She opened her eyes. Scanning the room she recognized her bedroom. A gentle breeze blew in the window, lifting the gauze like material that draped over the canopy of her bed. She turned her head to see that the place beside her was now empty. The sheets were twisted where his body had laid.
For a moment, she thought, "Was it all a dream? Did I make it all up in my mind?"
Marie then rolled over and with a deep breath realized that she had not made up that wonderful night of passion. She could smell him on the pillow beside her and the mixture of cologne and his male essence was still lingering on the sheets. She felt herself becoming aroused by just the smell of him.
"Michael," she whispered as she buried her face deep into the pillow.
Closing her eyes, she was trying to wish him back into her bed. The time they shared was always brief. He would appear out of nowhere. Marie would not see him or hear from him for months on end and then the phone would ring, like it had done the day before.
"Hello."
"Marie, are you alone?"
"Yes, Michael."
"I need you to hold me tonight, Cheri."
"Come to me Michael."
Phone conversations were always to the point and very short with him. She felt he was uneasy whenever he called. Marie knew very little about Michael. She knew he would never tell her anything about his life. She feared that if she asked him about it, he would turn and walk away from her. She could not bear the thought of never seeing him again, so she made herself happy with the little time they had together.
When Michael was with her the rest of the world meant nothing. He would always bring her beautiful flowers and some wine for their evening together. Sometimes they would go out for a bite to eat, but most of the time they spent it alone in her apartment. Marie could tell that he was not as at ease when they were out among the rest of the world. He seemed to know more about her than she ever told him. It was odd, but they could talk for hours about just simple things, like what color the sky had been that day.
That night....................
She opened the door and he stood there in his cloak of black. His hair was shorter this time and the wind had been playing in it because it was wild and all over the place. Marie just wanted to run her fingers through it. She pulled him close and twisted a curl that fell along his face. He looked at her and smiled as his face seemed to relax a bit as she held him captive for a moment. He touched her face as he leaned forward and brushed her mouth with a tender kiss. Marie let out a sigh that she wanted him to hear.
"Did you miss me?" he asked in a teasing voice.
"I think you know..."
"Good, because I thought of you." he said as he touched her face with the back of his hand.
Marie melted into Michael's arms. She tried to be strong and tease him with anticipation, but Michael's eyes had the ability to speak to her without words. He could have her with no hesitation, but Michael liked to take his time. He liked to make the time they had together special. He needed her to balance his life.
Section was eating him alive day by day and he longed for the sane moments with Marie. Michael knew Section would never let Nikita and him be together and it was pointless to keep trying. He was tired of hurting Nikita and she was tired of being hurt. Nikita was being consumed by the power of Section and her soul was becoming harder to see. Michael felt it was his fault for letting Section do that to Nikita. For letting them rip away at her soul, the way they did his.
Marie could see he had drifted away from her for a moment. His eyes focused on the window and his mind was miles away. She took his hand and led him to her sofa. She took his jacket off and pushed him playfully down to the cushions. She reached down and started taking off his shoes. Michael acted like a small child and gave in to her demands.
Marie walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out some grapes and cheese. Placing them on a plate with some bread, she walked over to him and sat it on the coffee table. She went back and opened the wine and poured them both a glass and walked back over to Michael. She sat beside him on the sofa and motioned for him to eat something. He just nodded his head and took the glass of wine from her. She could tell he was not gonna eat by himself so she would have to make a game of it.
Taking a grape in her mouth she leaned over to him, teasing him with the grape. He reached over and bit the grape letting the juice run down his chin. He laughed because the sweet juice went everywhere. She then quickly placed a piece of cheese in his mouth while he was amused with the mess he had made. Marie then handed him a piece of bread.
"Eat Michael, you will need your strength."
"To make love to you?"
"You don't have to make love to me Michael, we can just be together tonight. I can just hold you in my arms until you have to go."
Marie's body was screaming at her. "No! What are you saying, you fool? You do want him. You have not been with any other man since the last time he was here and that was so long ago. Don't say such a stupid thing." She had to tell her mind to be quiet, that her heart was the one speaking now and she could tell Michael needed to be comforted. He was reaching out to her and she wanted to be there for him.
Michael smiled. He was so happy that she always tried to understand him. He knew it was hard for her, but she never asked any questions. He loved her for that. She knew so little about him but seemed to just enjoy the man that she knew as Michael. He was sad that he could never tell her of his world and what it was like for him, but did not think she would understand it either. Things had to remain as they were, but he wondered how long before his two worlds would collide.
Michael shook his head to clear his thoughts and decided to get more comfortable. He laid his head in Marie's lap and looked up at her. She looked down and started playing with the curls that were falling away from his face. Her brown eyes looked warm and gentle and he was becoming aware of the effect they were having on him. He wanted to be with her, but could not get enough of the tender moments like this one that she had to offer him. She smiled and began softly rubbing along his temples and down his jawline. Marie traced his features with her fingers and whispered his name as he closed his eyes. He felt so safe in her arms and wished he could stay with her forever.
Marie's head was trying to keep it all together. Touching him was enough to drive her crazy, but he was moaning as she rubbed along the sides of his face. She wanted to make love to him right then, but tried to control her passion. She moved her hands down to rub his chest and gently massage his shoulders. He turned towards her and sat up leaning against her. He looked deep into her eyes and whispered.
"Please take me to your bed. Make love to me. Hold me until you can't anymore."
Marie stood up and took his hand pulling him up to her. She held his hand while she walked towards her bedroom. He came up behind her and started brushing her neck with delicate kisses. Passion swelled up inside her and she did not know if she would make it to the bed before her knees would give way. She turned around to face him and started to unbutton his shirt.
Michael stood there and watched Marie's face as she took his shirt off. He watched how tender she was with him, so caring. He picked her up and laid her across the bed. He removed his pants and stood naked in front of her. She smiled and said, "You are beautiful, Michael."
Marie held out her hand. Michael placed his hand in hers and let her pull him into bed.