tray. “You ordered the special breakfast menu?”
He nodded at his girlfriend. “She did.”
“I have two.”
“She’s really hungry.”
“Doubtful.”
“Fine, I’ll eat it, but don’t expect me to like it.”
“You’ll survive it.”
He grunted and stared at the bowl of... mush she handed him. There was just nothing good to say about oatmeal. Well, other than the fact that it was warming his hands up.
“Jeez, you really don’t like it, huh?” Maria laughed at the expression on Max’s face.
“Ya think?” He moved the spoon around and stared at the substance that was obviously one of the biggest insults to the word food.
“Eat it for God’s sake,” Liz groaned.
He made a face and scooped a small spoonful up, staring at it for a moment. “This’s nothin’ against your cookin’ because no one could make this shit taste any better.” He stuck it in his mouth and pulled the spoon free, tempted to just swallow it. It wasn’t like you could really chew oatmeal. He chewed experimentally anyway. It was so... He paused to look down at the bowl, moving the spoon around as he studied it again while chewing thoughtfully. Okay, maybe it wasn’t exactly as bad as he remembered. It wasn’t just mushy; there were crunchy bits that helped. “What’s in it?” he mumbled after swallowing it down. “Walnuts and apples?”
“Surprised?” Tess chuckled.
“Well, it’s not gonna be one of my favorite foods or anything, but it’s not horrible.”
“Glad to hear it. Now eat and make sure to eat slowly.”
He wanted to ask about Janus, wanted to hear the demented, psychotic head-case was dead and could never hurt anyone else, but he bit the question back. Liz was relaxed at the moment, enjoying herself and he didn’t want to ruin that sense of peace.
Maria watched as they slowly began to eat and then stood up. “I’m gonna leave you two alone for a bit. I’ll see you later?”
Liz glanced up at her and nodded. “Yes, let’s do that.”
“Okay. Just pick up the house phone if you need anything.” She walked over to the door and left quietly, following the hallway down to the bedroom she shared with Michael. He’d been in an awful mood earlier and she wasn’t sure what she would find when she entered the room.
Michael looked up when the door opened and his sharp gaze locked on Maria when she paused in the doorway, searching her features. Things had gotten out of hand earlier and he’d gone after her but she’d already been gone by the time he’d managed to hobble his way back to their room. He knew she hadn’t gone far, that she’d most likely gone to check on her friends, so rather than turn around he’d simply made his way back to the bed and settled down to wait. The pain meds had started to kick in and his mood was leveling out so he remained silent, waiting to see what she would do next.
“I think I’m gonna grab a shower.” Maria walked in, not really in need of a shower yet, but it was a good excuse to interrupt his brooding mood.
“I’d join you but Harding would take my nuts off if I got this wound wet.” Not to mention he’d probably pass out from trying to stand up that long.
“Yes, she would.”
One side of his mouth lifted in a lopsided half-smile and he shrugged his good shoulder. “I’m not in a position to put up much of a fight.”
“It won’t be for long.”
“No, it won’t be,” he agreed. He couldn’t afford to be sidelined for long.
She studied him, glad that he seemed to be calmer now and went to get some clothes from the closet. When will I finally have my own stuff again, she wondered while she went through some shirts.
“Pick somethin’ sexy out,” he called, grinning to himself as he imagined the blush that would be creeping up her cheeks.
“Why would I?” She turned her head to look over her shoulder.
His brow pulled down in a frown. “What?”
“Something sexy? For what reason?”
“Because I’m injured and it’ll improve my mood.”
“Hmm,” she thought about it for a second. “Makes sense to your way of thinking.”
He waved his good hand in a dismissive motion. “Is there another way?”
“Pretty sure there is,” she chuckled and closed the closet when she had found a new shirt that looked okay.
He made a sound of disagreement.
“What?”
“My way’s best.” He enjoyed baiting her and he really didn’t know why.
“That’s your opinion.”
He shrugged his good shoulder. He didn’t really care about any else’s opinion and any guy who expressed an opinion about her regarding anything of a sexual nature was only gonna end up regretting it anyway. “Only one that matters.”
“You are so full of yourself.” She took a small pillow from end of the bed and threw it at him.
He grinned rakishly. “Strip an’ get over here an’ you can be full of me too.”
A shiver ran down her spine. “Uh...”
That definitely wasn’t an outright ‘no.’ “What she doesn’t know won’t hurt me.”
“Tess?” she guessed.
“Who else?”
“I’m not worried about Tess.”
“Then why’re you still all the way over there?”
She neared the bed slowly. “Because I’m wondering about how much you should handle.”
“I can handle anything.” He didn’t wanna think about injuries and limitations.
“Liar,” she snorted as she sat down on the bed beside him, one hand grazing over his lower arm and the few bruises and scratches there. He looked all beat up but she had to admit that it was also a sexy look for him. Like the bad boy in every movie where he had protected his girl with all that was in him.
He sighed, knowing she’d just said no. “So I’m a little banged up. The important parts didn’t take a beating.”
Fics: A Xmas Story - A Merry Mt. R. Xmas - Cupid's Revenge - Double Trouble - Double Date - Double Dare - Double Empire - Double Xmas Wish - In The Course Of A Lifetime - Mountains So High - Not A Question At All - Surrender - TIC TAC - Two Double Dates at Xmas
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Roswelllostcause
- Roswell Fanatic
- Posts: 1992
- Joined: Tue Oct 09, 2001 4:58 pm
- Location: Motown
Re: THE ASSASSIN - AU/CC/Adult - Part 70 - 8/7/16
I have to agree with Max, oatmeal is not food! It is not fit to be eaten no matter what you do to it. Michael, you need to rest and heal.
Check out my Author page for a list of my fics!
http://www.roswellfanatics.net/viewtopi ... 1&t=155639
http://www.roswellfanatics.net/viewtopi ... 1&t=155639
Re: THE ASSASSIN - AU/CC/Adult - Part 70 - 8/7/16
Humour was and will be the best medicine ever. Great chapter, especially the men in it! 
Take a look at Eva's world
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keepsmiling7
- Roswell Fanatic
- Posts: 2649
- Joined: Thu Jun 28, 2007 9:34 pm
Re: THE ASSASSIN - AU/CC/Adult - Part 70 - 8/7/16
That was quite a breakfast ordeal.......
Thanks,
Carolyn
Thanks,
Carolyn
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sarammlover
- Addicted Roswellian
- Posts: 321
- Joined: Mon Feb 04, 2008 5:03 pm
Re: THE ASSASSIN - AU/CC/Adult - Part 70 - 8/7/16
Michael is such a hornball! HA! All the time. Sex is always on his mind. And I am glad Max and Liz are awake, alive and have some good support around them!
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Double Trouble
- Obsessed Roswellian
- Posts: 925
- Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:47 am
Part 71
Roswelllostcause: Lol, no, it isn’t! He does, but he has his own way of thinking where that’s concerned.
Eva: It sure is. A sense of humor can make such a difference. Thanks, these men do keep it entertaining.
keepsmiling7: Yes, it was, lol.
sarammlover: Well, you know how Michael is... and really, would we change him? Yep, they’re finally awake and beginning the path to healing.
Part 71
“Yeah?” She grinned. “What important parts ya talking about?”
He took her hand and placed it in his lap. “What other part would I be talkin’ about?”
“I… I don’t know,” she mumbled. “There should be other important parts, no?” Her eyes wandered to his lips.
He’d never given it much thought. “When I’m inside you is there some other part you’re thinkin’ about?” he rasped.
“Not sure how much thinkin’ I’m really doing then.”
That brought a smug grin to his face. “Mind blowing, huh?”
“Mind closing,” she teased.
He shook his head. “Definitely need to give you a reminder.”
“Yeah, maybe...”
“Maybe?” he repeated,
“Definitely.”
His eyebrows lifted even as a smile relaxed his features. “Now you’re talkin’.”
She smirked and lifted her eyes to his.
“You’ll have to be on top. My leg’s not ready for me to take that position.” But there were some definite advantages to her taking the dominant position, he thought.
“You sure that’ll work?”
“It’s gonna have to. The longer we sit here talkin’ about it the harder I’m getting.”
Maria bit her lip. Okay, she wanted it as well, but what if it caused damage to his leg?
“Maria, trust me, I’m not in any pain right now.”
“Okay,” she got up from the bed and walked over to the door, hearing his protest until he figured out she was just locking the door.
Yes! He controlled the adolescent urge to fist the air.
“I think it’s for the best if you take off your pants already.”
“Yes ma’am,” he said and gave her a sloppy salute – the kind that had pissed off more than one superior officer while he’d been enlisted. His movements were slow and careful as he shuffled around to push the sweats off.
Maria hesitated for a moment but then started to pull her own jeans off.
His eyes darkened as he watched her, feeling his breath catch in his throat as more of her skin came into view.
Her hand brushed over the bruise on her thigh. “It’s almost gone.”
He nodded wordlessly. He was glad to see that the painful marks were healing, fading into nothing more than a memory.
Her eyes went to his and caught his stare on her. For a moment the insecurities kicked back in but she reminded herself that he had never said anything to make her believe she wasn’t sexy in his eyes.
Her slight hesitation caught his attention and he frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she waved him off. Of course he noticed THAT.
He studied her body language, trying to figure out what had caused that moment of... what was it, exactly? A lack of confidence? Insecurity? No... she couldn’t feel like that any longer. She had to know she had no reason to doubt herself or the way he felt about her. He was sure he stopped breathing for a minute. No, it wasn’t about feelings, he denied. It was about his attraction to her. Yeah, that was much safer. “You were sexy as hell even after bein’ knocked around and takin’ a beating so you’ve gotta know that without ‘em you could take me out at the knees.” He motioned to his legs. “If I could stand without benefit of crutches, that is.”
“Good to know,” she smirked. “I’ll keep it in mind.”
“Do that.” He made a downward motion with one finger. “Let’s see the rest of it.”
“Okay,” she said a little nervously and pulled her panties down slowly.
He growled under his breath and reached back to shove another pillow behind his back. “Fuck, you’re gonna be gorgeous with all that naked skin surrounded by nothin’ but sand, the ocean and a clear blue sky.”
“The Maldives?” He hadn’t forgotten.
“Purest place left on the planet.” Untouched by the darkness in his past... in him.
“Sounds like the perfect place.”
He curled his finger, letting her know he wanted her to come closer.
She took a step forward and the lifted her fingers to open the buttons on her shirt one after another.
“It’s not nice to tease an injured man.”
“Thought you might like it.”
He smirked when she didn’t falter but came right back with a response. That’s my girl. He shoved that thought away. She wasn’t his, couldn’t be his. Whitman had been right when he said she deserved better and he hadn’t been joking when he said he agreed with him.
“So you do,” she said when she interpreted his face.
He shrugged one shoulder, his eyes following the line of flesh being exposed with the painfully slow release of each button.
Maria tried to control her breathing, but her hands were shaking a little and she didn’t know if it was anticipation or nervousness.
He wasn’t sure if she was trying to drive him crazy with need or if she was exhibiting a case of nerves. He shuffled around to get more comfortable and reached out when she was finally close enough, catching the hem of her shirt and tugging her closer.
Maria gasped, but let him touch her once he was able to reach her fully.
“I’ve seen you naked on more than one occasion, y’know,” he said with the hint of a smile on his lips.
“I know... I’m still getting used to it.”
He chuckled and nodded. If any other woman had acted like this it would’ve pissed him off but somehow with her it had the opposite effect.
She slowly climbed on the bed and on top of him, her shirt hanging open in front of his eyes with the movement and she hissed when he leaned forward and sucked a nipple into his mouth
This was more like it, he thought. His hands drifted to her thighs, sliding up under the shirt and pushing the panels farther apart. She didn’t acknowledge her beauty, didn’t really even seem to know it existed, but he was well aware of it. All that smooth warm skin under his hands and his body had put him in the passenger’s seat, something that would have aggravated him under normal circumstances. Somehow that was nothing more than a fleeting thought when she shifted against him.
“Your hands are kinda rough,” she whispered, “but I like that.”
He smirked against her skin before rasping his rough palms over every inch of flesh he could reach, enjoying the way it made her move.
Maria groaned and threw her head back. This man was driving her crazy and she had no control over it.
His hands reversed their journey, sliding over her thighs and slipping between them, watching her eyes darken with arousal. His gaze locked on hers, he grazed his knuckles against her wet heat.
“Gosh,” she whispered and reached between them to take him in her hands gently.
Her response amused him. Never before had he been in a position to find himself feeling like this. Women had always been there for him to use. It was as cold as it sounded, but it wasn’t like they hadn’t gotten something out of it. He shoved those thoughts away. They had nothing to do with whatever this was with Maria so he focused all of his attention on her. He added pressure to his touch, giving her what she needed.
“That feels...” She bit her lip when he hit a certain angle, unable to say anything else.
He grinned when she was unable to verbally articulate the way he was making her feel. He wrapped his free arm around her, pulling her closer while doing his best to avoid using too much pressure in an effort to minimize the pain in his shoulder that even the smallest movement caused. His lips landed on hers with precision, swallowing her moans as he pushed her to her peak.
Maria reached out to steady herself on the headboard so she wouldn’t cause him any pain. Her eyes fell closed and she literally saw stars when a fast orgasm hit her.
“Good one, huh?” he muttered smugly. Damn, he wished his body was functioning at its fullest potential. As it was though, rolling her under him and sinking into her welcoming heat wasn’t gonna happen.
“It was, yes,” she blushed and smiled before her eyes wandered down to his hard length in her hand.
It was insane just how good he felt when he did anything that made her feel good... even when it had nothing to do with sex. Hell, he’d never really cared one way or the other really if his bed partners got off. If they did that was great, but if not it was their loss. And he’d sure as hell never given a damn how they felt in any other way. The old wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am was about as good as it had ever gotten, but it was so different with her. Hell, everything was different with her. “You think we could do somethin’ about that?” he asked, following her gaze. Her hands on him were amazing and he was enjoying it but he needed things to move along.
“Yeah... what would you like?”
“What would you like?” he countered.
She thought about it for a moment. “I’ve never...” her eyes dropped out of embarrassment.
“Never...?” he coaxed.
“...with my mouth.”
There was no controlling his dick’s enthusiastic response to the image her admission conjured up. “It’s not somethin’ you should make yourself do. I’d be lyin’ if I said I didn’t enjoy it and fuck yeah, I’ve fantasized about havin’ your mouth on me, but if you’re not ready you shouldn’t push yourself.” What the fuck is wrong with you?! If she wants to blow you, let her have at it! Fuck off! He shook his head at the internal debate going on inside his head and looked at her. “But if you wanna give it a go I’m not gonna say no.”
“I would like to try it.”
Hell yeah! But he tried to control the need to shout. “Then by all means, don’t let me stop you.”
“Is there anything... ya know... that I need to know?”
“Just take it easy with the teeth,” he said with a wink.
“Ha ha,” she rolled her eyes.
“Hey, you’ve gotta treat him with respect. You don’t have to treat him like he’s fragile though. However,” he rasped when the throbbing in that region reminded him unsubtly that the pressure was ready for release, “if you wanna get started you’d make him real damn happy.”
Maria licked her lips and lowered herself on him while her hand gave him a few strokes. “Okay,” she muttered to herself and wrapped her lips around his head, testing.
Fuck! Stay in control, he ordered himself even as his hand fisted in her hair.
She guessed his reaction was a good thing and she grew bolder, letting her lips wander further down and taking him deep into her mouth.
“Easy,” he murmured, not wanting her to move too fast and choke herself. That wouldn’t be good for either of them.
She let go of him for a second. “I’m good, no worries.”
“Must be a natural,” he teased. “Don’t let me detain you any longer.”
She chuckled and went back to what she was doing, using her hand to cradle his balls.
He grunted in approval. She was a fast learner and from the looks of things this was one lesson she was gonna enjoy.
Michael groaned and it made her go faster on him, changing the pressure her lips were creating.
His fingers clenched in her hair, controlling the urge to do more than gently guide her movements.
When his breaths grew faster and more labored, she knew he couldn’t be far from coming. Her tongue circled his tip while one of her hands was moving up and down his length fast. Gosh, it was a real turn on to hear him like that.
He could feel the pressure building, the telltale signs that he was about to come and his fingers clenched in her hair as he hissed out a warning.
Maria lifted her head and went to kiss him deeply while her hands kept up the motion.
He felt the coiled spring snap a heartbeat before he shot his load, coating her hand and his stomach.
They kissed until the rush was gone. Only then did she dare to look into his eyes. “Was it...?”
“Better than good,” he assured her with a lazy smile.
“Okay,” a smile broke loose on her face as well.
“I had a feelin’ you’d be good at that.”
“Really?”
His fingers combed through her hair as his eyes traced over her features. “Um-hmm.”
“Good. I’m glad.” And it had surely improved his mood.
“What’s that smile for?” he asked, doing his best to ignore the drowsy feeling pushing at him.
“Just glad I could do that for you.”
“Feel free to do that for me anytime.” He tried to fight off a yawn and failed miserably.
“Maybe I will,” she chuckled.
“You’re sexy no matter what but that smile...” he shook his head and let his eyes drift closed. “You blow me away with that smile.”
*****
Michael opened his eyes and looked around, squinting when they were assaulted by the sun glaring off of the snow outside. He gave them a few seconds to adjust before turning his head to look at the alarm clock sitting on the nightstand on Maria’s side of the bed. It was just after 10am and his searching fingers detected cool sheets where she had lain the night before. He frowned and pulled his hand back. It didn’t take long for the sound of voices to register along with the muted sounds of pots and pans being moved around to infiltrate the silence of the bedroom and he knew where she was.
He slowly shifted to sit up, giving his body the necessary time to adjust before reaching for the crutches and getting to his feet. As much as he despised relying on anything or anyone he knew better than to try and move around without their aid at this point in his recovery. It would be useless to rush through his morning routine so he didn’t even bother; it would take as long as it took for him to get ready.
He decided to forego the shower he desperately wanted, settling for washing up at the sink. A look in the mirror revealed features that were scruffier than he normally allowed but he wasn’t steady enough to attempt shaving so that would have to wait as well. He finally accepted that he was as presentable as he was going to be so he hobbled into the bedroom to get dressed, another task that took a ridiculous amount of time and only served to further irritate him.
“Well, look who finally decided to grace us with his presence,” Kyle said with a laugh. He’d seen Guerin looking a helluva lot worse in the past but he knew how aggravated he’d be with the situation.
“Fuck off, Valenti.”
The response didn’t bother him in the least and his grin only got bigger. “Love you too, Sunshine.”
“Don’t interfere and don’t run over there and try to baby him,” Tess advised quietly when the conversation between the men was less than congenial.
“Oh, no,” Maria said and shook her head, “I know better than that.” Besides, the best thing for his current mood wasn’t something she was about to do with an audience.
The curly blonde laughed and nodded. “Good.” She glanced over her shoulder when Val and Alex shuffled in. “He’d be in an even worse mood if you tried to baby him.”
Her eyes widened and for a moment she was afraid she’d said that last thought aloud but then the rest of the woman’s words registered. “No, babying him wouldn’t work whether or not he was surrounded by people.” No, Michael Guerin wasn’t the type a woman babied for any reason.
“Ladies, can I squeeze in over here and get some coffee?”
The women moved to give Alex access to the mugs and coffee pot, not bothering to tell him they could bring it over. With one hand occupied with the crutch he was using to keep most of his weight off of his injured leg he could only take one cup at a time, but it was obvious he didn’t want or need help so they let it go. He made two trips, taking the first one to Val, who gave him a silent nod and a look the rest of them couldn’t hope to decipher, but it seemed to please him as he nodded in response and went back for his own mug.
Kyle’s mouth watered when his wife slid a warm plate on the table in front of him and he rubbed his hands together in anticipation before reaching for his fork. “Babe…”
Tess leaned over to drop a kiss on his head when her name passed his lips so reverently. “Enjoy.”
Steak omelet with a side of toast? Hell, there was no way he wouldn’t enjoy it! He grinned and reached up to squeeze the hand resting on his shoulder before she slipped away to grab the others’ plates.
Michael frowned as he stared at the food on Valenti’s plate, trying to determine what all was on it. Eggs, steak strips, green peppers, onions, tomatoes, cheese and… mushrooms. Ungh, no way!
“No mushrooms on yours,” Maria whispered as she leaned over his good shoulder to set a plate in front of him. He’d expressed his dislike – dislike that bordered on absolute hatred – for mushrooms and his current mood wouldn’t be helped any by making that particular mistake.
“Hey.”
His gruff voice sent shivers down her spine. She paused in the process of moving back, surprised when he reached back to catch her hand and pull her close. She could feel the curious eyes on them and knew if she could feel it he would be painfully aware of it so she just nodded and squeezed his hand.
He watched her as she went back to bustling around the kitchen putting the next plate together for a few moments before digging into his meal.
By the time Val and Alex had been served Max and Liz shuffled into the room, pausing for a moment before Maria hurried over to pull a couple of chairs out for them. They settled down and nodded when she asked if they’d like to try some pancakes with fruit on the side. Anything was better than oatmeal as far as Max was concerned.
Michael felt himself relax slightly when Maria finally sat down next to him and breakfast was enjoyed in silence for a while. He was almost finished with his meal, the pain in his body having receded for the moment, when he decided it was time to get back to business.
“Have you given any response to the emails that’re comin’ in?” he asked with a glance at Whitman.
Alex shook his head. “You said we’d go over them and you were… unconscious most of the day yesterday,” he said, carefully choosing his words. “Val and I spent the afternoon going through them, putting them in different categories to determine order of importance.”
Michael nodded. “Then let’s see what we’ve got.”
Val she shook her head when Alex looked at her. “I’ll go get it. You should give your leg a rest.” She took another bite of her food and got to her feet, disappearing down the hall to retrieve the laptop.
“How many answers did we get?” Maria wanted to know.
“At last count we were closing in on a hundred and fifty.”
“Oh wow. That’s quite a lot.”
“The network’s extensive,” Michael said with a shrug. “Not all of them will have information we can use.”
“Yeah,” Alex agreed, “a few looked promising.”
“We did get a response from Declan,” Val said as she rejoined them and took her seat at the table. She waited for Michael to respond to that slight taunt. He and Declan had clashed from their first meeting and they’d hated each other on sight.
“What’d he say?” he growled.
She smirked. “There was something about him hoping you were still in one piece when this was all over because he’s still got a bullet with your name on it.”
He snorted. “Yeah, figures.”
“You seem to have quite a few other assassins who have taken a rather dim view of your... personality,” Alex said, trying to be tactful.
“Just jealous bastards,” he shrugged.
“Will they come after you?” Maria asked, unable to keep the worry out of her voice.
“Some might,” he shrugged carelessly. “They won’t stand a chance.”
“Most of them are younger,” Val tossed in. “Lookin’ to make their own mark and they think if they take out a higher ranking assassin it’ll look good on their dossier.” She shrugged and shot a grin at Michael. “Of course, in Declan’s case, I think his threat’s all for show. He’s had a hard-on for you since the beginning.” She nodded when Maria’s eyes went wide. “Um-hmm, he wants a piece of Bane’s ass in the most literal sense.”
“Shut up, Val,” Michael made a face.
“You can’t deny the man has good taste.”
“What the hell.”
“There somethin’ you’re not tellin’ us, Guerin?” Kyle snickered and nearly choked on his toast.
“Me? Sure as hell not.”
Tess tipped her head to one side as she pretended to study Michael. “Oh, I don’t know, I can see how a guy might find you attractive.”
He let his fork drop to the plate. “You can all shut the fuck up now.”
Val laughed and shook her head at his swift mood change. “Oh, c’mon, Bane, we’re just having some fun with this. It’s not like anyone here thinks you’re interested in switching teams.” She paused, her coffee mug barely an inch from her mouth, and she lifted her head to look at him, her expression schooled to reveal contemplation. “Unless... do you harbor some secret attraction to the opposite sex?”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “Make that assumption again an’ you’re takin’ your last breath.”
“Okay, you guys, let’s just calm down,” Maria insisted. She dropped her left hand to rest on his thigh, careful to avoid his injury. “Baiting him about this is just stupid. Is it possible that another man might find him attractive? Yes. Is it possible that he leans that way? No. That’s not in any way debatable, so let’s get back to the topic at hand.”
Michael snapped his fingers and pointed at her. “What she said!”
Max laughed quietly. Leave it to Maria to find a way to put an end to that conversation and calm the beast.
Eva: It sure is. A sense of humor can make such a difference. Thanks, these men do keep it entertaining.
keepsmiling7: Yes, it was, lol.
sarammlover: Well, you know how Michael is... and really, would we change him? Yep, they’re finally awake and beginning the path to healing.
Part 71
“Yeah?” She grinned. “What important parts ya talking about?”
He took her hand and placed it in his lap. “What other part would I be talkin’ about?”
“I… I don’t know,” she mumbled. “There should be other important parts, no?” Her eyes wandered to his lips.
He’d never given it much thought. “When I’m inside you is there some other part you’re thinkin’ about?” he rasped.
“Not sure how much thinkin’ I’m really doing then.”
That brought a smug grin to his face. “Mind blowing, huh?”
“Mind closing,” she teased.
He shook his head. “Definitely need to give you a reminder.”
“Yeah, maybe...”
“Maybe?” he repeated,
“Definitely.”
His eyebrows lifted even as a smile relaxed his features. “Now you’re talkin’.”
She smirked and lifted her eyes to his.
“You’ll have to be on top. My leg’s not ready for me to take that position.” But there were some definite advantages to her taking the dominant position, he thought.
“You sure that’ll work?”
“It’s gonna have to. The longer we sit here talkin’ about it the harder I’m getting.”
Maria bit her lip. Okay, she wanted it as well, but what if it caused damage to his leg?
“Maria, trust me, I’m not in any pain right now.”
“Okay,” she got up from the bed and walked over to the door, hearing his protest until he figured out she was just locking the door.
Yes! He controlled the adolescent urge to fist the air.
“I think it’s for the best if you take off your pants already.”
“Yes ma’am,” he said and gave her a sloppy salute – the kind that had pissed off more than one superior officer while he’d been enlisted. His movements were slow and careful as he shuffled around to push the sweats off.
Maria hesitated for a moment but then started to pull her own jeans off.
His eyes darkened as he watched her, feeling his breath catch in his throat as more of her skin came into view.
Her hand brushed over the bruise on her thigh. “It’s almost gone.”
He nodded wordlessly. He was glad to see that the painful marks were healing, fading into nothing more than a memory.
Her eyes went to his and caught his stare on her. For a moment the insecurities kicked back in but she reminded herself that he had never said anything to make her believe she wasn’t sexy in his eyes.
Her slight hesitation caught his attention and he frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she waved him off. Of course he noticed THAT.
He studied her body language, trying to figure out what had caused that moment of... what was it, exactly? A lack of confidence? Insecurity? No... she couldn’t feel like that any longer. She had to know she had no reason to doubt herself or the way he felt about her. He was sure he stopped breathing for a minute. No, it wasn’t about feelings, he denied. It was about his attraction to her. Yeah, that was much safer. “You were sexy as hell even after bein’ knocked around and takin’ a beating so you’ve gotta know that without ‘em you could take me out at the knees.” He motioned to his legs. “If I could stand without benefit of crutches, that is.”
“Good to know,” she smirked. “I’ll keep it in mind.”
“Do that.” He made a downward motion with one finger. “Let’s see the rest of it.”
“Okay,” she said a little nervously and pulled her panties down slowly.
He growled under his breath and reached back to shove another pillow behind his back. “Fuck, you’re gonna be gorgeous with all that naked skin surrounded by nothin’ but sand, the ocean and a clear blue sky.”
“The Maldives?” He hadn’t forgotten.
“Purest place left on the planet.” Untouched by the darkness in his past... in him.
“Sounds like the perfect place.”
He curled his finger, letting her know he wanted her to come closer.
She took a step forward and the lifted her fingers to open the buttons on her shirt one after another.
“It’s not nice to tease an injured man.”
“Thought you might like it.”
He smirked when she didn’t falter but came right back with a response. That’s my girl. He shoved that thought away. She wasn’t his, couldn’t be his. Whitman had been right when he said she deserved better and he hadn’t been joking when he said he agreed with him.
“So you do,” she said when she interpreted his face.
He shrugged one shoulder, his eyes following the line of flesh being exposed with the painfully slow release of each button.
Maria tried to control her breathing, but her hands were shaking a little and she didn’t know if it was anticipation or nervousness.
He wasn’t sure if she was trying to drive him crazy with need or if she was exhibiting a case of nerves. He shuffled around to get more comfortable and reached out when she was finally close enough, catching the hem of her shirt and tugging her closer.
Maria gasped, but let him touch her once he was able to reach her fully.
“I’ve seen you naked on more than one occasion, y’know,” he said with the hint of a smile on his lips.
“I know... I’m still getting used to it.”
He chuckled and nodded. If any other woman had acted like this it would’ve pissed him off but somehow with her it had the opposite effect.
She slowly climbed on the bed and on top of him, her shirt hanging open in front of his eyes with the movement and she hissed when he leaned forward and sucked a nipple into his mouth
This was more like it, he thought. His hands drifted to her thighs, sliding up under the shirt and pushing the panels farther apart. She didn’t acknowledge her beauty, didn’t really even seem to know it existed, but he was well aware of it. All that smooth warm skin under his hands and his body had put him in the passenger’s seat, something that would have aggravated him under normal circumstances. Somehow that was nothing more than a fleeting thought when she shifted against him.
“Your hands are kinda rough,” she whispered, “but I like that.”
He smirked against her skin before rasping his rough palms over every inch of flesh he could reach, enjoying the way it made her move.
Maria groaned and threw her head back. This man was driving her crazy and she had no control over it.
His hands reversed their journey, sliding over her thighs and slipping between them, watching her eyes darken with arousal. His gaze locked on hers, he grazed his knuckles against her wet heat.
“Gosh,” she whispered and reached between them to take him in her hands gently.
Her response amused him. Never before had he been in a position to find himself feeling like this. Women had always been there for him to use. It was as cold as it sounded, but it wasn’t like they hadn’t gotten something out of it. He shoved those thoughts away. They had nothing to do with whatever this was with Maria so he focused all of his attention on her. He added pressure to his touch, giving her what she needed.
“That feels...” She bit her lip when he hit a certain angle, unable to say anything else.
He grinned when she was unable to verbally articulate the way he was making her feel. He wrapped his free arm around her, pulling her closer while doing his best to avoid using too much pressure in an effort to minimize the pain in his shoulder that even the smallest movement caused. His lips landed on hers with precision, swallowing her moans as he pushed her to her peak.
Maria reached out to steady herself on the headboard so she wouldn’t cause him any pain. Her eyes fell closed and she literally saw stars when a fast orgasm hit her.
“Good one, huh?” he muttered smugly. Damn, he wished his body was functioning at its fullest potential. As it was though, rolling her under him and sinking into her welcoming heat wasn’t gonna happen.
“It was, yes,” she blushed and smiled before her eyes wandered down to his hard length in her hand.
It was insane just how good he felt when he did anything that made her feel good... even when it had nothing to do with sex. Hell, he’d never really cared one way or the other really if his bed partners got off. If they did that was great, but if not it was their loss. And he’d sure as hell never given a damn how they felt in any other way. The old wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am was about as good as it had ever gotten, but it was so different with her. Hell, everything was different with her. “You think we could do somethin’ about that?” he asked, following her gaze. Her hands on him were amazing and he was enjoying it but he needed things to move along.
“Yeah... what would you like?”
“What would you like?” he countered.
She thought about it for a moment. “I’ve never...” her eyes dropped out of embarrassment.
“Never...?” he coaxed.
“...with my mouth.”
There was no controlling his dick’s enthusiastic response to the image her admission conjured up. “It’s not somethin’ you should make yourself do. I’d be lyin’ if I said I didn’t enjoy it and fuck yeah, I’ve fantasized about havin’ your mouth on me, but if you’re not ready you shouldn’t push yourself.” What the fuck is wrong with you?! If she wants to blow you, let her have at it! Fuck off! He shook his head at the internal debate going on inside his head and looked at her. “But if you wanna give it a go I’m not gonna say no.”
“I would like to try it.”
Hell yeah! But he tried to control the need to shout. “Then by all means, don’t let me stop you.”
“Is there anything... ya know... that I need to know?”
“Just take it easy with the teeth,” he said with a wink.
“Ha ha,” she rolled her eyes.
“Hey, you’ve gotta treat him with respect. You don’t have to treat him like he’s fragile though. However,” he rasped when the throbbing in that region reminded him unsubtly that the pressure was ready for release, “if you wanna get started you’d make him real damn happy.”
Maria licked her lips and lowered herself on him while her hand gave him a few strokes. “Okay,” she muttered to herself and wrapped her lips around his head, testing.
Fuck! Stay in control, he ordered himself even as his hand fisted in her hair.
She guessed his reaction was a good thing and she grew bolder, letting her lips wander further down and taking him deep into her mouth.
“Easy,” he murmured, not wanting her to move too fast and choke herself. That wouldn’t be good for either of them.
She let go of him for a second. “I’m good, no worries.”
“Must be a natural,” he teased. “Don’t let me detain you any longer.”
She chuckled and went back to what she was doing, using her hand to cradle his balls.
He grunted in approval. She was a fast learner and from the looks of things this was one lesson she was gonna enjoy.
Michael groaned and it made her go faster on him, changing the pressure her lips were creating.
His fingers clenched in her hair, controlling the urge to do more than gently guide her movements.
When his breaths grew faster and more labored, she knew he couldn’t be far from coming. Her tongue circled his tip while one of her hands was moving up and down his length fast. Gosh, it was a real turn on to hear him like that.
He could feel the pressure building, the telltale signs that he was about to come and his fingers clenched in her hair as he hissed out a warning.
Maria lifted her head and went to kiss him deeply while her hands kept up the motion.
He felt the coiled spring snap a heartbeat before he shot his load, coating her hand and his stomach.
They kissed until the rush was gone. Only then did she dare to look into his eyes. “Was it...?”
“Better than good,” he assured her with a lazy smile.
“Okay,” a smile broke loose on her face as well.
“I had a feelin’ you’d be good at that.”
“Really?”
His fingers combed through her hair as his eyes traced over her features. “Um-hmm.”
“Good. I’m glad.” And it had surely improved his mood.
“What’s that smile for?” he asked, doing his best to ignore the drowsy feeling pushing at him.
“Just glad I could do that for you.”
“Feel free to do that for me anytime.” He tried to fight off a yawn and failed miserably.
“Maybe I will,” she chuckled.
“You’re sexy no matter what but that smile...” he shook his head and let his eyes drift closed. “You blow me away with that smile.”
*****
Michael opened his eyes and looked around, squinting when they were assaulted by the sun glaring off of the snow outside. He gave them a few seconds to adjust before turning his head to look at the alarm clock sitting on the nightstand on Maria’s side of the bed. It was just after 10am and his searching fingers detected cool sheets where she had lain the night before. He frowned and pulled his hand back. It didn’t take long for the sound of voices to register along with the muted sounds of pots and pans being moved around to infiltrate the silence of the bedroom and he knew where she was.
He slowly shifted to sit up, giving his body the necessary time to adjust before reaching for the crutches and getting to his feet. As much as he despised relying on anything or anyone he knew better than to try and move around without their aid at this point in his recovery. It would be useless to rush through his morning routine so he didn’t even bother; it would take as long as it took for him to get ready.
He decided to forego the shower he desperately wanted, settling for washing up at the sink. A look in the mirror revealed features that were scruffier than he normally allowed but he wasn’t steady enough to attempt shaving so that would have to wait as well. He finally accepted that he was as presentable as he was going to be so he hobbled into the bedroom to get dressed, another task that took a ridiculous amount of time and only served to further irritate him.
“Well, look who finally decided to grace us with his presence,” Kyle said with a laugh. He’d seen Guerin looking a helluva lot worse in the past but he knew how aggravated he’d be with the situation.
“Fuck off, Valenti.”
The response didn’t bother him in the least and his grin only got bigger. “Love you too, Sunshine.”
“Don’t interfere and don’t run over there and try to baby him,” Tess advised quietly when the conversation between the men was less than congenial.
“Oh, no,” Maria said and shook her head, “I know better than that.” Besides, the best thing for his current mood wasn’t something she was about to do with an audience.
The curly blonde laughed and nodded. “Good.” She glanced over her shoulder when Val and Alex shuffled in. “He’d be in an even worse mood if you tried to baby him.”
Her eyes widened and for a moment she was afraid she’d said that last thought aloud but then the rest of the woman’s words registered. “No, babying him wouldn’t work whether or not he was surrounded by people.” No, Michael Guerin wasn’t the type a woman babied for any reason.
“Ladies, can I squeeze in over here and get some coffee?”
The women moved to give Alex access to the mugs and coffee pot, not bothering to tell him they could bring it over. With one hand occupied with the crutch he was using to keep most of his weight off of his injured leg he could only take one cup at a time, but it was obvious he didn’t want or need help so they let it go. He made two trips, taking the first one to Val, who gave him a silent nod and a look the rest of them couldn’t hope to decipher, but it seemed to please him as he nodded in response and went back for his own mug.
Kyle’s mouth watered when his wife slid a warm plate on the table in front of him and he rubbed his hands together in anticipation before reaching for his fork. “Babe…”
Tess leaned over to drop a kiss on his head when her name passed his lips so reverently. “Enjoy.”
Steak omelet with a side of toast? Hell, there was no way he wouldn’t enjoy it! He grinned and reached up to squeeze the hand resting on his shoulder before she slipped away to grab the others’ plates.
Michael frowned as he stared at the food on Valenti’s plate, trying to determine what all was on it. Eggs, steak strips, green peppers, onions, tomatoes, cheese and… mushrooms. Ungh, no way!
“No mushrooms on yours,” Maria whispered as she leaned over his good shoulder to set a plate in front of him. He’d expressed his dislike – dislike that bordered on absolute hatred – for mushrooms and his current mood wouldn’t be helped any by making that particular mistake.
“Hey.”
His gruff voice sent shivers down her spine. She paused in the process of moving back, surprised when he reached back to catch her hand and pull her close. She could feel the curious eyes on them and knew if she could feel it he would be painfully aware of it so she just nodded and squeezed his hand.
He watched her as she went back to bustling around the kitchen putting the next plate together for a few moments before digging into his meal.
By the time Val and Alex had been served Max and Liz shuffled into the room, pausing for a moment before Maria hurried over to pull a couple of chairs out for them. They settled down and nodded when she asked if they’d like to try some pancakes with fruit on the side. Anything was better than oatmeal as far as Max was concerned.
Michael felt himself relax slightly when Maria finally sat down next to him and breakfast was enjoyed in silence for a while. He was almost finished with his meal, the pain in his body having receded for the moment, when he decided it was time to get back to business.
“Have you given any response to the emails that’re comin’ in?” he asked with a glance at Whitman.
Alex shook his head. “You said we’d go over them and you were… unconscious most of the day yesterday,” he said, carefully choosing his words. “Val and I spent the afternoon going through them, putting them in different categories to determine order of importance.”
Michael nodded. “Then let’s see what we’ve got.”
Val she shook her head when Alex looked at her. “I’ll go get it. You should give your leg a rest.” She took another bite of her food and got to her feet, disappearing down the hall to retrieve the laptop.
“How many answers did we get?” Maria wanted to know.
“At last count we were closing in on a hundred and fifty.”
“Oh wow. That’s quite a lot.”
“The network’s extensive,” Michael said with a shrug. “Not all of them will have information we can use.”
“Yeah,” Alex agreed, “a few looked promising.”
“We did get a response from Declan,” Val said as she rejoined them and took her seat at the table. She waited for Michael to respond to that slight taunt. He and Declan had clashed from their first meeting and they’d hated each other on sight.
“What’d he say?” he growled.
She smirked. “There was something about him hoping you were still in one piece when this was all over because he’s still got a bullet with your name on it.”
He snorted. “Yeah, figures.”
“You seem to have quite a few other assassins who have taken a rather dim view of your... personality,” Alex said, trying to be tactful.
“Just jealous bastards,” he shrugged.
“Will they come after you?” Maria asked, unable to keep the worry out of her voice.
“Some might,” he shrugged carelessly. “They won’t stand a chance.”
“Most of them are younger,” Val tossed in. “Lookin’ to make their own mark and they think if they take out a higher ranking assassin it’ll look good on their dossier.” She shrugged and shot a grin at Michael. “Of course, in Declan’s case, I think his threat’s all for show. He’s had a hard-on for you since the beginning.” She nodded when Maria’s eyes went wide. “Um-hmm, he wants a piece of Bane’s ass in the most literal sense.”
“Shut up, Val,” Michael made a face.
“You can’t deny the man has good taste.”
“What the hell.”
“There somethin’ you’re not tellin’ us, Guerin?” Kyle snickered and nearly choked on his toast.
“Me? Sure as hell not.”
Tess tipped her head to one side as she pretended to study Michael. “Oh, I don’t know, I can see how a guy might find you attractive.”
He let his fork drop to the plate. “You can all shut the fuck up now.”
Val laughed and shook her head at his swift mood change. “Oh, c’mon, Bane, we’re just having some fun with this. It’s not like anyone here thinks you’re interested in switching teams.” She paused, her coffee mug barely an inch from her mouth, and she lifted her head to look at him, her expression schooled to reveal contemplation. “Unless... do you harbor some secret attraction to the opposite sex?”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “Make that assumption again an’ you’re takin’ your last breath.”
“Okay, you guys, let’s just calm down,” Maria insisted. She dropped her left hand to rest on his thigh, careful to avoid his injury. “Baiting him about this is just stupid. Is it possible that another man might find him attractive? Yes. Is it possible that he leans that way? No. That’s not in any way debatable, so let’s get back to the topic at hand.”
Michael snapped his fingers and pointed at her. “What she said!”
Max laughed quietly. Leave it to Maria to find a way to put an end to that conversation and calm the beast.
Fics: A Xmas Story - A Merry Mt. R. Xmas - Cupid's Revenge - Double Trouble - Double Date - Double Dare - Double Empire - Double Xmas Wish - In The Course Of A Lifetime - Mountains So High - Not A Question At All - Surrender - TIC TAC - Two Double Dates at Xmas