By: Baloo
Chapter 7
Disclaimer: Dark Angel and its characters belong to Cameron, Eglee, and Fox.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: (AU) He was sent to capture and bring in the rogue, 452, but unforeseen complications changed everything. Feline DNA... pheromones... residual feelings? What’s a genetically engineered supersoldier to do? And what are two of them to do, together?
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It took a moment for Alec's fuzzy brain to clear enough to process what had just happened. The fact that Max's response had been so far from his expectations had left him somewhat disoriented.
Or was it the fist to his face that did that?
It would explain why the appearance of the stars that now filled his vision as he lay on his back, staring up at the night sky, just happened to coincide with the blow.
Where had he gone wrong? Oh, okay, so perhaps he'd been mistaken in assuming she would be so willing to jump into his arms after all that had happened over the past few days. Maybe he shouldn't have expected a smile and a suggestive line here and there to be enough to win her over... especially when interspersed with his usual healthy dose of snide remarks. And maybe he'd been a little unrealistic in assuming that he could so easily affect a woman who'd no doubt received more than her own fair share of attention of the opposite sex during her own lifetime.
He had to stop thinking of her as a woman, and start remembering that she was a transgenic woman. That made things infinitely more complicated, and painful. Damn, could she throw a punch.
But that still that didn't explain why she'd hit him.
Once his mind had cleared, his instincts took over, and he was back on his feet in an instant.
"Fuck! What the hell was that for?" he demanded. Fortunately, the blood flow from his nose was already easing up. With tentative hands he surmised that nothing appeared to be broken.
"You ruined my life!"
That gave him pause.
"Say what?"
Max was in a full-blown rage. Fists drawn tight at her sides, dark eyes storming… If he didn't have the security of the knowledge that he had a good decade of training on her, he might have had cause to be a bit worried. Of course, just because he lacked cause, didn't mean that he wasn't.
"I've spent the past ten years on the run, and I never met Lydecker face-to-face in all that time. Then you find me, and three days later, so does the good ol' Colonel." She began pacing the ground before him while Alec attempted to sop up the blood streaking down his face with the sleeve of his shirt.
"He was at the Crash; he was questioning my friends… It's only a matter of time before he figures out where I live and where I work - if he hasn't already - and now I can't go back to any of those places!"
"Well, I did tell you not to go back three days ago, but you didn't - " he began.
"Shut up! This is all your fault!"
Feeling a bit defensive, Alec replied, "Hey, I was just doing my job."
"Your job?" she repeated incredulously. Her expression was making him a little nervous, but he valiantly chose to continue.
"Well, yeah… just like you do yours. You don't see me begrudging you delivering packages, do you?"
"Well I won't be doing that anymore!"
He raised an eyebrow. "And that's a bad thing, because…?"
"Shut up! Just… shut up! You cocky, self-centered…" she fumbled for the perfect descriptor, "dick!"
Alec leaned back on his heels, crossing his arms over his chest as he glanced her over in a thoroughly evaluative gesture. "Cocky? Dick? Gee Max, you seemed to have developed quite the fixation with that part of my anatomy."
He knew, even as he spoke, that he was pushing her too far. Of course, it didn't stop him… but it did prepare him for what inevitably came next.
He caught her fist, just inches from his face, and blocked the kick she tried to deliver while he should have been distracted by the aborted punch. Using one of his own legs, he swept both hers out from under her. In one instant, she was hitting the ground with a small grunt of pain, and in the next she was back on her feet. She didn't even stop to think, just acted on the barest, most fundamental instincts. Fight. Survive. Kick his sexy ass.
Whoa… sexy ass? Them's wasn't fighting words.
The fact that she could think of him like that even now, made her all the more angry. And her anger made her clumsy. She threw another punch, one that never really had a chance of hitting its target, given Alec's own enhanced reflexes, and his hand enclosed around her wrist, jerking her arm behind her back in a painfully awkward position. The other, he held out straight against her lower back, trapping it in place as well, though without the discomfort of the first. He pushed her legs out on either side of his own, letting her fall back just slightly.
The effect was obvious. She was completely immobilized, with her stance too wide to allow her own legs to lend her support. All that was keeping her up was Alec's two arms pinning hers behind her. Her hips were flush against his, the inside of her thighs pressed up on the outside of his. She had nothing to focus her attention on but the feel of him against her… the intimacy of their positions… and the sudden flash of memory from the last time they'd been pressed so close against one another. To her horror, she felt her body begin to react.
Not that Alec wasn't entirely aware of every precious inch at which their two bodies met, of every curve and dip of her smaller, softer one. However, his attention was most singularly focused on the response he received as he twisted Max's arm just a little further in that awkward hold. With a sharp intake of breath, her back arched, trying to alleviate the pressure he was applying, while causing her breasts to thrust upward.
But his experiment threatened to betray him as he felt himself getting aroused by the results. Besides, there was the distinct possibility that he'd end up breaking her arm if he didn't ease up.
"Let me go," Max hissed, glaring up at him defiantly.
"Gladly," he replied. And he dropped her. Only her feline DNA, and the agility it afforded, spared her the added humiliation of being sprawled at his feet.
Max straightened slowly, the anger seeping out of her along with the deep, shuddering breath she released. The reality of her situation hit her once more.
"I know it doesn't mean much to you, but this is my home - was my home. You don't understand… you can't. It's not something you can really comprehend until you've experienced it yourself." Manticore was no home; she'd finally learned the meaning of the word herself, years after her escape… how could she expect him to know after only a few days?
There was a moment of silence as Alec considered her words. A thoughtful and not entirely unsympathetic expression graced his features, his eyes softening just a little to reflect this change.
"You mean… like an orgasm?"
For a moment after he'd spoken the words, while she merely stared at him, face utterly expressionless, Alec steeled himself for yet another violent outburst. Like before, it wasn't that he didn't know what effect his words would have… it was just… a compulsion. He really couldn't help himself.
Tight-faced, Max glanced away. "Yes, Alec; just like an orgasm." Her voice sounded strained.
With just an inkling of suspicion tickling his brain, he peered a little closer. Her lips twitched almost spasmodically, and her stiff shoulders shook just slightly. He was finally shocked to realize that she wasn't angry at all; she was suppressing her laughter.
Feeling suddenly better, he fought a grin of his own. "So what now?"
Sighing as the amusement fled her, she looked back toward Alec and shrugged. "We have to get out of Seattle."
He nodded; that's what he'd been all for doing just the other day. Of course, it was only by conscious decision that he ignored the fact that he was entirely too pleased by her use of the word "we".
"Why did you come back for me?"
"What?" He glanced up, thrown off by the sudden question.
"You should have been long gone from Seattle by now. Why'd you come back?"
Alec shrugged uncomfortably under Max's intense gaze. "Like I said before, I have an idea of what you'd go through if you went back to Manticore… and I felt kinda…"
"Guilty?"
"No," he returned quickly. "I told you already, I was just doing my job. My ass or yours, and I chose my own."
"So?"
"So what?" he replied touchily.
"So why did you come back?" she asked, rolling her eyes at his severely deficient attention span.
Damn, this chick was relentless. She just wouldn't let it drop… and it was getting pretty annoying.
Suddenly, Alec grinned. A sly, knowing expression, accompanied by a certain unsettling sparkle to his eyes, which left Max feeling somewhat apprehensive. Instinctively, she found herself frowning. "Like I said, when it came to my ass or yours, I chose mine. But that was before I had a chance to see yours. After a real up close and personal… I changed my mind."
He was surprised when her frown slowly transformed into a smile of her own. "I can sympathize. If I had to choose between my ass or yours, I'd go with mine too."
"Well, we both know it's not my ass that you're really interested in."
Max glared at him then turned abruptly on her heel and headed out of the alley, toward the street. He followed her, catching the "Asshole" she tossed none-too-discreetly over her shoulder.
"Bitch," he returned gleefully.
Alec caught up to her quickly, only to find himself shoved into the path of an oncoming car. The driver honked furiously and Alec leapt out of the way, just barely in time. He stared incredulously at Max, who returned his expression with a beatific smile. Sure, it wouldn't have killed him… but it would have hurt like hell, and certainly impeded in the whole "swift getaway" plan.
"You better believe it," Max sang out, continuing on her way without so much as an inquiry to see if he was all right.
When he caught up to her again, he decided to leave a good distance between them, just in case she decided to try… well, anything. He eyed her warily, making sure to take note of where her hands were at all times.
"Where are we going?"
"I have a friend who can help us out."
Alec snorted. "I find that hard to believe."
Max threw him a questioning look. "What, that he can help us out?"
"That you have a friend."
Max pretended to lunge toward him. Seeing how quickly he jumped out of the way, she grinned and decided to let the remark slide.