Lethal Whispers (ML, MATURE) 10/29/15 COMPLETE

[Natalie36]

now that was some introduction and so happy micheal don't like tess

[begonia9508]

Oh, that was great!

It is clear to me that it won't happen from a day to the other, because both Max and Isabel, and Liz alone,
have secrets which won't be revealed that soon!

Attraction is one thing but trust is another and its only with time and confidence in each other that it will work for them!

Waiting impatiently for the next part! EVE

[clueless]

Loving this and looking forward to more!

[dreamon]

What a meeting! Looking forward to more dreamer moments!!!!

[Evans3]

oh boy oh boy!!! Can't wait to read the next part!!!

More please?
Evans

[keepsmiling7]

Well, that first meeting was worth the wait.
Liz's history of bad dreams, and Max not at all interested in meeting Isabel's friend......
And guess what.......she was the girl from his vision.
Max had been waiting for 20 years to meet her.
Now I can't wait to see what happens next.
Carolyn

[Roswelllostcause]

Great part! Loved the meettting! Now hopefully Max can help keep Liz safe from the evil asshole of the office!

[saori_1902]

oh my great part!

[max and liz believer]

I hope you all had a great Easter with your loved ones

Natalie (Natalie36) - Thank you!
Eve (begonia9508) - Once again, a very wise thought process Thank you!
clueless - Hi! Another familiar "face" Thank you for the feedback!
dreamon - Thank you!
Evans (Evans3) - There is more to come Thank you!
Carolyn (keepsmiling7) - I'm glad to hear that it was worth the wait… That's probably the most chapters I've ever gone in one of my pics without having Max and Liz in the same place (excluding the prologue, when they were children of course). Thank you for the feedback!
Roswelllostcause - Let's hope Max can protect her… Thank you for the feedback!
saori_1902 - Thank you!

I'm so happy you all liked the meeting between Max and Liz. Now to some Liz POV…


CHAPTER 14
Liz

His reaction had stopped her from reacting. There was no other way around it; Isabel’s brother had had some kind of episode upon seeing Liz. He looked like he was seeing a ghost. But the weirdest thing wasn’t Max’s reaction, the weirdest thing was how she had felt him react. She was almost positive that she could feel the muscles constricting around his throat, how his heart jumped into irregular beats, how he couldn’t catch his breath and most of all the confusion and panic that he was sending out in waves.

Her therapist had once called her a great empath. He had figured that she was almost too sensitive, too much in tune with other people’s feelings, to be healthy. In a way she could almost feel what people around her was feeling. That had contributed to her pulling away from society, becoming increasingly introverted. But that ‘ability’, or whatever you wanted to call it, had disappeared about the same time as her dreams when she was a teenager.

So maybe that was it. Maybe just like her dreams, her empathic abilities had returned. Maybe Max’s reaction had been so strong that she had empathized with it. But she wasn’t convinced. There must be a limit to how much one could empathize.
When Isabel and her brother emerged from the office, Max looked better and Liz felt a calm spread through her at the sight of him. He seemed okay. His eyes seemed worried until they found her to the side of the wall, almost as if he had been afraid that he might have lost her.

You’re being ridiculous, Liz scolded herself. Why would this Max worry about if she had stayed or not? If it was her, she would have been more relieved to have seen the person that she had just appeared weak in front of leave.

Liz’s eyes flickered to Isabel and came to a halt. Isabel was pale behind her shimmering pink make-up blush. With Max now appearing calm and collected, Isabel had donned the impression of being shell-shocked. The roles had flipped. The sibling pair approached Liz, Isabel with a tentative trembling smile and Max with an apologetic one. Liz was looking at him closely, she couldn’t stop herself.

Max Evans was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. Not just handsome, in the masculine sense of the word, but beautiful. With long dark lashes that had laid against his olive skin as she had watched him from above, when he was trying to catch his breath. His dark brown, almost black, hair was a little bit long and curled at the tips that caressed the back of his ears and the back of his neck. She wanted to push her hands through his hair and see if it was as soft as it looked. His eyes… Liz suppressed a sigh as Max came to a stop in front of her. She watched him watch her, saw the amber of his irises shift in nuances of gold and with him this close she could smell him. A fresh smell of cologne and something else. Something uniquely him.

It was Max that spoke first. “Sorry about that. I haven’t been sleeping very well lately. Low blood sugar or something.”

Or a full-blown panic attack, Liz thought and first now noticed the blue nuance under his eyes, how his cheekbones were a little bit too protruding. There was a fierce light in his eyes, but his gaze was guarded and shadowed. She unconsciously bit her bottom lip, wondering what had happened to this man; why was he so sad? She caught his eyes looking at her lip and she released her bottom lip with a start and felt heat creep up her neck and warm her cheeks. She caught Max look away and imagined a flush to his cheeks as well before she let her eyes drop to the floor.

“Yeah, I really shouldn’t have forced him to come here tonight,” Isabel added. “He did warn me that he wasn’t feeling very well.”

Liz looked up as Max smiled, “I’m glad I came,” the smile crooked and shy. A modest expression for a man of his age. She felt the heat in her cheeks spread out in her body. He was, if possible, even more beautiful when he smiled. The smile momentarily chased away some of the shadows in his eyes.

“I wanted him to meet you,” Isabel clarified.

It was like watching a game of table tennis, the siblings alternating between speaking, so tightly that they didn’t leave any room for Liz to add her two cents. But in a way she was glad that Isabel was there, glad that she didn’t need to say anything because she wasn’t sure she’d be able to find the words right now.

“She’s been talking about you a lot,” Max added and Liz felt the blush warm brighter, wondering what Isabel had said about her.

“I just really like you and I was sure that Max would like you as well.”

It was as if their nerves were frizzled and they were trying too hard to act normal, making their conversation a sprint rather than a marathon.

Fueled by the heat in her body, the gaze from Max Evans and the unimportant dialogue between the siblings, Liz couldn’t stop the laughter. The sound stopped them both short and Max looked at her curiously, Isabel a bit taken back.

“Sorry,” Liz said, acutely aware of his eyes on her. “You don’t have to apologize. It’s great to finally meet you, Max.” She met his eyes and paused for a second before tearing her eyes away to address Isabel, “And Isabel, you don’t have to justify bringing him here.”

Isabel shook her head. “I wasn’t-“

“How about we start over?” Liz suggested.

That seemed to calm them down and they exchanged a look of relief before they turned back to Liz and Max extended his hand. “I’m Max, nice to meet you.”

Liz took his hand and her breath got stuck in her throat. His skin was just as warm as it had looked and his much larger hand folded around her smaller, almost as if in an embrace. But what made her snap her gaze up to his in shock was the current she was sure had passed between their palms as they connected. His eyes were dark, confused.

“Li- Liz Parker,” Liz stumbled. She didn’t want to let go. She liked how his hand encased hers. She liked the warmth of his skin and how his hand was roughened by life but not spoiled by rough manual labor. She liked how she imagined being able to feel him through that hand, through that connection of skin.

She had no idea how this must have looked to Isabel or how long they were standing there, but Isabel’s voice revealed that she was a bit perplexed by the situation, “Ahem… You want me to take a photo, or what?”

Max looked at his sister with an embarrassed glare and the moment was gone. Liz let his hand slip out of hers and she took a half step back, trying to reign in her emotions. This was one of the strangest nights of her existence.

Who was this man?

*****

Liz had been left alone while Isabel had been distracted by a phone call and Max had gone in the search of refreshments. She was really enjoying herself, for the first time in long. The trembling of her hands and the nausea at the back of her throat was barely a whisper, as though Max’s presence were keeping it at bay. Liz laughed softly to herself as she looked out over the sea of people. She had lost count of how many times during that night that she had briefly entertained the rather ludicrous idea. She knew that the answers were most likely very simple (she had been concerned about the man, hence had got feelings of sympathy during his episode and she was thoroughly enjoying the sibling’s company, thus her own symptoms of illness diminishing), but there was still a nagging voice at the back of her head telling her differently.

“Ms. Parker,” a voice she knew far too well spoke beside her.

Her good mood instantly vanished without a trace and with accumulating dread she turned towards the voice. His eyes were burrowing into her, slowly filling her with that almost familiar feeling of death.

“Mr. Perkins,” she acknowledged with a nod.

“Please, I prefer David,” he said, taking Isabel’s abandoned seat.

And I prefer Liz, just not from your mouth.

She was appalled by her own thoughts. She didn’t like the cool, abrasive person she turned into in David Perkins’ company, but she couldn’t help herself. The spines were pointed outwards, like a hedgehog in full defense.

“You’re looking very beautiful today,” David continued.

She forced a smile on her lips, feeling the nausea resurfacing. “Thank you.”

“Are you having a good time?”

“Yes, thanks.” Liz made sure to keep her answers short. Not that it was done with any difficulty. She was more interested in striking up a conversation with a mummy than with Mr. Perkins.

“You’re very tight-lipped tonight,” David observed, his tone acidic. Liz had a feeling she was slowly aggravating him. Being an attractive man (if you liked that type of guy), he was probably not very used to rejection.

She looked over at him, politeness drained from those correctly observed tight lips. “I’m just waiting for my company to return.” So you better leave.

Even though she didn’t say the last sentence out loud, she got the impression that he had understood her from the way his eyes darkened further. She swallowed. Why did he intimidate her so? Why couldn’t he just leave her alone?

“Do we have a problem, Ms. Parker?” David asked sourly.

“No,” Liz answered, being careful not to answer too quickly or too slow, and instead putting assertion into that two-lettered word.

“Is there a problem?” The voice came from her left and even before her sight could confirm what her ears already knew, her whole body seemed to relax into his presence.

“I don’t think we’ve met,” David said tightly and Liz’s eyes flickered from Max to David.

Max offered Liz the glass of wine he had retrieved, his mouth saying nothing but his eyes speaking volumes. Liz could feel in the air how David Perkins didn’t appreciate to have to wait for his answer. Max’s fingers brushed Liz’s as the glass transferred hands and the suffocating coldness of David’s presence was pushed back by the warmth of that small touch. Max’s eyes on her were concerned, but there was a fierce masculine stand to his body, something Liz couldn’t place at first. It was not until later that she realized that he had gone into a protective mood. Like a lioness protecting her cub. Or a caveman protecting his woman.

“I’m Max,” Max said easily, seemingly unaffected by David’s bad manners. Having freed up his right hand by giving Liz one of the glasses, Max offered David his hand in greeting.

David took it and apparently he went for trying to squeeze Max’s hand into pain. Liz eyes moved from this obvious pissing contest to Max’s face, which wasn’t showing any sign of what was going on. Max’s face was cool and…kinda friendly. Liz’s mouth had fallen open in surprise. Considering how Max had basically lost control of his body when meeting her for the first time (at least, it had seemed as if the actual meeting had been the catalyst of Max’s near fainting spell even though improbable), Liz would never have guessed the control Max seemed to have in that moment. Even though she was positioned closer to David than Max, there was a complete trust in Max’s ability to protect her and that knowledge washed away the last piece of darkness David had exerted on her mind and body.

“David,” David grunted, evidently not too happy about how the situation was being played out.

The men aborted the manly greeting and Max took the free seat next to Liz.

Her heart rate increased. This mainly because Max had foregone the polite distance he had kept between them before and the side of his thigh was almost touching hers.

“So, Max,” David struggled to regain some of his former control. “Haven’t seen you around here. Do you work here?”

“No,” Max took a sip from his bottle of beer. “I’m a guest.”

“Oh,” David said, shooting Liz a dark look. “A guest of Ms. Parker, I presume.”

“Actually,” Max answered, giving Liz a small smile. “We just met. Maybe you know Isabel Evans?”

“She’s David’s assistant,” Liz explained, her voice trembling some from watching the exchange between the men.

“Oh,” Max said naturally, “You’re that David. I’m Isabel’s brother.”

This seemed to bother David even further. “Right.” But probably taking his chance due to the fact that Max himself had confirmed that he and Liz didn’t really know each other, David added, “Then you wouldn’t mind if I steal Liz for a dance, would you?”

The chill was back. She could feel Max’s eyes heat the side of her face and she braced herself before meeting his concerned eyes. Somehow, he knew that Liz wasn’t very fond of David. Perhaps Max Evans even understood the great depths to Liz’s dark feelings about her colleague. But there was nothing she could do. Cue Monday and she would have to work with this person, and preserving that inkling of a ‘good working relationship’ was crucial. If dancing with him was required for that to happen, she would just have to get on with it.

As if reading the reluctant affirmation in the firm set of her jaw, Max gave her a look that seemed to ask ‘You’re sure?’ to which she gave a faint nod of her head.

Max turned to David. “Be my guest.”

Liz’s hand trembled as she handed Max her wine glass. “Keep that for me, okay?”

“Okay,” Max said softly and, probably very intentionally, placed his whole hand around hers gripping the foot of the glass. He squeezed lightly and gave her a reassuring smile. His mouth said, “I’ll wait here”, while his whole being seemed to say ‘I won’t let you out of my sight’. That unspoken message made it easier for her to surrender to David Perkins.

*****

Max

He watched her leave, her body curled in on itself as if she was being hauled off to her own execution. There was something very wrong about that David Perkins. Isabel had mentioned that he had come on to her quite strongly at the beginning, but after having a frank conversation about boundaries with the man, they had settled into a quite comfortable working relationship.

That didn’t seem to be the case for Liz.

Max didn’t like how Mr. Perkins looked at Liz. He didn’t like how the man leaned possessively across the side of Liz’s body. He particularly didn’t like how Liz shrunk in fear in David’s presence. Unfortunately, that response seemed to fuel the dark man. David Perkins seemed to be the kind of man that thrived on vulnerable, scared and petite women.

Max hadn’t known Liz for long, but it was natural for him to instinctively want to protect any woman against men that tried to take advantage. Surrounding himself with strong women like Isabel and Maria had fueled his admiration and respect for women. He would never raise a hand to hurt a woman and he would not let any other man do it either - especially not in his company.

“She’s great, isn’t she?” Isabel’s voice surprised him. But holding true to his previous promise, he didn’t let his eyes wander from Liz.

“Yeah,” Max answered.

“So,” Max felt her sit down next to him. “You really think that she’s the girl you saved?”

“Would it be weird if I did?”

Isabel laughed. “Maybe. But stranger things have happened.”

Max nodded, his tone wistful. “So they have.”

“Are you gonna tell her?”

Max raised the beer bottle to his lips and took a sip. “Not yet. But eventually.”

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea. Don’t want to scare her off immediately.”

Max nodded, watching Liz dancing stiffly in the arms of Isabel’s boss, aware that Isabel was watching Max.

After a silent extended pause, Isabel questioned, “So what was that about?”

Max momentarily let his eyes skid to Isabel’s face, before settling back on Liz again, “What?”

“That thing. Between you and Liz. That was more than the average I-brought-you-back-from-the-dead-and-now-we-probably-have-some-kind-of-connection thing.”

Max laughed. “Ah, that thing.”

“You know what I mean. You really clicked. More than that. You like, fell into each other’s eyes or something.”

Max incredulously shook his head, but there was an amused smile at the corners of his mouth. “Whatever.”

Isabel laughed knowingly. “I knew you would like her. I just couldn’t hope that you would like her that much.”

“Shut up,” Max mumbled, trying to repress a smile.

“Just sayin’,” Isabel said innocently.


TBC… On Sunday

[keepsmiling7]

I agree with Liz......Max is the most beautiful man ever!
Who wouldn't want to run their fingers through his hair??
David Perkins.......obviously in a pissing contest with Max......
There has to be a connection between Max and Liz.....can't wait to read more about it.
Thanks for this lovely introduction,
Carolyn