Maria worked a few more hours with those who could stay. They ordered food and tried to get as far as possible. Maria had arranged security to give people escorts to their cars, even though the room had a few Roswell PD members, still she didn't want anyone else to be hurt. Janhie had caused her blood to run cold, and hours later she still couldn't shake the sense that he knew more than she about this whole ordeal.
Liz was the last person left with Maria. They were stacking up the invoices and putting away the journals. Liz kept looking over at Maria, and then away again. It was hard, this was hard. Biting her lip, Liz made a decision.
"Um, I didn't know you knew Michael Guerin." Maria looked over at her in surprise. They had talked most of the day, but this was the first time Liz had initiated a topic of discussion.
"Well, only just met him yesterday, but I was hoping to know him better soon." Liz was startled. They only met yesterday? From the scene earlier, she could have sworn they were better acquainted, or at least knew each other for a longer span of time. She had known Max Evans for over two years, and today was the first time she actually talked to him about something other than police work. Maria was like an alien to Liz, an enigma. Something to hold in awe and in fear.
"Maria, I don't how to say this. I mean, I don't want to overstep, or butt into something that isn't really my business, or your personal business, because I just met you, and I really have no right to interfere or even offer you an opinion, or even know if you want it, but..." Maria looked at the young woman in horror. She was going to expire, or have an aneurysm or something.
"Liz, calm down, just spit it out! It's okay. I won't be offended." Maria watched her take deep breaths to calm herself.
"Okay, it's just... I mean..." Liz saw the look Maria was giving her and stopped stammering. "It's Michael Guerin. There's lots of rumors about him around the Police Station, especially among the females." Liz watched Maria c-ock her head to one side and become more aware and thoughtful.
"And?"
"Well, let's just say that he's not a very nice man." Liz paused, okay that wasn't necessarily right. True, she and Michael never really hit it off, but it was more than just being a nice man.
"That's okay, Liz. I'm not sure I want him nice." Maria smiled to herself. Hell yeah! What she imagined doing with him hardly required him being nice in any shape or form.
"No, I don't mean it like that. Really, he is a good guy and everything. But not to be involved with, not romantically." Liz plucked at the front of her blouse and shifted on her feet. "I've heard that women fall for him. Hard. And he's nice to them, but emotionally? Emotionally he's lacking."
"Lacking?" Maria didn't get it. The man seemed to be hardly lacking anything, and emotionally he seemed pretty intense. The spark in his eyes, the growling of his breath, the groans from deep inside, as far as she could tell, Michael Guerin seemed to be one of the more emotional people she knew.
"Let's just say that the women in his life wanted more than he could give, wanted him to be a little more emotionally attached to them, then he was. What I've been told is that a woman involved with him would have to do all the work with little or no compensation." Liz turned red from the discussion.
Compensation? Maria hoped that didn't mean sex. "You're saying that I should be careful about giving him my heart, because he doesn't have one to give back?"
"Something like that." Liz felt better for having said it. "I think you're wonderful. I honestly never met anyone like you before, and today was the most fun I can remember ever having, ever. I don't want to see you brokenhearted or trampled by Michael Guerin, so I just wanted to tell you to be careful." Maria smiled at Liz, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. Was it possible to already be too far gone after only twenty-four hours? But what worried Maria the most was that Liz was the second person that day that warned her to take care.
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Professor Janhie Kovitch sat in his offices late into the night. He knew it was only a matter of time. Today it was clear that he had overstepped his usefulness, that he wasn't needed to find the missing piece. Sitting at the large work table reading through his beloved ancient text for the last time he waited.
It wasn't a noise that alerted him that the wait was over, but the movement of coldness, the stink of death from his own body. He knew the smell. He recognized it from childhood. It was a smell that couldn't be forgotten, a sweetness edged in bitter scent so strong that it choked. Keeping his eyes forward, he didn't even turn to look or to watch. Instead he calmly folded his hands over his beloved manuscript and bowed his head in prayer waiting for the executioners blow. And for the first time since he was a child, he spoke to God. Jehovah. The One he once felt had forsaken him...
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Maria heard the noise, the sounds from downstairs. Turning in her bed she looked at the clock. It was two thirty in the morning, Sean had gone to work, and the cat snored next to her. Lying still for a few moments she tried to identify the sounds. Was it someone walking around or just those silly night sounds that pop up occasionally to scare you when you least expected it, and knew you were alone. Nope, someone was definitely downstairs. Dammit, this was the first time in weeks she actually got to bed at a decent hour, and now a burglar was going to come and get all wacky in her house, ruin her sleep, force her to get up, or worse call the damn police! If the police came that could mean hours and hours of endless paperwork, talking, and possibly a trip to the doctor's for rape. Damn. Maria turned over on her stomach and looked down between the banisters that were at the back of her bed, down into the dark room below.
Clearing her throat, she said loudly and clearly, "Do not take the last piece of chicken!" With that said, she turned back over and tried to go back to sleep. She could hear the footsteps coming up the stairs, and the movement of the bed as someone sat down beside her. Great. A gentle rapist who believed in foreplay. Well, at least she would finally have a break in her sexual drought, and if he didn't eat the chicken on his way out, that would be a bonus.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Maria opened one eye at the sound of Michael Guerin's voice. Looking up at him, she sighed and closed her eye again to go back to sleep. Dammit, he'd probably eat the chicken just to be spiteful. There's goes tomorrow's lunch. "Maria? Dammit, wake up! Is this how you respond to someone breaking into your home?" Michael's voice was rising in irritation, "Don't eat the damn chicken?"
"Well I was saving it for lunch tomorrow! You're trespassing, and I'm not interested in having you arrested tonight, so go away." Maria felt the bed dip under her as he leaned across her body and placed his hands on both sides of her head, trapping her against the bed. "You're not going away are you?"
"No." Maria startled at his voice. He said it so matter of fact, without emotion. It was the lack of inflection that bothered her the most. His voice was too quiet, too not Michael. Something was wrong. Even in the dark she just knew he wasn't right in the head, that he was teetering on the verge of a meltdown, and somehow she just knew that wasn't something he'd be able to forgive himself.
"Okay, then you need to get out of your clothes and come to bed. I'm tired, and it's late, so come to bed." Maria held her breath to see what he would do. Hoping he would take the offer to lean on her, to rest, so he could find the control he usually had, that was fast slipping away.
Finally taking the initiative, she reached up and slowly unbuttoned his shirt, pulled it off his arms, and slowly removed it. Then taking the undershirt in hand she pulled it over his head. Maria was surprised that he didn't protest or say anything, just let her undress him. Pushing him back from her, she sat up and reached over beside her and pulled the bedding back for him. "Get in." As he slid under the covers she moved up on her knees and reached down, removing his shoes and socks, and finally reaching for the zipper of his pants. She moved the zipper down noticing he wasn't wearing any underwear. Nothing. Not a boxer in sight.
As she pushed the jeans down, he helped by kicking the jeans away. Maria ran her hands back up his body, stroking him and pulling the covers over him. It wasn't hard to miss that he wasn't aroused. Oh baby, Maria felt sympathy rising in her throat. Whatever it was, it had to be bad. Michael Guerin without a hard-on was its own outrage. Lying back down in the bed, groaning in appreciation of the nice firm mattress, the silky cool sheets and warm comforter, Maria reached over and pulled him into her arms. He came willingly, and sprawled across her, resting his head against her breast, listening to her heart and the sounds of air moving through her chest. His arm was slung across her and he closed his eyes as she moved her hands-one to push through his hair and hold his head firmly against her, and the other to rub and stroke his naked back, offering him comfort.
They lay holding each other tight, his arm encircling her, hugging her like a lifeline. At first Maria didn't know what she was feeling, but the tremors that started deep finally found their way to the surface. His whole body seemed to shake as sobs racked him, but not a tear was shed, not even a verbal sob. It was just the deep racking tremors of pain and despair, of feeling it so deep that even tears couldn't give release. The dry sobs continued for a while and Maria held him, rubbing his back and making sounds that were soft and soothing, but with no real syntax. As she held him so many thoughts bombarded her, made her worry and fret, and then the worst thought rose to the top, to leave her almost numb from the possible pain. Quietly she had to ask, "Was it Max?"
To her greatest relief, he just shook his head no against her, and Maria sighed a sense of relief, feeling tears of relief behind her eyes. Whoever it was would be bad enough, but Max would've been impossible. Michael felt heavy lying on her, but she didn't mind the weight, it felt good. Just kissing him on top of his head, she stroked him to a quietness, a calm, and all she said was, "Sleep."
When Maria woke he was on his back sprawled across her bed with an arm over his head cushioning it. The other arm was wrapped around her, holding her tight to his side and cushioning her body on his chest. Looking at the clock Maria was shocked that she could still sleep for a few more hours before she needed to get up. Running a hand up his chest and gently circling his masculine nub, she reached over to kiss it, running it lightly against her teeth, then sucking the nipple lightly into her mouth. Looking down in interest she watched his morning erection grow until she couldn't resist running her hand down his body and under the cover to lightly stroke him with gentle fingers. Now this was the Michael Guerin she could take, the one she knew.
"Do it harder." Maria was surprised at the sound of his husky voice. Of course he was awake, and where last night he wasn't aroused, obviously this morning he was. Maria moved her leg away from him, where it was intertwined with his in the night, and kicked the covers down. She wanted to see him, really see him, and the early morning light was making that possible. Michael didn't protest about the loss of covers. The loft was warm enough, and no amount of cool air was going to affect his erection. He watched as she moved her hand to the base and gripped him hard, and in a massaging motion moved upward to spread the moisture collecting at the head. Michael groaned in his throat and closed his eyes for a moment. Savor...he wanted to savor it, the feel of her masturbating him, jerking him off almost better than he could do so himself. Where the hell did she learn to touch a person like that?
She turned on her side and moved her leg to rest between his, to mate their legs thigh to thigh as her hand kept him in a firm grip, moving him hard and firmly until his hips moved with the motion. Dammit he wanted to be inside her, to join with her, but at this rate she was going to finish him before they ever got that far! And suddenly Maria moved her upper body across him until he turned his head to look at her beautiful clear green eyes, an intense look about her, and the soft parting of her lips allowing him just to see the tip of her tongue. "You okay?"
Michael laughed at the question moving his hips to push himself harder into her hand and giving her back her words from the day before. "I'm juicy." He liked her small shout of pleased laughter.
Suddenly she looked down at her hand, back at him, and then suddenly bent down to swipe her tongue across the head of his penis, to gather some of the moisture. Straightening, she brought her mouth to his sharing the taste. The touch of her tongue jumpstarted his heart and ravaged all the air from his lungs. There was power in the kiss and it surged through them again and again, shocking them into action.
Michael rose off the bed and pulled her up next to him. Reaching down he found the hem of her sleeping shirt and pulled it over her head, tossing it to the floor. Maria removed her hand from him at his protest and moved the hand upward to wrap around his neck to bring him to her for another long sucking kiss. Michael fell back in the bed dragging her small body on top of his, finding the waistband of her panties and slowly peeled them from her body while he f*cked her mouth with his tongue. She kept pulling her mouth away from his to watch his tongue leave his mouth to follow her lips. She was mesmerized with his actions. Skin bared against skin, hot and tingling when the need to surge together overcame them again...
Maria pulled away gasping for breath, something, or anything resembling air to inflate her lungs. Looking at him and still seeing the shadows that engulfed him last night she was concerned that he was acting without thought. "Do we need to talk about this?"
Michael ran his hand up her now nude body to rub a nipple between his thumb and forefinger, rolling it. "All I want to do is f*ck."
Maria smiled at him and kissed him again, "Thank god." Sure she should be more caring, wanting to hear his problems, but at that moment and at that time, getting him, having him was all she wanted. She wasn't sure she was ready to share his baggage after only knowing him for well over one day.
The kiss went on and on, not letting up at all. The want to feel the other on them drove them together and Michael took control, turning Maria around in his arms, positioning her with her back to his chest so his arms could encircle her, so he could lean over her shoulder sucking on her back. He soothed her with his hands running over her front, taking one of her hands with his, moving their hands to touch her intimately between her legs as he pressed himself into her back letting her feel his desire rubbing against her. Maria seemed to shake with the knowledge of what was about to happen, letting Michael drive them with a cry and a gasp of surprise as the fingers of her hand and his entered her, stroked her. Maria's eyes closed and her head fell back on his shoulder. His tongue licked up the side of her neck and he whispered huskily into her ear, "I like to watch."
Maria turned her head in surprise and looked at him, seeing him looking down her front, watching her body and its reaction as he held both her hand and his own firmly inside her. With his other hand holding her hip bone, he pulled her firmly into the seat of his groin, controlling her hip movement while he pressed hard into her back, letting his fingers move in and out of her along with her own, occasionally rubbing the nub of nerve endings to push her higher. She heard his groan when her other hand moved down her own body to join her other hand and his, to grab his hand by the wrist and control his movements. Maria swore at him softly hearing his chuckling response as she realized that his damned voyeur soul was going to bring her off using her own hand and his while he used his own hips to control hers and push her harder and harder into their combined hands.
Michael pushed up against Maria, chest pressed to her back loving the feel of her all laid out against him from hip to shoulder. He lay kiss after kiss along the back of Maria's sweat soaked neck, as the sweat from his own body mingled with hers, kissing her just behind the ear, biting her neck and making Maria moan with more than pain. He was teasing her in his own way, so looking at him with narrowed eyes, she put her head back on his shoulder, sunk her other hand that had held his wrist into herself with their fingers and then brought the fingers up towards her mouth, wet with her own juices. She smiled as she felt his body behind her stiffen even more, the rush of the air from his lungs as he forgot to breathe, and his gasping groan as her own tongue came out to meet her fingers, to lick the taste from them. Then his hand that held her hip firmly against him released her and came up to grab her wrist and pull the fingers to his mouth as he sucked the wet finger into him. God he was so hot! His mouth was like a furnace and his tongue rubbed up and down the lengths of her fingers and sucked them in and out, mimicking the movement of his other hand f-ucking her, stroking her while they rocked gently. The power swelled within them, seeping out and soaked back up through their pores, right through the skin of their naked bodies, bound together in mutual need for each other.
Michael had meant to control her...push her...tease her, as revenge for teasing him the day before. But her sucking on her fingers and then her letting him do the same, knocked the air out of him, made him want to taste her again...and again... to end this warfare and get on with it. He never let a woman dictate to him before, but somehow with her, he liked it. If he pushed to be the dominant one, forcing her into submission instead of sharing it, he realized that he would destroy the very thing about her he liked the most, her sass and confidence.
Moving away from her and backing up, he gave her room to turn. She moved onto her back and lay there staring up at him, mapping out his features, seeing more in just a look than most could read in a book. She scared him. No doubt about it, this DeLuca creature was one scary chick, and he loved the challenging danger and edge she represented! Her hand came up to sweep gently across his face and with his eyes closing he reached down to rest for a second against her until her soft sweet voice hit him, "are we going to f*ck or what?" He quickly looked at her, fire flaming in his eyes, liking how she caught him in a movement of weakness and found the perfect thing to say to give him back himself.
"Yeah, in a second, first, just hold onto this." He moved her hand over her head and put it on the railing to grip it hard. Then watching her, he slowly started working his way down her body, moving his hands first touching her, holding her, testing the firmness and give and then letting his mouth follow, spending endless amounts of time on her breast. He moved down past her stomach to finally take her into his mouth. The taste from her fingers wasn't enough, he wanted more. A hell of a lot more, so he pushed her...opened her...and feasted on her. The movement of her foot along his body, the tangling of her hand in his hair and occasionally moving to grip his shoulder and the hard bite of her nails into his skin as she moved her hips to feed him more. It was like a singing of adrenaline in the blood, a boiling need to take what she offered, and then take even more! It wasn't until he felt her break apart, the echoing gasp from her throat, the tossing of her head back that he even bothered to pay attention, to come back from that place he resided just living in the feeling and finally moved his body up hers, to join her on the crest of her orgasm. A part of him hated that she was right again, that she was juicy. And another part loved it. Juicy hell, she was damn mouthwatering!
Michael surged into her, slamming hard and deep in one thrust, moving her leg to ride high on his hip, as he wrapped another arm around her hip using it to control her movements to synchronize their bodies together. From where he rested heavily against her, he stretched along her length putting his other arm over her head to grip the railing next to her hand. He looked down to see her watching him, her breast heaving as her breath came fast and shallow, and just when he thought he had her driven in front of him the way he liked it, she gave him back his own words from earlier, "Do it harder." Those three words sent his body out of control, and her other hand pulled his mouth to hers allowing her to lick the wetness from his face, to mate her tongue to his, tasting herself from his mouth.
Michael sucked in air, feeling Maria's back arch bringing her hip tighter into his, and actually meet his thrusts. She wrapped fingers from one hand around his thigh and held on, coming with a moan that had him echoing her deep in his throat. And Michael thrust harder needing to feel her break under him, and with the need to finish this as close to Maria's coming as possible. He forced her smaller body down onto the bed, driving harder with his urgency, clinging with a firm grip on Maria's hips, liking that her mouth never once stopped devouring his. Light exploded! Energy seemed to spark out across the loft, to singe the ceiling and railing and their bodies as well! Either that or his eyes had rolled back in his head. A roaring filled Michael's hearing, like the crashing of waves with a light blinding him. He tasted only Maria...felt only Maria's hot skin against his for what might have been eternity. He could live doing nothing but this again and again...
Sound slowly began to seep back to normal, Maria's breathing ragged in his ears, unsteady and gasping, but the young woman's heart beat strong and fast, powerfully alluring in its rhythm. Normal darkness descended, brightness fading to the light from outside's early morning. And Michael was afraid to move since every nerve ending in his body seemed alive, to be moving fast and furious like a open electrical circuit. It was the orgasm that kept giving, and that had never happened before. Only Maria's scent remained. Just beneath him, soft hair tickled his nose. She smelt of sweet patchouli and honeysuckle. And her body, pinned beneath him, still hot and sweat drenched, shivered ever so subtly. He needed to move off her to keep from crushing her, but he couldn't. Every movement sent racing threads of fire down his spine as all the neurons of his overcharged body fired one synaptic relay after another. So instead he sprawled across her body very much like the night before, and hoped she didn't mind. It was her fault anyway, she was the one who had laid him to waste. As soon as he stopped feeling her, smelling her, and tasting her deep in his body he would move away...
They fell asleep that way.
TBC