In The Background:
Departure

Author: DocPaul DocPaul_Inbox@aol.com
Spoilers: Up to Baby It's You.
Distribution: Exclusive to "Cause we know..." & Mud.
Disclaimers: Last paragraph belongs to Mnemosyne's "3600 Seconds" (used with permission from the author). Dialogue from the episode by writing staff.

The knock came too soon. Everything was too soon. Time was becoming a fleeting thing, and for the first time in his life, he was running out of it. Looking at the room quickly checking to see if everything was in place, he hurried to open the door before any more of that precious time was lost.

“Michael??” Maria looked around the room and then at him again. He was scaring her with his serious dark face almost brooding in nature, like a sense of dredge had found a home. She felt that earlier in the day when he told her he needed to see her tonight.

“I know you like Italian, so,” Michael gestured to the nicely set table with candles and food ready for them to sit down and eat. “And I know Scooby’s your favorite.” Maria eyebrow delicately arched upward at the sight of Scooby Do flatware. And with all the candles lit around room, it was obvious that he went to a lot of trouble to make this just right.

“What’s going on?” A small trickle of fear and apprehension was working its way into her gut. She would like to think this was just a romantic dinner prepared by Michael for them, but that wasn’t really Michael’s style. This was something more, something big.

“Sit down.” Michael led her to the sofa leaving the door open, almost like what he was experiencing, the emotions warring in his body were taking up all the space in the apartment, and he needed a sense of open space to collect himself.

“What is this all about?” He wasn’t surprised that Maria was picking up some of his emotions and she was responding with a cautious reluctance, like a person trapped in a trainwreck with no way out.

“Sit down, please.” Michael took a seat with her on the sofa. She remained on the edge and held herself stiff as if waiting for the next blow. “There’s a lot about you Maria.” He watched her almost embarrassed reaction to his words. “There’s a lot about you. But I think what means the most to me is that you’re open. You know, I can look into your eyes. And I can see you. I can see what you’re thinking. I can see what you’re feeling. How much I mean to you sometimes. How much I piss you off sometimes. But I can always see you.” Maria seemed to relax a little and smiled at him slightly, but he knew he had her complete attention.

“I see you too.” She said it in the voice, that soft, gentle melodic voice.

“No.” Michael watched her become even more attentive. “No you don’t see me.” Michael paused trying to find a more specific way of explaining to her what he wanted to tell her, to show her. Spreading his fingers he continued. “You know when Max and Liz would kiss, and Liz would get the flashes? And when we would kiss. You didn’t.” Michael watched the resigned sadness cross her face. “I know how much that hurt you.”

“It doesn’t matter to me anymore Michael.” Maria tried to shrug it off an unimportant, but she knew it was still important to her, and now it appeared important to him.

Michael took a deep breath to help maintain some control. “The reason why you didn’t get the flashes is because I didn’t let you get them. I didn’t let you see me. I’ve never let anyone see me before, because…” Michael paused feel his control slipping, the pain of the years might have passed, but the wounds were all still there, unhealed. “There are things inside of me that I don’t want people to see.” Faltering for a mere second but unwilling to lose eye contact with her, Michael continued not even noticing the tears slowly moving down his face. “There are things inside of me that I’m not so proud of. But I thought about it …and I want you to see me.” Moving forward a little, he held out his hands like he did once before when he first told her about the Granilith and made her his partner. “Take my hands.”

Maria slowly put her hands in his careful to not look away, not even for a moment. And in a rush of sensation she could see him, see him through his eyes, and in his mind. The lost little boy running alone through a field in the dark too frightened to stop. His heart was pounding out his body, his breathing shallow, and he was alone. Then there was an angry man yelling abuse on a small-frightened child. “You are trash, worthless, no wonder they dumped you. You will never amount to anything.” The words weren’t spoken, but she could hear them in her head, those and many more, equally cruel and abusive. The man unbuckled his belt to add physical abuse to the mental and verbal, as the terrified child with a red mark on his cheek ran away with his heart pounding, his breathing shallow, already wounded more than could be repaired. She felt his relief as he walked hand in hand with Max and Isabel in the desert as a young boy.

Liz never told her, never mentioned this about the flashes, but Maria could feel it all, every word, every pain, every fear like it was her. It was happening to her. Suddenly the scene changed and they were in her bed, wet, and he was crying, hurt, wounded, and so incredibly lost with the first real sense of comfort coming from her as she held him, and let him rest for the first time in his life, unafraid. It was the overwhelming sorrow that filled her eyes with tear, feeling his need for a home, and the loss of the only one he ever knew. His fear was different this time; it was no longer terror, but fear of being alone forever. Then there was a rush of sensation, of fast moving bodies, worlds colliding into a gravity field and suddenly a burst of a star field in a universe of cosmic energy, and then there she was, framed in the stars and light, eternal. It was how he saw her. What he felt whenever he saw her hit her in a wave of awareness, she was his universe, a goddess. Holding her breath, so overwhelmed by all the information hitting her fast and furious, so overwhelmed by the gift he shared with her, Maria didn’t know there could ever be words to expressed what she needed to tell him.

“Michael.” Her voice was soft and searching for the words, breaking under the emotions.

“There’s something I have to….” She leaned forward and stopped his words, wiping the tears from his face and mouth with her fingers. Leaning in she kissed him. Words didn’t exist to express what she wanted to say to him, but he could read her, he knew what she felt when he kissed her.

Michael slowly opened his eyes after she moved back from him, and slowly watched her mouth coming back to his. He felt her, felt what she couldn’t say, the words coming in wordless sensation moving back over his body. Oh my god. He moved in to meet her. This was it. This was the one last barrier that kept them apart. Maria couldn’t completely give up control of herself to him, because she knew he was holding himself apart from her, hidden, and she couldn’t make love to a man that was a stranger. He felt his body being pushed down on the sofa and her body following. She tasted incredible. It was like finally having the one thing he had always wanted, and finding that want was an endless thing that it could be sated temporarily, but the hunger was like living, edgy and endless, dynamic.

The passion escalated faster than she remembered it happening before, except that first time she let him into the CrashDown after hours. Yet somehow this was different. It was like all the past make out sessions they experienced were coming to a head, were leading to this one moment. They had just spent almost two year in intense foreplay. His skin was too far away. He was too far away. Maria groaned and pushed her hands through his hair holding him as close as possible. Michael’s hands were everywhere at once, moving over her. It wasn’t until she felt his hand on her naked back that she realized that her dress was unzipped.

Moving her mouth away from his, but the moment was too long, so she rejoined with him. It was the small breeze from the open door that finally brought her back to herself long enough to realize that they were on the verge of removing each others clothes with the door standing wide open.

“Michael.” When did her voice get so husky? “The door.”

Without even looking up from where his head rested in the crook of her neck, his mouth sucking on that hollow created by her clavicle, Michael reached out his hand and sent the door slamming shut. Maria didn’t seem to notice. Her hands where in his hair and her head was back with eyes closed. Quickly standing up by sliding out from under her body, he heard her protest. Reaching down he kissed her deeply as he picked her up into his arms. He didn’t bother to look for the light panel on the wall to switch on lights. Instead, he carried her through the living room with the candlelight casting a soft glow and shadows into the bedroom. He had lit candles in there too along the low wall window leading into the living room.

The urgency in him threatened to steal her breath. His undisguised sexual desire was as potent as the power of his hands and strength, his quiet resolve. It swirled around her as if it were a cloak, enveloping her completely. Maria felt the heated rush of passion flowing through her, driving out the tension and fear that had gripped her during the first few moments when she had arrived.

With wholly uncharacteristic recklessness, she cast aside her questions and her common sense. The future could take care of itself. The only thing that mattered was this moment and the possibilities inherent in it. She had waited so long for the man of her dreams. If she had been born and lived in his skin, she couldn’t have known him any better.

“Michael.” She tightened her arms around his neck.

“I’m here,” he whispered. “I couldn’t let you go right now for anything in the world. I need you.”

He lowered her to the bed and sprawled heavily on top of her. His mouth closed over hers as he pulled a soft curl resting against her neck in his finger wrapping it around his finger and gently pulling. He inhaled deeply.

“You remind me of exotic jungle flowers.” He kissed her again.

She felt his strong hands on the naked flesh of her back and the unsnapping of her bra. His fingers trembled as he opened the back of the dress and pulled the garment from her body and down her arms. He broke off the kiss to gaze down at her breasts.

“So beautiful.” He touched one nipple wonderingly and bent his head to take it into this mouth. Maria arched off the bed and harder into his mouth. Her breasts were a total turn on, almost too sensitive to withstand the on slay.

Another wave of excitement flashed through Maria. She lifted herself against Michael and felt the hard, thickened evidence of his desire. She struggled with his clothing until she got his shirt undone, and then she touched him with eagerness. He groaned.

She stroked him more daringly, relishing the taut contours of his chest. When her fingers brushed against his rib cage she felt a long, unnatural furrow of toughened skin. She had noticed it before when they bathed together, but suddenly she felt comfortable enough to ask him about it.

“You were hurt,” she whispered.

“A long time ago, when I was thirteen, Hank broke three of my ribs. Accident, I ran into his fist.” He dismissed the incident with a drugging kiss. “A lifetime ago. You want me, don’t you? You really want me. I can feel it.”

“I’ve never wanted anything more in my life,” Maria answered simply, letting him brush over the abuse issue until he was more comfortable to talk about it. They were always so careful in the past not to push the envelope too close to the edge, because they both were not ready for more, and they hadn’t wanted to take it too far, that they couldn’t stop. There was no stopping this time, no reason to stop.

A lifetime of self-restraint went up in smoke. Michael felt out of control. He needed to tell her, talk to her, but he couldn’t. She was overwhelming him. Maria felt wild and eager and free. She hovered on the brink of a great discovery, and she could scarcely contain herself. Questions awaited answers.

Michael rained kisses on her bare shoulders and nibbled at her ear. There was desperate, straining impatience in his every touch. Time was ticking, and he was running out of time, and this one moment had to satisfy him for a lifetime. He reached down to push the rest of the dress off of her, lifting her up in his arms to haul it past her waist. Michael slowly moved his hand back up her leg cupping her with his hand. The feel of his rough hand on her thigh was so intensely intimate that she would have killed him if he pulled back now.

“Are you sure?” He lifted his head to search her face. He had to know before it was too late. It was already too late, they both knew that, but he needed to ask.

“Yes, yes, of course, I’m absolutely sure.” She shoved her fingers into his hair and dragged his mouth back down to hers.

He gave a soft, husky laugh that dissolved into another aching groan. She could feel her panties being moved off her body. Michael kissed her so deep that she almost missed what he was doing.

“Don’t go to far with those, buddy. I seem to be losing a lot of my underwear and bras in your apartment lately.”

“Damn,” Michael muttered. “I’ve been meaning to return those to you.” He didn’t mention that he had them stashed somewhere special. He cupped her gently and buried his face in the curve of her throat.

“Liar.” She raised one knee and pressed it urgently against his muscled thigh.

He lifted himself away from her, just far enough to allow her to unbuckle his belt. Maria had his jeans unfastened and down his legs quicker than he could have done it himself. She eased him back down between her legs. Michael stroked her, his hand vibrating with his own urgency. Maria trembled at the need she felt, and the need she felt in him. His mouth was fastened to her breast making it hard for her to breath, and impossible not to move up against him with increasing urgency.

“Michael, condom.” She bit his shoulder to get his attention.

“What?” Michael had to shake his head to clear his thoughts, to understand what she was saying. They both reached over to the bedside table at the same time. Weeks ago they both had placed condoms there. It was just a matter of time, and neither wanted to find them unprepared. He groaned aloud as she sheathed him in the condom. He should have stopped to talk to her, but they were both already to far-gone.

When she felt him part her with his fingers, she moved herself upward until she felt the broad head of his shaft. There was moisture from her body to ease the way, just like there was moisture from his to make sliding the condom on a quick task. Uncertainty flared for the first time. She had held him in her hands many times, but suddenly he felt so large.

Michael started to ease himself into her. He paused. “You’re tight,” he whispered. “Small and tight.”

“No, I’m not. I’m perfectly normal. The problem is that you’re too big.” She smiled and touched the side of his face. “But don’t worry about it. I won’t break.”

He made a hoarse sound deep in his throat, and the he surged into her, filling her with a suddenness that sent shock waves through every nerve in her body. Maria gasped and stiffened. She dug her nails into Michael’s back. She had expected some pain, but not quite this. It wasn’t just pain, it was Michael. It was as if he had moved into her, all of her, and it felt like being over filled. She could feel every inch of him, all of him. She inhaled quickly, trying to breathe her way through the moment.

“Maria.”

She almost laughed despite the discomfort she was experiencing. The stunned shock of Michael’s voice told her that he was feeling her, all of her, both physically and mentally.

“Don’t worry.” She framed his face between her palms and kissed him fiercely. “I won’t…”

“I know, I know, you won’t break.” He returned the kiss with great tenderness. “Max didn’t tell me about this.”

“You and Max talk details? Um, maybe he didn’t think it was important.”

“The hell is wasn’t. Maria I felt myself penetrate, break through, and I felt the pain. I’m hurting you.” Michael started to ease himself back out of her.

“No. The only way you can hurt me is to leave.” Maria clutched at him. “Don’t stop. Not now. I want this. I want you. Can’t you feel that? Don’t shut me out now.”

“Not half as much as I want you. But I never expected to feel this much pain, to cause this much pain. I know losing your virginity was supposed to have some discomfort, but not this.”

“Michael, for the love of God, please move.” Maria clutched him tighter and moved up against him, enjoying the feel of him moving in her now that the pain had receded.

Michael groaned as she moved along him, pushing herself harder against him. “Beautiful.” Michael thrust deeply into her body at the same instant that she push upward, he felt the sensation explode along his nerve endings. It was too hard to try to discern whether he was feeling her, or it was coming from him. It didn’t matter it was incredible. He made no effort to focus on the sensation, but rather just enjoy and ride the wave as he moved his hands down to grip her hips and pull her deeper and deeper into his thrusts. The result was a swirl of sensations and an almost unbearable sense of intimacy.

He was her true mate. The one for whom she waited. Maria had been in love with him all her life, since she met him, and before that, the promised dream of him. She actually screamed his name as the pleasure stormed through her, but she could hardly catch her breath. All she felt was being tumbled about in a fountain of light, color and energy. Sweat broke out on her skin, and she could feel his sweat along his back mixing with hers. Excitement, euphoria, and laughter exploded inside her, she could feel him, still feel and see him through the link he created earlier. She was dimly aware that the pain was still present, but it blended with all the other sensations into a huge mass of nerve endings that she could no longer identify it.

“Unbelievable,” Michael muttered against her ear. He began to move rhythmically and urgently within her. Simultaneously, he reached down to touch the small bundle of nerve endings hidden between her legs. Maria stopped breathing for an instant. A delicious tension seized her insides.

“Hold me,” Michael pushed himself deeper into her. “Don’t let go.” He slowly withdrew and then eased forward once more. “Don’t. Let. Go.”

“Never.” She clung to him.

The wild power of him crashed through her body. It was too much. The tightness in her lower body came undone with no warning. Maria fell headfirst into a whirlpool of sensation the same, but different from before. The waves of pleasure cascaded over her in an increasing intensity, in a continued motion, perpetual, almost seeming to have no end. She was vaguely aware of Michael thrusting into her one last time. He went rigid. Then he gave a shout of exultant satisfaction and fell heavily on top of her.


Michael couldn’t move. He slowly moved them so they he slid to the bottom and Maria was on top of him, but she made a protesting sound at the movement. He didn’t blame her. He was feeling it too.

What the hell was Max talking about? This didn’t feel like floating in air, it was more like floating in a warm pool of water licking at every inch of your body holding it buoyant and snug. It reminded him of the sensation he felt when he bathed with Maria and rested against her. Except for the tingling sensation that was running down his spine and the prickling heat of his skin. The best he could describe was that pin and needles feel you got when your leg or hand had fallen asleep, and the blood finally rushed back into it. It was the feeling of being alive for the first time in his life, and the feeling wasn’t dissipating. He didn’t know much about his former life, but one thing he did know was he never felt this with anyone before, because this he wouldn’t have forgotten. It was climaxing and increasing like a wave front oscillating back and forth, and the point of orgasm was like every molecule in his body exploded into a massive energy field, and he could feel every molecule in her body coalescing to every molecule of his as she sunk deeper inside of him.

Maria finally lifted her head off his body. Her voice was almost squeaky and full of wonder. “What the hell was that?”

Michael almost had a heart attack. She was moving up against his body, and all his nerve endings were raw, awake, and alive. The small yelp she gave told him that she was still riding the wave.

“That would be the benefit of hot alien sex, I think.” He was surprised at how hoarse his voice sounded. Michael suspected that he actually screamed when he came, but he had been so caught up in the experience he couldn’t really remember.

“Oh my god! And Max called that “hot alien sex?” and the point of culmination?”

“Yeah.”

“He’s an idiot, or just not very good at describing anything.” Michael laughed at Maria’s astonishment over how plain Max’s description was of what was at best indescribable. Even calling it “hot alien sex” detracted from what it really was. It was…everything. “How long was this supposed to last?”

“About an hour or so.” Michael was feeling to good to move, too awake to sleep, and amazingly enough still incredibly aroused. The benefit of having every nerve ending in his body awake and vacillating was even after achieving an orgasm; his body was still unbelievably hyped, like an energizer bunny. This was nothing like what they had experience before by just touching and even orally. This was more, and he suspected it had to do with opening up himself to her. It had moved them to an entirely different level. Self-manipulation definitely had nothing on this; otherwise he would have masturbated himself to death years ago.

“Michael?”

“Hmm?”

“What happens if we re-escalate the feeling before it subsides?” Michael turned his head to look at her; a flicker of interest joining his already heated body. He really needed to talk to her, but the brush of her fingers along his nipple diverted his attention back to more urgent needs. Looking down her body enjoying the small thrust of her breast, small but wonderfully proportional to her tiny body. It was inconceivable that she was able to hold him inside so perfectly. With a groan Michael turned in the bed and gathered her in his arms pulling her tight under him. Her gentle laughter lightened his heart.

Michael leaned over her, caging her between his hands, and kissed her until she stopped laughing. Her mouth opened beneath his. With a soft, muffled exclamation, she wrapped her arms around him. He felt her sudden fierce need all the way to the bone with his body awake and still tingling from before. She wanted him. She was his mate, his lover. His own smoldering hunger leaped into full flame. As exultant sensation stormed through him. Tonight she was his.

In an exuberant frenzy of happy lust he rolled with her across the bed tangling the sheets into chaos. When they finally came to a halt, he had her trapped under him with her long gorgeous legs wrapped around his waist holding him tight to her. He could feel the heat of her body against his groin and the smell of their combined bodies made him feel hungrier than he could remember. It was an amazing thing to have an undying need for one person. He was more alive than he had ever been in his life.

Looking down at her elegantly curved breast, it crossed his mind that he had never seen anything more beautiful than the spill of candlelight on her skin, the marks he left on her skin, and the reddened swollen look of her passionately kissed lips. He closed his eyes and shuddered when he felt her fingers on his bare chest.

“Michael.” Her voice throbbed with emotion.

He opened his eyes and bent his head to kiss her. While he held her mouth captive, he moved his finger down her body and inside her moaning at the heat and how the tight channel seemed to grip him. Then he worked his way down her body sucking her skin into his mouth loving the feel of her squirming under him, her hands holding him intensely, and the sounds coming from deep in her throat. He was becoming addicted to the silky feel of her inside. Maria gave a soft cry and twisted relentlessly beneath his hand. As he stroked her she clenched her thighs together, forcing herself more firmly against his palm. Her breathing was coming in quickened gasps.

After a moment she reached out to touch him as intimately as he was touching her, and sighed impatiently when she found him still covered in a condom from before. Moving away from him, she grabbed a Kleenex from the bedside table and carefully removed the used condom. It was until she reached over to drop it into the bedside trash and grab another fresh condom that she looked back and met his eyes watching her. The heat of his gaze stopped her heart. She couldn’t believe that he found her cleaning him erotic, but obviously he did.

She moved her hand back down his body and watched his eyes narrow and become intense as he fell heavily into her waiting hand. When she cupped him gently at first and then watching him, she increased her grip. He thought he might go mad. He closed his eyes for a few seconds and tried to control his breathe to regain some control. He didn’t want to jump on her like a wild beast and surge into her out of control. He was saving that for later.

He won the battle for control for just a moment until he opened his eyes to watch her staring at him in wonder and with a sense of fascination. “You are incredible,” she whispered as she suddenly leaned in and took him into her mouth, wetting him, and tasting him.

He did not answer. He couldn’t answer for anything in the world. Words were stuck to the roof of his mouth as he felt his eyes roll into the back of his head. He was too close to the edge with the last orgasm still raging his body, her mouth sucking him, and if he didn’t take her soon he was going to shatter into a million pieces. What a way to die. She was watching him.

Taking the new condom, she quickly fitted it on him and before he could grab her, she pushed him back on the bed and straddled his hips, moving forward to kiss him deeply, her tongue moving inside his mouth to battle his for supreme control. Slowly sinking down on him, he stretched her widely, finding the channel still tight and snug. He thrust heavily into her grasping her hips to add purchase as he thrust upward into her. He opened his eyes to see her watching him intensely from half closed eyes. He needed to look into her eyes this time when they came. He needed to see her, really see her, like it was the last time.

Michael could feel the small, delicate muscles resist, and then give way closing snugly around him. He heard her sharp quick breath with his name whispered from her beautiful lips. She was hot and wet and very, very tight, almost too tight considering they had already done this once before. Nothing had ever felt this right before. He surged upward to kiss her neck, sucking deeply on her skin feeling the rush of her blood gathering beneath the skin under his tongue. He continued to slam himself deeper and deeper into her body. Reaching down to find her small, firm clitoris, at the first touch she cried out his name and pressed her face into his chest. He thought he felt her teeth and the sensation was almost unbearably exciting.

He stroked her gently as he rocked against her. The elemental rhythm was set as he slowly sped them to a release, but holding back enough to draw it out, to make the last orgasm meld and mesh with the new one. The effort to hold him and her back has become exquisitely painful. It was finally her fingers suddenly digging into his shoulders that ended the battle.

“Oh, yes,” she whispered as if she just made an incredible discovery. “Yes!”

He raised his head so that he could see her face when she climaxed above him. The tiny convulsions shimmered through her. He felt them deep inside where he was securely lodged. Her release triggered his own as her body almost painfully gripped him, holding him tight. It was like a dazzling mix of physical and paranormal energy poured through him. All his senses were riveted by the sensation. He was swept away by the glorious wildness that seized him.

Nothing had ever felt this right, this good, this whole, and so perfect. Nothing would ever again. He could have understood the most complex of theories in that second as the flow of energy between them moved and oscillated between them in brilliance. It was her small comment spoke in a breathless voice full of wonder that said more than anything.

“Light of creation.”




When Michael came back to himself, time had passed. He looked at the bedside clock and realized his time was short. He needed to talk to Maria, but she was still sprawled across his body almost boneless. Running his hand down her back, he could almost feel the prickly sensation of raw energy moving from his hand and her skin. There was almost like an imperceptible trace of invisible psychic energy shimmering in the air between them.

“Stop that this instant.” He was revving her up again.

“Stop what?” He lowered his mouth to the top of her head almost in an overwhelming feeling of tenderness. Just another thing Max forgot to mention, that it was easy to lose yourself in this none ending need to keep the connection.

Maria could feel the hard outline of his thigh against hers, she groaned and put her arms around his neck. This was impossible. How could she still need him? Instead of the hot intense sex sapping her of her strength, instead it was energizing her, elevating her nerve endings to a hypersensitive mode. He must have been feeling it too because his hand moved down her body to rest on her breast, holding its weight in his palm.

The heat of Michael’s aroused body was warming through the sheet that separated them. She was suddenly, desperately aware of his fingertips on her nipple, circling and then pinching. No one had ever touched her like Michael. He had lots of practice lately, but somehow tonight was like a joining of all he learned like instruments of a symphony, and her body was the instruments humming to his touch. No other man could ever arouse these exquisite, almost painfully intense sensations in her. She shivered and felt his immediate response, his hunger rising again. When they suddenly came together it was as if they had been made just for each other.

The heady joy of knowing that she had the same passionate effect on him made her heart lighten and soar. Kneading the sleek contours of his shoulders, feeling the firm give of the muscles under her fingertips, she leaned forward and bit him above his nipple. His groan was deep and intense as his hand went to her head and pressed her hard up against him.

His mouth moved to her throat and then to her breast. She arched in his arms as he touched her breast. His hand slipped beneath her. He clenched his fingers around her hips, squeezed gently, and then found her hot core again, sinking his fingers inside as the heat swelled. It was impossible to need this again so soon, too soon. It was like an addiction. The smell of them, the taste, the need to feel her heat surround him, as if he knew that he would never find this heat in the coldness of space. It would take a lifetime of drinking his fill to come near being sated, and even then, that would have been only a temporary thing. He couldn’t imagine a day, an hour, a minute, or second that he wouldn’t want and need her, need to bury himself deep inside her, and have her molecules explode and join his.

He rolled on his back and pulled her down on top of him again liking the soft weight. When she opened her eyes she saw that his face was set in unrelenting lines of fierce desire with a hint of sadness and desperation. She cradled the rigid length of him in her palm, stroking him and the fire.

“You don’t know what you do to me,” he whispered. His hand moved between her legs, his fingers wet and slick with her moisture, as he moved across her swollen clitoris. She was beginning to feel the soreness and strain from all the sexual activity, but nothing would have been able to stop them. He moved down her body and she stiffened at the first flick of his tongue, the moving of his mouth over her, kissing her deeply, drinking from her, and sucking her clitoris into his mouth. A great tightness seized her. She sank her nails into his back and gripped him with her thighs.

He did not relent or move away even after the first ripples of her climax began. And just as she rode the crest and felt she had hit the pinnacle of the wave, he entered her again, deeply, fully, this time with nothing resembling gentleness, but a full-scale warfare of primitive desire raging inside. He let passion be the beast and demon that raged him into her, and he was shocked to find a responding equally powerful desire coming from her.

The feel of him stretched her and filled her to capacity slamming roughly into the silken walls. He filled her so completely at that moment that it was almost too much to handle on top of the already effervescent sensations that were already sweeping through her from her orgasm as another wave hit her full frontal.

Maria never heard Michael’s hoarse shout of release, because she could no longer open her eyes. She was lost in the vortex of light and colors as the energy sensation engulfed her. It was like taking a trip on psychedelic drugs, and Michael was the hit. Michael’s “oh wow” was lost as he joined her in the vortex.


Michael lay there looking at the ceiling watching the light shadows flicker from the candles. He could sense that Maria was awake as well, but neither moved or touched the other. They needed to rest, and touching brought the possibility of starting it all over again. Glancing at the clock, he realized that he couldn’t risk another encounter with Maria. He was almost out of time, and he should have already talked to her. It was wrong to let this get so out of hand without telling her first, but once it had started it seemed like a self-feeding hunger. If there was blame to be settled, it rested with him because he was weak. When given a glimpse at touching her, loving her, mating with her, he chose that over telling her he was leaving.

She was resting at his side. He could feel the heat of her along his side, and all he wanted was to grab her, hold her, never let her go, and live inside that feeling that only she could inspire in him. The coldness of space was slowly already working its way into him, leaving him in the cold lonely void.

It was all happening too fast. It was too soon to lose her when he only just found her. Desperation gripped him. He was cold. Ice cold. He needed Maria’s warmth or he would surely freeze to death. He was going to lose her. In a last, despairing effort to hold onto her as long as possible he let the pulsating energy left from their lovemaking engulfed him in a startling feeling of intimacy as their link meshed and blended. Maria must have felt him reaching for her mentally because she actually laughed and roused herself.

“I think we just took a huge step in human and alien relations.” Maria laughed self-consciously that Michael was brooding again. “I love you Michael.” She took his hand in hers and ran her fingers along his intertwining them. He was silent with a notable pause, which almost had her looking up at him, but she didn’t. Maria held back to let him talk when he was ready, because something had been bothering him all night.

“I love you too.” Michael looked up at the ceiling trying to clear his throat from the words he needed to say, but they stuck in his throat anyway. He finally looked down at her his hand gripping hers preparing for the pain. “But I have to leave. Max, Isabel, Tess and I are going home.”

Maria looked at him confused. She knew that since she had read the destiny translation with him. “Yeah I know. Like eventually right?”

Michael couldn’t stop looking at her. “We’re leaving in a few hours.” He saw her intense stare cut into him as he felt her sense of disbelief. “We have to. I have no choice.” Michael didn’t know if a person could live without a heart because his felt like he was dying. “I don’t want to leave you. But we both knew that someday this would happen.”

“How much time do we have?” Maria could feel her insides starting to shake. Later, she would collapse later, when he was gone, but until then, she would keep her promise to him, to love him for as long as they had.

“About an hour.” Michael’s eyes were so dark and pained filled.

Michael watched Maria shake her head in tired disbelief, then felt her supple form shift as she moved closer to him. He raised his arm, so she could brush him, skin to skin. She cuddled up along his side, so he could feel her slim, perfect body against him. An hour would never be long enough for each molecule to find and make love to its mate, though every atom asked for just. One. Chance.

The End.

ITB: After Departure.