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More Than Darkness

By: SaMe
folder M through R › Once Upon A Time In Mexico
Rating: Adult ++
Chapters: 89
Views: 4,931
Reviews: 117
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Disclaimer: I do not own the movie that this fanfiction is written for, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
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28

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This is a crossover smutty story featuring the character of
Tess/Salida ie Tess' Voice in Neon Dasies' OUATIM fics on ff.net, More Than
Eyes Alone Can See, and More Than Life,
and Sands/Jeffrey from Merrie's OUATIM fic on ff.net, Darkness Rising. This story
will make some sense, probably, if you read it without having read either of
our stories, but it'll make a hell of a lot more if you just read them. They're
all worth reading, we promise. Anyway, on with the show.

Rated for what has happened, and what might happen.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> We’re really not quite sure ourselves.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> On with the story.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Aida woke the next morning to an empty bed, but not an empty
bedroom. Sands was up and staring out
the window, burning cigarette in his right hand and his left almost cradled
against his chest. Her mind still blurry
with sleep, she murmured his name to get his attention.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Sands?”

“Try again, kitty,”
Jeffrey murmured around the cigarette he brought to his lips. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He didn’t turn to look at her.

Aida bit back a
moan. “Is he awake?” she asked, reaching
for her robe which had been discarded nearby.

“Not at the moment.
It’o eao early,” he murmured, casting a
glance at the clock. It wasn’t even Minute="0" Hour="8">eight o’clock yet. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “He likes to sleep in. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I don’t,” he said with a shrug.

Aida liked to sleep
in too, but somehow she’d gotten used to having her husband beside her.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Unfortunately, it didn’t look like she was
going to get that any time soon.

Slipping on her
robe, she got out of bed and slid her feet into her slippers.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “I’m going to make breakfast.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Do you want anything?”

Jeffrey frowned and
turned to look at her for the first time, his cigarette hanging out of a corner
of his mouth. “You’re offering to make
me breakfast?” he asked as if he couldn’t believe it.

She shrugged.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “One of you is going to have to eat
eventually, and I might as well use up the food I have in the house.”

“What . . . do you
have?” Jeffrey asked almost warily, pulling his cigarette out with his right
hand and dropping his left to his side abruptly after he realized he had still
been cradling it against his chest.

“Umm, not
much. Eggs.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Bread.
Some fruit.” She shrugged.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “I don’t usually eat a whole lot for
breakfast.”

“Could I have some
scrambled eggs?” Jeffrey asked hesitantly. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> It felt somehow wrong to be asking this woman
– Sands’ wife – to feed him. Yet he was
fucking hungry, and she was offering.

“Sure.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> It’s not much of a problem,” she said, almost
as hesitant as he was. She didn’t know
how Sands would react to her cooking breakfast for her and Jeffrey, but she was
hungry and her Southern upbringing wouldn’t allow her to eat in front of him
without offering some food to him as well.
Hoping she wasn’t doing something stupid, Aida went into the kitchen,
somewhat relieved when Jeffrey stayed in the bedroom.

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>This is fucking awkward, Jeffrey thought
to himself, at a complete loss as to what to do with himself while she cooked. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> So he turned back to stare out the window,
determined to stay there until either breakfast was ready, or Sands woke up. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Unfortunately, it seemed like the former was
going to come much sooner than the latter would. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He made no move to look through the rest of
Aida’s apartment, he simply stayed put, trying to be patient. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Looking down at his fourth cigarette since he
had awoken next to Aida’s side, he knew that he had already lost that battle. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Come on
Sands, wake up and deal with this.
Sands
just slept on as Jeffrey cursed.

Aida hummed softly
as she cracked several eggs and started cooking.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She wondered how long it would be before
Sands woke up. She wanted to talk to
him, to enjoy his company after her near disastrous foray into his past the
night before. But she wanted to know him
really know him – and that meant
digging into his past as far as he’d let her.

The eggs were done,
but Aida delayed calling Jeffrey. She
rummaged through the fridge and found some raspberries which she poured into a
bowl as the toast toasted. She buttered
the toast when it popped and got out her one jar of strawberry jam, in case
Jeffrey wanted it. She got out plates
and dished up the food, and eventually set it on the table.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> And then, left with no other choice than to
let the food go cold and inedible, she called to the bedroom, “The food is
ready.”

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>You bastard. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> If you’re fucking ignoring me to make me feel
awkward I’ll fucking make you pay for this. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> If Sands was there to respond, he gave no
reply. “Fuck,” Jeffrey murmured, walking
out of the bedroom and in the direction of Aida’s voice. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> The apartment wasn’t very big, but it was
nicer than he had been expecting. Not
that he’d tell her that though. He sat
down at the place she had set for him across from her slowly. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Uh, thanks,” he said slowly, not looking at
her as he grabbed the pepper off of the table and liberally coated the
scrambled eggs before taking a small bite. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> They were actually pretty good, but he figured
silence was best at this point. style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Fuck you, Sands.

She ate just as
silently, not sure how to act around Jeffrey.
His mood was never the same two days in a row, and the last time she’d
really spoken to him, he’d been trying to beat the crap out of her.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> At that memory, she surreptitiously slipped
her right hand into her lap.

“What are you
doing, kitty?” he asked, noticing a sudden movement out of the corner of his
eye. He was feeling awkward, and feeling
awkward put him on edge. A part of him
tried to explain that she was probably just reaching for a napkin, but he was
paranoid.

“My hand was cold,”
she murmured, “and I didn’t feel like putting it in my armpit.”style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She figured that was as good a cover as any.

Jeffrey actually
let out a small laugh at that before setting his fork down on his plate and
looking at her directly. “Look. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> This is fucking awkward and it’s driving me
insane. I don’t like you,style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I will probably never like you, but I will
attempt to get along. For vixen’s sake
if no one else’s. She doesn’t like it
when Sands and I argue, and one point of contention between us is you. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> So I figuret ift if we can at least tolerate each
other on the familiar fucking acquaintance level, that might solve a few
problems. Savvy?” he paused
thoughtfully. “I’m not sorry for trying
to kill you – I may regret the consequences, that’s all – but I won’t try again
unless you’ve crossed the line. And you’ll
know when that line’s about to be crossed because I’ll tell you.”

“How considerate,”
she murmured dryly, her voice full of sarcasm.
She picked at her eggs, her usually ravenous appetite starting to die
away as a result of the pills in her cabinet, or perhaps because of her
company. “I appreciate the offer,
however, something tells me that the best way for us to get along is to ignore
one another.” She was just going to
leave it at that, but a memory floated to the frontront of her mind; Jeffrey
had been there yesterday during that mess with Derek.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Aida had the feeling that he’d just been
there for the havoc that had been caused, but he’d still defended her . . .
sort of. And she should probably acknowledge
that.

“About yesterday,”
she said softly. “I know you didn’t
really stick around for me, but I still appreciate it.”

Jeffrey actually
fidgeted in his chair and looked away from her. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “It’s like this,” he said hesitantly. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “I’m the only one who gets to treat you like
that, savvy? And he was a prick anyway.”

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>And what does that make you? she
wondered, but kept the question to herself.

Deciding she wasn’t
going to eat anything else, she got up and scraped her leftover food into the
trash before putting her dishes in the sink.
“If Sands wakes up . . . ?”

“I’m up, I’m up,”
Sands muttered grumpily. “You can stop
yelling at me now, you inconsiderate bastard,” he addressed Jeffrey with a
glare, rubbing at his eyes, every movement the slow motions of one who was
still half asleep.

“Whatever,” Jeffrey
said, taking one last bite of the eggs before leaving.

“You were having
breakfast with Jeffrey?” Sands asked after swallowing, a single eyebrow raised.
He wasn’t upset – not really – merely
curious.

Aida blushed, nodded,
and shrugged all in the same confused movement.
“It’d be rude not to offer,” she muttered, her eyes focusing on the
floor.

“If you say so,” he
said absently, finishing off the eggs Jeffrey had started irregardless. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Oh, and good morning, spitfire,” he said as
an afterthought once he had polished off the last of the scrambled eggs.

“Good morning,” she
murmured, turning to flee to the bedroom before either man could say anything
else to her. She didn’t know what to
think of Jeffrey and his declaration, and she didn’t know what to think of
Sands’ cool greeting.

Sands watched her
flee with frown before getting up from the table and following behind her. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “What’s wrong, spitfire? style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Did Jeffrey fucking say something to you? style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He’s not here at the moment, cowardly bastard,”
he asked with a glower.

“N-no,” she
stuttered, unreasonably nervous for reasons she couldn’t even begin to
imagine. “Nothing more disturbing than a
few things he’s said to me, and less than some others.”style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She paused before explaining what had really
pushed her over the edge. “Are you not a
morning person? Because you didn’t seem
very happy to see me.”

Sands grunted. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Mornings are for sleeping in. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Does that answer your question? style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I’m always happy to see you, don’t get me
wrong. It’s just sometimes it take me
longer than others to show it,” he said with a slight shrug and a small smile,
trying to put her at ease.

“Alright,” she
whispered, stepping closer to him so she could wrap her arms around him.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “I thought perhaps you were unhappy about the
questions I asked last night.”

Sands sighed. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “I was, a little, but it’s hard to stay upset
with you for very long.”

“I just want to
know you better,” Aida said softly. “We
met and married so fast that sometimes I just become aware that you’re a
stranger to me for the most part. But I
also want you to know that if you don’t feel like answering a question I ask,
you don’t have to. I might not like it,
but I’ll try to understand.”

“You have more
questions?” he asked softly. He found he
didn’t really mind.

“Not right
now. Well, not really.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> It’s just . . .” she paused, and tried to
gather her thoughts. “I want to cut my
hair.”

Sands sighed and
ran a hand through her sleep-tousled curls slowly. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “How short?”

“I don’t know . . .
I suppose it depends on how much the stylist will need to take off to make a
wig,” she said softly.

“It’s your hair. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I won’t stop you. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I may not like it, but I’ll certainly not stop
loving you because of it,” he said with a small smile.

“Just wanted to
double-check,” she said, a smile of her own breaking out on her lips.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “That, or warn you.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I was going to do it this afternoon while
Jeffrey goes to Salida’s doctor’s appointment.”

“Thanks for the
warning. “And you don’t
think I could convince you otherwise?” she asked tugging him towards the
bed. She’d missed having him near her
earlier, and wanted to make up for that.

“I might be
persuaded,” he said with a smirk, following her lead back to the bed. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Once they were both lying down with his arms
wrapped tightly around her waist, he frowned thoughtfully and he asked, “What
about your play? Wasn’t opening night
supposed to be . . . tonight?”

Aida closed her
eyes and sighed, tucking her head under his chin so she couldn’t see her
face. “Things . . . things just didn’t
work out,” she whispered. “I would have
had to practice most of the day Wednesday and all of yesterday, and I decided I’d
rather spend that time with you.” Still,
the actress in her cried out at the thought of missing what might be her last
role in semi-professional theater. It
was unlikely that another troupe would hire her on once she got over her
cancer.

“I won’t say I
regret those days you spent with me because I don’t, but I am sorry about the
rest, Aida,” he said softly, holding her closely to him.

“I’m sorry that
things didn’t work out, but it was never even a question of how I would spend
those days. We haven’t even been married
for a week. You need to be my priority, not a role that was only going to last
for a single night. At least you got to
come to a few of my rehearsals.”

“I did,” Sands said
with a smile. “And I even stayed awake.”
He chuckled softly. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Maybe you’ll get another chance. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Who knows?” Sands said with a shrug, trying to
be optimistic for her sake.

“Perhaps,” she
repeated. “And perhaps I’ll just start
doing community theater again. It’s not
as big of a commitment.” And the actors
weren’t always as good either.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Whatever you want, spitfire.” style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He paused, and looked down at his hands at her
waist, his tattoos immediately catching his eye. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “I didn’t mean to get upset with you last
night, spitfire.”

“It’s alright,” she
excused him, half knowing that she shouldn’t.
“You’re not used to this being married gig any more than I am.”

“That’s true, but
it seems trivial now. All you wanted to
know about was the tattoos. I didn’t
mean to bite your head off about it, but not all of them have . . . happy
memories attached.”

Just that
I was poking my nose in where it wasn’t wanted.”

“It’s not that. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I didn’t mind telling you about . . . most of
them, really.” He shrugged. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “I guess I’ll just have to think a little
harder about the questions I do and don’t want to answer in the future and let
you know ahead of time. It’ll save a lot
of trouble, I’m sure.”

She nodded and
moved closer to him. “I think I got up
earlier than I really wanted. I think we
should both just go back to sleep.es'> It’s
nice to lie here like this.”

“Best idea I’ve
heard all morning,” Sands said, weariness in his voice. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Wake me up when it’s time to go back to the
hotel,” he said after closing his eyes, only half joking.

 

******************************style='mso-spacerun:yes'> ***
******************************

 

Salida paced back and forth impatiently.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> If Jeffrey didn’t get to the hotel soon, she
was going to leave without him, and that would only make him mad.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> But after all his hounding after her to find
a doctor, she wasn’t about to be late for her first appointment.

“If vixen fucking
leaves without me because you overslept, we’re going to have issues, Sands,”
Jeffrey said coolly, entering hotel room. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Vixen?
I’m here –” His shout died on his
lips as he noticed her pacing across the living room floor. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Sorry I’m late. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Blame Sands,” he said in greeting.

Salida quickly
crossed the room and wrapped her arms around her husband.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “I missed you,” she said, lifting her face
for a kiss.

“Mmm, I missed you
too, vixen. But I’m back now in one
piece. And I only killed one person
while I was gone. Personally, I think I’m
slipping,” he said with a smirk before leaning down to kiss her deeply. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He felt Sands recede within his mind and didn’t
mourn his leaving.

Salida kissed him
vigorously before pulling away and taking his hand.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “We’re going to be late,” she explained,
dragging him out the door. “And what do
you mean you killed someone?”

“Eh, someone kitty
knew. Old boyfriend orethiething. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> The world was better off without him,” he said
absently, letting himself be dragged along.

“And style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>you’re the one who killed him?” she
asked, pushing the button for the elevator.

“Not exactly. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I was a mere spectator in this particular
instance. Sands was the one who killed
him. I just watched,” he said, stepping
into the elevator, his eye immediately searching out the dent his hand had made
when he had punched it. It was still
there, although his blood had been cleaned off.

“And was he careful
about it,do Ido I need to be ready to leave the city at any given time?”

“There weren’t any
witnesses from what I could tell, and it was a bad neighborhood. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> They probably get a lot of unsolved homicide
there,” he said with a shrug.

lasslass=MsoNormal> “Alright.”style='mso-spacerun:yes'> The doors opened on the lobby and theple ple
stepped out. “Umm, taxi or are you
driving?” she asked. “Because I’m really
not sure where this place is, and we don’t have time to get lost.”

“Fucking taxi then,”
he said with a sigh. Taking her by the
hand he had one of the doormen hail them a cab from the small fleet waiting in
front of the hotel. Opening the door for
Salida, they both got settled in the back, Salida told the driver where to go,
and they were on their way.

 

******************************style='mso-spacerun:yes'> ***
******************************

 

“Go ahead and change into this, and someone will be with you
shortly.” Aida looked at the medical
gown she’d been handed with distaste. “How
much more revealing can these things get?” she muttered erseerself.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Then with a sigh, she stripped off her shirt
and jeans, and slid the down over her arms, ignoring Jeffrey a little as she
did so. She could tell he wasn’t happy
about her changing, but that his unhappiness was battling with his relief that
she was finally seeing a physician.

“Do you need any
help?” Jeffrey asked with a slight frown, happy that she was finally seeing a
doctor, but unhappy to be here. He
fucking hated hospitals.

“No, I’ve got it,
and I doubt you could tie these things with your hands like that,” she pointed
out. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Her arms were bent awkwardly behind her as she
pulled the gown as tightly around her body as she could, pulling on the string
closures ruthlessly.

“Just don’t rip it,”
he muttered under his breath, not liking the fact that his wife was wandering
around barely dressed with other people to see her and him unable to take
advantage of that fact.

Salida was about to
reply when the door opened and a nurse came in.
She made Salida stand on a scale to get a height and weight check –
which made Salida wince at the few pounds she'd picked up recently – before
making her sit on the examination table.
She took Salida’s blood pressure, temperature, and had checked her ears
and throat before leaving again.

“Well, that was
fun,” Salida grumbled. She didn’t like
being touched by strangers, and the cool professionalism of doctors and nurses
were the worst.

“If you say so,”
Jeffrey muttered, wishing the doctor would just hurry the fuck up so that they
could get out of there.

The doctor appearjustjust then as if by magic. A f
lo
looking brunette behind glasses, dressed in a doctor’s spotless white. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Good afternoon, Salida was it? style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I’m Dr. Triana LaCroix,” she said, holding out
a hand so Salida could shake it. She had
a firm, but not crushing grip, and let go as soon as she sensed Salida wanted
to. Her eyes then slowly drifted towards
Jeffrey’s looming presence against the outer wall. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “And you must be – oh my,” she whispered,
taking in his various injuries. “I
assumed the appointment was for you, Salida, was I mistaken?” the doctor asked
with a sl fro frown.

“I’m Jeffrey, her
husband. I’m fine, and yes, the
appointment is for her,” Jeffrey muttered.

“I see. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Well what seems to be the trouble, Salida? style='mso-spacerun:yes'> And please, feel free to call me Triana,” she
said kindly, her attention completely focused on Salida, but Jeffrey’s injuries
remained in the back of her mind to be dealt with when the time came.

“The trouble is I
can’t convince my husband that I’m perfectly fine,” she grumbled.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> At the look Jeffrey shot her, she amended
that statement. “I’ve been having some
lingering nausea, I’ve been really tired, and occasionally blacking out if I
stand too quickly.”

“Hmm,” the doctor
said thoughtfully. “Mind lifting your gown up a little so I can get to your
stomach?” Salida did as she was told after a moment’s hesitation. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “I’ll be as gentle as I can, but I want you to
tell me if any of this hurts. Sorry if
my hands are cold,” she said, gently prodding Salida’s stomach from all angles.
When Salida made no movement of pain,
the doctor pulled away and indicated she could lower her gown. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “About the blacking out, is it due to headaches,
or just dizziness from not eating properly or something similar?”

“Well, there were a
few days when I was afraid to eat much of anything, since I seemed to loose it
almost as soon as I swallowed. But that
was when the blackouts were the worst. I
still get them one or twice a day though, if I’ve been sitting too long or
something.” She glanced at Jeffrey, then
leaned towards the other woman. “And
umm, I haven’t been as . . . um, eager,
to spend quality time with my husband.
That started about the same time as the nausea.”

“Let’s see if we
can’t do something about that,” she said with a kind smile. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Although unless you want to get some X-rays,
the best I can do for you at this moment is to take a blood test. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> We’ll have the lab analyze it and ’ll ’ll let
us know what’s wrong. I’m sure it’s
nothing to be worried about.”

Salida made a face
at the thought of X-rays. “Just do the
bloodtest. I’ve got enough things wrong
with me at the moment without glowing in the dark as well.”

“I’ll send in a
nurse to do it right away and then you’ll be finished. Your husband on the
other hand. . .” the doctor trailed off and cast a glance at Jeffrey, her brow
furrowed. “I’m not going to ask where
you got them, but have you had those cuts looked at?”

“Oh no, I’m fine. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Nothing to worry about really,” Jeffrey
attempted to reassure her. The doctor
didn’t look as if she were buying it.

“I looked at them,”
Salida volunteered. When Dr. LaCroix
looked at her, Salida shrugged. “I was a
semester away from getting my medical license.
But I think perhaps he should get an x-ray of his hand.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> It got set by paramedics, but I want to make
sure everything is healing correctly. It
would be painful if he had to have them re-broken and set later on.”

“Indeed,” the
doctor said with a slight nod. “I’d like
to take a look anyway, just to be safe. It’s
not that I don’t trust your knowledge, I’d just like to make sure. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Jeffrey, was it? style='mso-spacerun:yes'> If you could come over here? style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I’d have you sit on the table, but I think you’d
be too tall for me then. I promise this
won’t take more than a few minutes, and once we’re finished I can arrange that
x-ray and send in a nurse to take your wife’s blood.”

Jeffrey frowned,
but found himself cornered by the small woman. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He could have easily overpowered her, but he
didn’t think that’d be a good idea at the moment, so he did as she said.

“Oh, that’s nasty,”
she said looking at jagged cut along the right side of his jaw. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Forgive me, that was unprofessional, but that
must hurt. I’d recommend stitches for
cosmetic reasons, but they’re not necessary. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> It seems to be healing well enough on its own.
Are there any others, or is that all?”

Jeffrey sighed but
rolled up his sleeves awkwardly and showed her his hands and the deep cut in
his arm. “Those will both need stitches
I’m afraid,” she said with a frown. “I’ll
inform the nurse of that as well. Have
you had any difficulties using your hand? style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Any loss of movement in your fingers?”

“Some,” Jeffrey
muttered, clearly not pleased with how this was turning out.

“Then you’ll
definitely have to get stitches. I’ll be
here to consult. We’ll have to make sure
you didn’t sever any tendons. And this
cut along your arm is very deep indeed. May
I see your hand? I promise I’ll be
gentle.” Jeffrey muttered, but she took
it gently in her own hands before he could pull it away. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “The paramedics seem to have done an ample job
in casting it, although there’s no telling if it’s swollen underneath.”

Salida ducked her
head and slipped her jeans on under her gown as Jeffrey tried to catch her
gaze. She could tell he wasn’t really
happy, and she wanted to give him the opportunity to calm down.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Not that she really thought he’d use it.

Untying her tight
knots was a bit of a problem, but she managed to do it while the doctor
continued examining Jeffrey’s various wounds.
She slipped her shirt on just seconds before Dr. LaCroix stepped out of
the room.

“I don’t fucking
believe this. I’ve never gotten stitches
before in my fucking life. Not to
mention an x-ray,” Jeffrey muttered, beginning to pace the length of the small
examining room. “I fucking hate
hospitals.”

“I know,” Salida
soothed, stepping into his path. “And I
promise we’ll get out of here as soon as possible.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I think you forget that I’ve actually had the
pleasure of spending a few weeks in a psych ward.”

“God,” he said with
a shudder. “I can’t even fucking
imagine.”

“No,” she said,
suddenly very serious. “You can’t.”

There was nothing
to say to that, so Jeffrey just moved in and held her, not saying a word. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Salida didn’t respond other than letting him. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> They stayed like that until Dr. LaCroix
returned with a young female nurse in tow.

Dr. LaCroix, to her
credit, didn’t interrupt in any way. She
merely stood there and waited for Jeffrey and Salida to move apart. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> When they finally did, she cleared her throat
gently and addressed them. “Would either
of you care to go first? It doesn’t
really matter, but I’d recommend taking the blood test first so we can get the
blood tested as soon as possible. Is
that alright with you, Salida?”

Salida nodded and
took a seat, sticking out her left arm with a sign of resignation.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She didn’t like being pricked and prodded by
needles, but she couldn’t really make a fuss about it either.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> That would set a bad example for Jeffrey, and
she didn’t want his part in all this to be any more difficult than she already
knew it was going to be.

Once the nurse had
taken the vial of blood she stepped out into the hall and handed it to a lab
technician that had been waiting for it. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “You’re done, Salida. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I suppose you’ll want to wait here while we
work on your husband?” Salida nodded and the doctor smiled. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “That’s quite alright. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> You can take a seat in the chair over there if
you like or you can stand. It’s up to
you.” The doctor politely disregarded
her as she had the nurse lower the examining table. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Could you take a seat, Jeffrey? style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I don’t know how long this is going to take,
and you might want to sit down for it.”

Jeffrey cast a
glance to Salida who had decided to take a seat, although she looked ready to
spring up again at any second. “Fine,”
he said slowly, moving to sit on the table. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He was definitely not liking this.

“The cut on your
arm will take less time, I suggest we start with that,” the doctor muttered to
the nurse, gently unwrapping the remaining gauze from around Jeffrey’s
arm. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “This, may sting a little,” she cautioned
before the nurse got to work.

Ten stitches later
Jeffrey was staring down at the insides of his own hand as the doctor examined
it, somewhat stunned at the sheer amount of tendons and blood vessels in his
hand. He was also slightly amused that
through all the doctor’ digging around before they stitched him up, he couldn’t
feel a thing. Fifteen more stitches
later they were headed to the x-ray room to take a look at his hand.

Salida made sure to
walk by his side, her hand wrapped around her arm in lieu of holding his
hand. She could feel the tension in him,
but was proud of how well he was containing it.
She hadn’t even seen a single hint of homicidal behavior, and that was unusual.

When they got to
the room, and the technician – a big man named ‘Ty’ – opened the door to get
her husband settled, Salida naturally followed after.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Ty stopped her with a hand on her
shoulder. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but only
the patient is allowed inside.”

Jeffrey tensed, his
eyes shooting backwards to Salida. “Who
the fuck says?” he asked slowly.

“Procedure, sir,”
Ty said, frowning a little at Jeffrey’s curse.

“Fuck procedure! style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I want her to come in here with me!” Jeffrey
said with a raised voice, beginning to get pissed off. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He had done everything the fucking doctors had
told him do, he hadn’t even complained when they fucking sewed him up like a
torn rag doll, but he wouldn’t stand for this. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Fuck them.

Salida moved past
the now shocked technician, and laid her hands on Jeffrey’s chest.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “It’s alright,” she soothed, her hands
stroking over his shoulders. “I’d
forgotten. If I go it, I could throw off
the X-ray, and then you’d just have to get another.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> We’ll be out faster if I stay here.”style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She could tell he wasn’t really buying it.

“Fuck that. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I’m not doing it. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Not if you’re not in there with me. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I’ve been fucking poked and prodded, and I’ve
fucking had enough!” he seethed, wanting to pace, but held fast by her hands
still on his chest. “I don’t want to
fucking be here any longer. Let’s just
go. Screw the fucking x-ray. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> My hand’s fucking fine. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> That fucking
doctor doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” he muttered, thinking
about the doctor’s semi-shocked reaction to seeing his swollen fingers
underneath the tight wrapping they had been in.

“Jeffrey,” Salida
pleaded. “Please?style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Do this for me?style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I came here for you.”style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Her mind was racing for a way to make him
comfortable with this. “There’s an
intercom in the room. I’ll be able to
talk to you, and you can talk to me. And
I’ll be watching the entire time through the window.”

She was right. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She had
come for him. “Fuck. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Fine. I’ll
fucking do it. I don’t fucking like it,
I don’t fucking like this place, but I’ll fucking do it. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> How long is this going to fucking take?” he
asked with a frown.

“No more than
twenty minutes,” Dr. LaCroix volunteered.
“And you’ll be free to leave after that unless we find that the damage
to your hand is so extensive that we’ll need to reset it.”

Salida hadn’t
bothered to turn to face the doctor as she’d given Jeffrey the information.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Twenty minutes, lover,” she whispered.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “And then we’ll be able to go, and we can go
get some food, or go to a movie, or just go home.”

“Twenty minutes,”
he repeated. “Fine. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> But no more than that or I think I might throw
a chair through that fucking window. You
may want to stand away from it just in case,” he said, only half joking.

Dr. LaCroix
laughed, thinking Jeffrey was joking, having not seen the serious look on his
face. “Jeffrey, I promise you this; we’ll
go as quickly as we’re able to.”

“You’ll be . . . talking
to me?” Jeffrey asked Salida in a soft voice, completely ignoring the doctor.

“Yes.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I promise.”
Her fingers skimmed along his temples, brushing hair away from his
face. “And I’ll hear whatever you say
back.” She quickly rose up on her toes
and planted a kiss on his cheek, then pushed him away softly.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Now get going so we can get out of here.”style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She managed to force a bit of lightness into
her voice.

 

******************************style='mso-spacerun:yes'> ***
******************************

 

“The next time I fucking want you to go to the fucking
doctor, knock me fucking unconscious. I
got more fucking shit done to me in there than you did. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> All they did was fucking stick your arm,”
Jeffrey was still fuming even as they walked out of the hospital building. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “And don’t fucking think I’ll forget about
your fucking promise. I want to know. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Everything.”

Salida sighed
deeply, wishing she hadn’t had to go to such lengths to convince him to let the
doctor re-set his hand. He’d made her
promise to tell him about her past – Tessa’s past – and she had, to make him go
along with the doctor. But now that she
had to pay up, she didn’t know where or how to start.

“I’ll tell you,”
she promised again. “But can we at least
go back to the hotel? This might take
awhile and I’d like to be comfortable.”

“Alright. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> If that’s what you want,” he said, holding his
recast hand against his chest. They had
had to reset two of his three broken fingers, most likely due to the fact that
Sands has bashed his hand against the wall during their little . . . fight. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He stepped up to the curb and hailed a taxi
with his left arm, before turning to ask her. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Did they tell you when the results for your
blood test would be in? It shouldn’t
take that long, should it?”

p clp class=MsoNormal> “Monday,” she
said. “The weekend is coming up and they
use a private lab, not a state-funded one.”
Part of her was unhappy that she had to wait that long for results, but
another said that she wasn’t going to get any that would mean anything.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She was fine.

“Alright,” Jeffrey
said. “I’m sure it’s nothing, like you
said, but thank you for going anyway,” he said slowly as a cab pulled up in
front of them.

“I don’t know why
you’re thanking me,” she said wryly, climbing into the cab as he held the door
for her. “You’re the one that got the
doc’s attention the most.”

“Stupid fucking
doctors,” he grumbled, moving in to sit next to her and closing the door.

 

******************************style='mso-spacerun:yes'> ***
******************************

 

Salida was silent for the ride up to the room, although her
mind was churning with ideas to get out of her promise even though she’d
promised not to try. But she couldn’t
understand Jeffrey’s insistence that she tell him about the past.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> It wasn’t something she’d lived through.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> What parts she did know and remember all
belonged to Tess. It was Tessa’s
history, and she resented the fact that Jeffrey wanted to hear about it.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> So the first thing she did after they’d
closed the door to their room behind them, was press her body against her
husband’s as she buried her face in his warm neck.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “I missed you,” she murmured.

“I missed you too,
vixen. And while that’s a delightful
distraction, it’s not going to work. You
promised,” he said, but didn’t move away from her.

Salida did though,
and threw herself into an armchair. It
tipped back a little as she did so, but she paid it no mind.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “I don’t know why you care so much,” she
groused.

“I just want to
fucking know more about you,” he said with a sigh, moving to sit on the couch
near her. “I’m not asking for much,
vixen. I just . . . want to know what
you were like before I came along. That’s
all.”

“What do you think
I was like?” she asked bitterly. “I was
like Tessa.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Perfect, ingenious, terrified Tessa.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> First I screwed up and tipped her to my existence
before I was strong anything more than a whisper inside her h and and then she
spent years drugging me into oblivion, and when I did manage to get out now and again – really, take-over-all-control
getting out – what was there to do? If I
did anything too outrageous, I’d tip her to the fact that I style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>could take her over.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> All that was left for me was to take what
pleasure I could out of systematically breaking all her little, obsessive
rules.” Salida’s eyes were focused on
the carpet and her arms were wrapped around herself.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “I got fed up with it once.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I wrenched control away from her as hard and
as fast as I could . . . and ended up in the proverbial padded cell for
it. It was horrible.”style='mso-spacerun:yes'> As she spoke, her voice dropped to a whisper.
“The room was tiny, enough to make me
claustrophobic. They wouldn’t let me
out. Half the people who came by called
me by her name, and the other half by
whatever name I’d given them. After
awhile I started to get confused about who I was.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I raged, and I rebelled, but all that got me
was stricter confinement. More
medications. It didn’t matter that they
weren’t driving me away – they made me sleepy, vulnerable, unable to
think. And I gave up.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> What good was being in control if all I could
do was sit around and stare at walls unbroken by nothing more than stains?style='mso-spacerun:yes'> So I gave control back to Tess.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> For months . . . actually I think it yea years, I didn’t come out. I’d surface
now and again to see what was happening, but it didn’t matter.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> It was only for a few months before we met
that I started going out regularly.”

What could he say
to that? He was beginning to regret ever
asking about this. But like someone
picking at a scab, he couldn’t help himself. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He only hoped she wouldn’t despise him afterwards
for asking. “I’m sorry.” style='mso-spacerun:yes'> The words sounded hollow in his own ears, but
what else could he say? He knew that
fear – the fear of being locked up somewhere – but he didn’t know the reality
of it. Selfishly, he prayed he never
would.

“Why should you be?”
she asked softly. “It happened.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> There’s nothing you can do to change
that. Nothing more than you already
have. You made me want a real life.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> And while I do fear having to go back to my
life as it was before, it’s nowhere near as bad as Tessa’s fear of going back
to her family.”

“You will never
have to back to that life, vixen. Not
while I’m around to fucking drag you kicking and screaming if need be back into
my world. I love you too much to let
that happen to you.” He stood up and
stood in front of her, not doing anything more than that. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> If she wanted to be comforted, he would do so.
If she didn’t, he would do as she
wanted.

She did stand
though, immediately. She craved the
feeling of his arms around her. Held
tightly, she rested her head on his shoulder and let her mind drift.

Jeffrey simply held
her, not saying a word. He professed
every bit of love and comfort he could give her within his touch. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Words always seemed petty when compared
against actions. He had spoken too many
golden-tongued lies himself to put much stock into words. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He knew she liked to hear him speak, and he
indulged her in that, but he preferred silence at such moments as these. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “I love you, vixen,” he said softly after a
few minutes had gone by.

“I love you too,”
she whispered. She was going to say more
when her stomach growled. Loudly.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Pulling away from her husband slightly, she
started down at it in amazement. “I
think I might be hungry.”

Jeffrey laughed
softly at that. “What would you like? style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Anything.”

She thought for a
moment before answering. “Seafood.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Shrimp just sounds really good to me right
now. And crab.styleo-spo-spacerun:yes'> And grilled salmon.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Anything really.”

“Well, this is New
Orleans
. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Finding seafood shouldn’t be too difficult,”
he said with a slight smirk. “Do you
want to go out? Or do you want me to
bring back something? I don’t fucking
mind, really.”

“Out,” she said
immediately, glancing at the walls. Just
talking about her time in the psych wards made her feel pinned in.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “I need to get out.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> And you could drive . . . if your hands aren’t
too sore.”

Jeffrey shrugged. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “I’ll be alright. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> You want to go out, that’s fine. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Any place in particular? style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Or just fucking wing it?”

“Just wing it.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> But I want to eat al fresco.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I just really need to be outside and in the
sun right now.”

 

******************************style='mso-spacerun:yes'> ***
******************************

 

“Welcome to Café Sbiesa. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Two?” asked the host of a small, but fancy
restaurant in the French Quarter.

Jeffrey nodded. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “And we want to sit on the balcony.”

“Very good sir,
madam. Right this way,” the host said
evenly, leading them upstairs and out onto the small balcony. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> They were alone in the bright sunlight at the
small but elegant table. “Your waiter
will be with you shortly,” the host said after holding out Salida’s chair for
her and pushing her to the table as she was seated. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Jeffrey watched all of this with a rather
amused look on his face.

“What?” she
asked. “So some men know how to treat a
woman with manners. Not that I’m complaining
about the way you treat me.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> You’d know if I had any complaints.”

“Yes I suppose I
would,” Jeffrey said with a bit of a smug smirk. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Is this something like you had in mind?” he
asked, gesturing around before looking down at the street below and the people
passing by.

“I like it,” she
assured him. The sun on her shoulders
was relaxing muscles that’d stayed tight after her recounting, and her husband
was sitting across from her, gazing at her. “Balconies have been very good to
us,” she murmured, hoping he’d know what she was talking about.

“Indeed they have,”
Jeffrey said with a wicked smirk. “We
must try that again someday. Soon. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I fear the neighborhood may have fucking
forgotten us by now.”

Salida shook her
head. “I don’t think so, lover.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> That was nice, but I was utterly
mortified. Perhaps if you’re lucky, I’ll
take you into the backyard of our new house sometime after dark and let you
fuck me there. You’d like that, wouldn’t
you? Waking the entire street with my
screams?”

“The idea does have
a certain appeal, yes,” he said, seemingly nonchalant although his eyes were
filled with deviousness. He fumbled his
cigarettes out then with a slight wince and laid them on the table. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “You still have my fucking lighter, right?” he
asked, sticking a cigarette in the
corner of his mouth.

She mimicked his
wince. “It’s at home, next to the
bed. But we could probably ask our
waiter for some matches or something whenever he decides to appear.”style='mso-spacerun:yes'> The words might as well have been those to a
spell; seconds after they left her lips, their waiter appeared, menus and two
goblets of water in hand.

“I’m Philippe, and
I’ll be your waiter today,” he intone he he set down menus and water.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Is there anything I can get you before you
order?”

“I don’t suppose
you could get me a light for my cigarette?” Jeffrey asked with a slight frown.

“Certainly sir,” Philippe
said, producing a lighter out of his pocket in an instant, clearly either a
smoker himself or used to such requests.

“Thanks. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I think I’ll just stick with water for once,”
he said with a shrug, surprisingly not in the mood for alcohol. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Vixen?”

“Water.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Lots of water.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I’m thirsty.
You might as well just bring us a carafe or a pitcher or something.”style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Strangely she was almost dying for something
to drink. “And if you could bring us a
plate of fresh fruit? Perhaps peaches
and raspberries?”

“Of course, madam,”
Philippe said with a slight nod. “I’ll
be right back with your water and fruit. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> And feel free to take your time ordering. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> We like to take things slow here in the Big
Easy.” With a small grin at his words,
the waiter disappeared back downstairs into the restaurant proper.

“You feeling
alright, vixen?” Jeffrey asked, leaning back in his chair and taking a slow
drag from his cigarette.

“Yeah, just really
thirsty. I think I’ve been too
preoccupio dro drink many liquids today.”
She dismissed her craving as simply as that.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Picking up her water goblet, she drained half
of it in a few long gulps, before putting it down.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She didn’t want to empty it before she could
be sure of having more to drink.

Jeffrey shrugged it
off as their waiter returned. He set a
metal pitcher filled with ice water in the middle of the table and a large bowl
full of every kind of fruit the kitchen could scrounge up. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> It was too late in the day for lunch and too
early for supper, so they were being given more attentive service. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Are you ready to order yet? style='mso-spacerun:yes'> If not, don’t worry about it. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Like I said, I’m in no rush, and neither
should you be.”

Salida shook her
head. “We’re going to need more time.”style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Philippe nodded and walked off.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> As soon as he was gone, Salida picked up a
nice, ripe peach and bit into it, savoring the burst of juice that filled her
mouth.

She ate with a
single-minded concentration that she usually reserved for crossword puzzles and
sex. Once she’d worked her way down to
the pit, she glanced up, finding Jeffrey’s eyes on her.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> There was an emotion in them that she couldn’t
accurately read. “What is it?” she asked
softly, wanting to know what he was feeling.

“You’re like
fucking Eve with that peach, vixen,” Jeffrey said with a small sigh. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “You’re a fucking temptress. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> And what’s worse, I don’t think you’re
consciously doing it,” he said with a bit of a desperate laugh.

A fire sprang up in
her eyes, but she quickly dampened it. “I
was hungry,” she murmured in way of explanation as she reached for the
water. She poured herself a fresh glass,
and took several long draughts from it before reaching for more fruit.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> A handful of blueberries in one hand, she
opened her menu and started looking over it.

It wasn’t hard to
find what she wanted. Cafe Sbiesa
apparently had a very nice seafood platter – prawns, crab legs, half a dozen
oysters, and a lobster tail. It was
expensive, but for once she didn’t feel guilty about ordering it anyway.

“You were hungry,”
he repeated. “Yeah, I can see that,” he
muttered under his breath, flipping through the menu with more force than was necessary.
He’d have the filet. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Like usual. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He was in the mood for something to sink his
teeth into toni And if he couldn’t
take her here and now on the balcony like he wanted, he’d make do. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Maybe.

Watching her
husband flip through the menu, his face tightened by restrained desire, Salida
wondered if there was anything she could do to make him relax a little.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> A devilish smile appeared on her face as she
thought of something that might work.

“Open your mouth,
lover.” She picked up a blueberry with
her right hand and pretended to aim.

Jeffrey looked up
at her voice with a raised eyebrow but leaned back in his chair and did as she
asked after setting his cigarette down on the ashtray on the table. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “You hit me in the face and you’ll be sorry,”
he warned with a smirk before re-opening his mouth.

She pouted and
closed one eye, pretending she was a horrible shot, but eventually threw the
berry. It bounced off his top lip.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Lemme try again,” she said before he could
close his mouth. She threw another one,
and this time managed to get it in his mouth.

“Not bad,” he said
wryly, chewing the sweet fruit slowly. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Blueberries had always been one of his
favorite fruits. “But you still missed
the first time.”

“Let’s see you do
better,” she challenged. Since the
restaurant was nearly deserted at this hour, she didn’t think they’d cause any
trouble if they enjoyed themselves.

He looked down at
his mangled hands with a raised eyebrow, but he wasn’t one to back down from a
challenge. “Fine,” he said, grabbing a
blueberry from the bowl she had moved to the middle of the table. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He threw the first blueberry at her, but it
bounced off her cheek and went sailing over the edge of the balcony. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Fuck,” he muttered, grabbing another one. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He still didn’t manage on his second try, or
his third – scattering ricocheted blueberries on the table and over the balcony
– but on the fourth he finally managed to get one into her mouth. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “I don’t seem to be any fucking good at this,”
he acknowledged with a short laugh. “I
can fucking shoot straight, I can fucking throw a knife straight, and yet I’ve
been defeated by a blueberry,” he said with a smirk, taking another drag of his
cigarette before setting it back in the ashtray.

“You’ve been
defeated by your own temper,” she reminded him dryly.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Perhaps I’ll let you challenge me to a
rematch once you can actually use your hands.”
She picked up a handful of chilled raspberries this time, and after
popping one in her mouth, held up another as if she’d be content with feeding
him fruit all day long.

“You’re on,” he
said with a smirk. “And I will defeat
you,” he said smugly after opening his mouth for the raspberry she offered.

Salida was on a
roll, having managed to get five raspberries, three more blueberries, and
several grapes into Jeffrey’s mouth before Philippe came back to take their
orders. pan>pan>He brought a loaf of bread fresh
from the oven with him, along with a saucer full of pre-cut butter pads.

The couple ordered
quickly, enjoying their time along.
Tired of her game, Salida put down her fruity ammunition and started
watching the people passing by on the street below.

“What are you
looking at, vixen?” Jeffrey asked, wiping off a bit of juice from the fruit off
of his chin. He was in happy to stop as
well, feeling a little full of fruit. He
grabbed his neglected cigarette and returned it to his mouth, leaning over to
look at what she seemed to be looking at.

“Just people
watching. I like to watch them all
scurrying around, like ants in a giant ant farm.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> All of them so arrogant, so unmindful of the
fact that they are alone in their own
minds. Most of them would commit suicide
if they had to endure what we put up with.”

Jeffrey snorted
smoke out of his nose. “You’re fucking
right about that, vixen.” He paused and
watched them with her for a moment before speaking softly but with force. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “I fucking hate them for that sometimes. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Hate that their simple little meaningless
lives. Hate the silence within their own
heads. Hate the fact that they were born
not like us. But like the rest. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> The normal.”
He sneered down at them.

“They think they’re
better than anyone with a voice, never considering what it takes to live with
that voice. They’re so self-righteous.”style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Salida turned away, well aware that the
conversation had taken a turn she hadn’t really wanted it to.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Well, fuck them all.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> What really matters is that we’re here
together.”

Jeffrey tipped the
ash off the edge of the cigarette down on top of them, before turning back to
her. “And they would lock us up if they
knew what we are, wouldn’t they?” he asked slowly, the sneer still on his face.

“Not before we took
a few with us,” she grinned, reaching for a grape.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> The next time he opened his mouth, she popped
it in then fastened her lips over his. Mischievously,
she rolled the fruit around his mouth with her tongue, waiting for him to join
in.

Jeffrey knew that
she was attempting to calm him down, and after a moment’s hesitation, he let
her, joining in with her little game.

She mentally congratulated
herself, and continued playing with the grape, managing to pull it into her
mouth, sighing with contentment as Jeffrey’s tongue started rolling it over the
contours of her mouth.

Just about the time
that they were loosing interest in the grape but not the kiss, they were
interrupted by someone quietly clearing their throat.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Both sighed, and Salida pulled away – biting
down on the fruit and swallowing – before looking up.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Philippe was there with their food, his eyes
pointedly fixed on a window across the street.

Jeffrey sent
Philippe a scowl, but moved away from his wife after clearing his throat to
notify Philippe that he could give them their food.

Philippe set the
food down in front of each of them with only a slight nod before turning and
retreating back down the stairs.

Salida grinned, her
thoughts no longer focused on her husband but on the food in front of her.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Picking up her fork, she dug out a piece of
her lobster. She dipped it in the small dish
of melted butter that’d been provided with her meal, then popped it into her
mouth. She moaned, it was so good.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She swallowed and her stomach rumbled again
as it realized that it was finally getting more than sparse handfuls of fruit.

Jeffrey just shook his
head at her moan and attempted to concentrate on his own food while putting her
out of his mind. The steak was rather
good, and just as bloody as he had wanted it. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> After a while listening to her enjoying her
meal, he had to comment. “I’m glad you
at least seem to be feeling better again, vixen.”

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>We’ll see if I still feel better later,
she thought, taking a sip of water and then starting in on her shrimp.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She hadn’t worked up the courage to try the
oysters yet, but she wickedly thought that she could probably get Jeffrey
to. “Want an oyster?” she asked blandly.

“I’ve never
actually had one, so why the fuck not?” he said with a shrug, awkwardly taking
the slippery oyster from her hand and slurping out the contents. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Hmm . . . not bad. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I’m not big on seafood, but I suppose it’s okay.”

“Well, I don’t
think I’m going to eat them. I think all
this meat is going to fill me
up. Not to mention the peach I ate.” Salida was thoroughly enjoying this.

“You’re fucking
wicked, and you’re going to pay later. I
fucking promise,” he said with a shake of his head before gesturing to the
oysters on her plate. “Hand ‘em over. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Don’t fucking waste them. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I may have the fucking money, but I don’t
fucking like to waste food,” he said with a shrug, taking another few bites of
his rapidly diminishing steak.

Salida tried very
hard not to laugh, which unfortunately made her look innocent.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Which made Jeffrey suspicious.

“What’s so fucking
funny?” Jeffrey asked with a wary look after eating another oyster.

“Nothing,” she
gasped, turning her attention to her food.
She dug crabmeat out of its shell with a tiny fork, feeling Jeffrey’s
eyes on her. Briefly she wondered what
she’d done – it’s not like the man needed extra help with his libido – but when
he found out the old wives tale surrounding oysters . . . .

“It’s not nothing,
you’re fucking up to something. I know
it,” he said with a suspicious frown, setting down his fork on the edge of the
plate once he had finished off his steak. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He still had four oysters left, and while he
wouldn’t waste them, he wasn’t going to do anything further until she gave him
a straight answer.

“Do you know what
they say about oysters, lover?” That
damned smile was playing on her lips as she tried to look nonchalant.

“No . . . what do
they say about oysters, vixen?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“They’re supposed
to be aphrodisiacs,” she gasped, finally breaking down in a fit of
giggles. “Not . . . not that I think
they’d really have any effect on you.”

Jeffrey glanced
down at the innocuous looking bits of seafood before looking at her directly. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Just tell me now, you’re trying to fucking
kill me, aren’t you? I won’t get upset,
but there are much quicker and easier ways to do it than death by fucking
sexual frustration. So these little
things are suppose to get me hard and ready for you, huh? style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Hmm . . . check, they seem to be working so
far,” he said wryly. “What do you
suppose would happen if I ate the rest?” he asked nonchalantly, holding up a
single oyster and looking at it thoughtfully. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “I plan to fuck you against every flat surface
in the hotel room already, so I don’t suppose it would hurt any.”

Salida felt a wave
of heat rush through her at his words. “Is
that right?” she drawled. “Perhaps I
should have one of those just so I can keep up with you, otherwise you might
very well die of sexual frustration. And
what kind of wife would I f I f I let that happen?”style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She reached over and picked up a shell.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She looked at the delicacy for a moment
before bringing the shell to her lips and tipping the oyster into her
mouth. She grimaced at the texture and
ended up swallowing the mouthful whole, but she ate it.

“That’s right,” he
said with a wicked grin. “And who knows?
If your theory about oysters is fucking
correct, we may not even make it that far.” style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He ate another oyster.

“And where do you
suggest we go?” she asked, not really intending on taking him up on any of his
offers. She wanted her bed, damnit.

Jef saw saw the set
of her jaw and guessed her thoughts. “Fine. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I suppose I can fucking wait until we get back
to the hotel.”

She smiled.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “If you’re done, I am.”

“I don’t like the
thought of leaving food, but I think I’m set,” he saiisinising to his feet. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He didn’t feel like waiting for the waiter to
bring up the bill so they’d go down and get it themselves. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

 

******************************style='mso-spacerun:yes'> ***
******************************

 

The instant Jeffrey and Salida were through the hotel room
door he pushed her into the living area, kicking the door shut behind him, and
started kissing her furiously. On the
drive back she had continued to tease and torment him mercilessly, but he had
promised her that he’d wait until they were back in the hotel before going
through with his statement to fuck her on every flat surface in the hotel room.

His hands traveled
over her back and ass possessively as their lips remained locked. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Unfortunately, he had to come for air sooner
or later, but when he did, he simply moved his mouth to her neck and began
kissing her roughly while holding her closely to him and leading her backwards
toward their bedroom.

“You’re passing by
some prime flat surfaces,” she panted, her hands roaming over his body.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Despite the strong buzz of arousal running
though her body, she was determined not to let him turn her into an unthinking
pile of hormones quite yet.

“I was just being
fucking considerate,” he said between kisses. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “I figured you’d want to be in your own fucking
bed. But if that’s not the case, I’ll
take you here and now on the floor, against the wall, on the dining room table,
on the couch, out on the balcony and in the bath tub,” he said, pulling back to
give her a wicked grin before reattaching himself to her neck, not letting up
on the tight hold he had on her for an instant.

The possibilities
made her mind boggle. “A quickie on the
floor, a hard fuck in the bed, and lastly making lazy love in the bathtub,” she
gasped, pulling his head down for another kiss.
As their tongues tangled, she rose up on her toes and pressed on his
shoulders, trying to make him do what she wanted.

“I think I’d go for
that,” Jeffrey said with a devilish smirk after pulling away, doing as she
directed him to. For now.

He had her shirt up
and over her head before she even knew what was going on.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She reciprocated, quickly pressing her naked
chest against his since he’d also taken the liberty of removing her bra.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> The sensation of skin on skin made her moan,
willingly following him down to the floor, kissing the entire time.

Finding herself
trapped underneath her husband’s large body, she wrapped her arms around his
shoulders and her still clothed legs around his hispanspan
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> With a playful growl she pulled him down
against her, her pelvis bucking up against the hard bulge in his pants.

Jeffrey couldn’t
help his body frosponsponding to her movement, and he found himself responding
to her clothed thrusts, letting out a little moan himself. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Let up, vixen,” he gasped after a minute. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “We’re wearing entirely too much clothing for
this,” he drawled, nipping at her neck and collar bone.

Salida sighed in
exasperation, but let her feet rest on the ground again.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> In a tangle of hands and arms, they managed
to at least get their pants undone but they had to actually separate a little
to get them off all the way. Coming back
together with nothing get between them was enough to make Salida purr in
contentment as she gently writhed under him, more to tease than to demand
action.

Jeffrey couldn’t
wait any longer. Her actions were
driving him crazy, and he was alreadr par past his breaking point. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He slid his rock-hard length into her slowly,
moaning at the sensation he had been so longing for. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “I could never get tired of this, vixen. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Even if you turn into a wrinkly blue-haired
woman and me a dirty old man, you’ll still get me fucking hot every single
fucking time. Thankfully though, we’ve
got some time before that fucking happens, so I’d better enjoy you while I have
the chance,” he said wickedly before beginning a easy pace that didn’t stay
that way for long.

Salida was in no
mood for gentle at the moment, so when Jeffrey’s speed increased, she was more
than pleased. Their intimate lunch
earlier – not to mention their separation – had quickly put her in the mood for
this, and it wasn’t long before she was coming around him, crying out loudly.

Salida’s cries just
spurred him on even further until the pace he was setting was almost brutal. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He felt her come around him and it was enough
to drag him thankfully into orgasm too. Unfortunately,
his release didn’t bring with it as much relief as he had wanted it to. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He was still horny as hell. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He pulled out of her with a breathy but soft
gasp. “What was next on your little list,
vixen?”

“The bed,” she
breathed. “Because you can be almost as
brutal as you want, and there’s plenty of cushioning.”style='mso-spacerun:yes'> As Jeffrey took his weight off her, she
managed to lever herself to her feet.

He nodded, pulling
himself up to his feet as well after pulling off his shoes and pants and
underwear that had been bunched around his ankles. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Another man might have been embarrassed to be
caught with their clothes in such an undignified manner, but Jeffrey didn’t
give a fuck. The only things he cared
about right now were his wife and getting her into their bed as soon as fucking
possible. “Go,” he said, rising to his
feet, now completely naked and happy to be so.

“Make me,” she
teased, staying just out of reach.

Jeffrey darted
towards her, groaning softly as she moved out of his reach. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Oh come on, vixen. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I’m fucking horny and you want to play. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I know you probably think it’s funny, but I
don’t,” he said a bit exasperatedly.

Salida stopped, and
pouted . . . but she gave in. “All
right, but I want to play later.”

“Fine. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Play all you fucking want. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I don’t care. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> But later. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Right now, get your cute fucking ass into that
bedroom,” Jeffrey said with a impish glint in his eye.

She stuck her
tongue out, then turned about face and started to stroll slowly into the
bedroom, making sure her hips swung in an exaggerated movement as she did so.

Jeffrey just tilted
his head and watched her ass as she walked unabashedly. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “I’m a lucky fucking bastard,” he muttered to
himself with a grin before walking in behind her, not bothering to close the
door behind him. “What are you doing
just fucking standing there, vixen? Unless
you want me to take you against the fucking wall, I suggest you get your ass in
bed, vixen,” he drawled wryly, stalking toward her so that he was standing
directly in front of the bed while she stood off to the side, seemingly waiting
for something.

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Make me,” she stressed.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Throw me on the bed, pounce on me, then
drive me insane with lust. an>Ian>If I can’t
play, then I at least want to be playful.
Besides, you’re sexy when you’re forceful.”

“I suppose I can do
that,” he said evenly, keeping his face expressionless. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He waited a moment before grabbing her
shoulders and doing just as she had suggested, throwing her down on the bed and
straddling her waist before she could move. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Is this what you had in mind, vixen?” he
drawled, not moving his body to join hers, but grabbing her by the hair and
pulling her head up off the bed and kissing her hard enough to bruise. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> None of this was doing anything to dampen the
fire that was eating at his insides.

She whimpered,
surprised by the sudden violence of his movements, but turned on beyond
belief. She reacted, arching and
managing to slip our from under him.
Gasping, she lunged at him and resumed the kiss, wrestling with him to
be in the dominant position. Her heart
was racing, her breath was coming shallow in her lungs, and all she could think
about was getting as close as she could to him.

There was nothing
in Jeffrey right now that would allow her to take control of this, so he fought.
It was hard to fucking grab hold of her
but he fucking managed, reclaiming his position on top of her once more. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He didn’t pin her to the bed as probably
should have, however. Once she had
reclaimed her position on top of him he figured to himself that he must have
wanted to play more than he thought he did. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “God vixen, I want you. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I want to make you scream. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I want to make your breath come in pants so
hard you can’t even form fucking coherent sentences. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Of course, you’ll be too busy getting
thoroughly fucked for that to be a possibility anyway. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I want to bruise you. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I want to make you bleed. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I want to make you so sore from me that you
can’t even walk straight. I want to
indulge my fucking sexual deviance and bury my face in your fucking pussy and
make you come over and over again after I’ve already slaked your lust with my
fucking cock between your legs. I want
to hear you beg for more as I speak dirty in your ear. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I want to hear you scream so loud that you
fucking wake this entire city. And I always
get what I want.”

Salida trembled
from the force of his words, felt their echo in the pound of blood in her
eardrums, practically tasted them on her tongue.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He was rarely like this, but each time he
was, it was worth it. Meeting his eyes,
she uttered the fateful words in a breathless whisper, “Make me.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I want you to.”

“Not yet. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> You want it too much now,” he said wickedly,
looking up at her. It was almost a bluff
though, because he could feel his blood pounding between his legs as surely as
she could.

“You’re right.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I want it.
I want it so much that my head is spinning and it’s hard to
breathe. I want it so much that anything
less than what you just said won’t satisfy me.”
As spoke, she let her hands drift over his body, hovering maddeningly
over his skin. “Please, lover.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I’ll beg if that’s what you want.”

With a violent
gesture, he threw her back on the bed again and regained position over her but
didn’t move further. “Beg. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> How much do you want this?”

“Please,” she
breathed. “I need you so bad.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I ache because you’re not inside me.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> My heart feels like it's going to burst
through my chest.” She squirmed.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “I’m so wet, lover, I can feel it.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Just the feel of your breath on my skin makes
me even wetter. I’d kill for you right
now. I’d kill myself for you if you don’t take me.”

“Hmm, I can’t think
of anyone I want to fucking kill right now, vixen, but I’ll keep that in mind. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Something tells me seeing you fucking kill
someone one would turn me on even more than I am right now, and that’s saying
something.” He reached down his right
hand in-between her legs and ran his fingers up her slit. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Hmm, you’re right. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> You do seem to be fucking ready,” he drawled,
bringing his fingers back up and sucking them clean. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “You taste like a fucking peach, vixen. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I think you’re ready.” style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He could see the frustrated words on her lips
and silenced her once more with a bruising kiss before moving her arms upwards
to the headboard. “Hold on,” he said
slowly, before grabbing her hips and thrusting into her hard, his pace
immediately ruthless.

She keened as he
drove into her, struggling against his hold to buck against him, but he wasn’t
allowing her any movement at all. She
wanted so badly to let go and pull him to her, but didn’t want to risk having
her hands restrained.

He slammed into her
over and over again, making pant as her breath was driven from her body in an
unforgiving rhythm. “Yes . . . oh yes
lover . . . god . . . please yes.” But
even when he sped up, it wasn’t enough. “Deeper,”
she gasped.

Jeffrey was barely
aware of her pleas, but he heard the last one. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “You can fucking let your hands down to brace
yourself, but you cannot touch me. If
you do, I’ll fucking make you sorry.” style='mso-spacerun:yes'> There was no joking in his tone, just pure
ruthless passion. He was in control of
this and that was how it was going to stay. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> When she had done as she was instructed, he
lifted her hips up off the bed and had her prove her flexibility by hooking a
leg around his neck to bring her body even closer to his. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Once they were closer he did anything but ease
up. He could feel their pelvises
clashing together and he didn’t care. He
wanted this sex to be hard and rough. And
that was what he was getting.

Salida propped
herself up on her elbows, gasping as Jeffrey’s thrusts started to slam into her
cervix. Her head flew back and a scream
escaped her at the sensation. He was so
deep inside her, so brutal, so concentrated.
Her eyes crept open and she stared at him from under her eyelids; the
look of pure passion on his face was enough to make her come with another long
scream, louder than the first one.

“Music to my
fucking ears,” he sighed, looking down at her. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “But not enough. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I’m not nearly done with you yet, vixen. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> You’ll scream yourself fucking hoarse long
before I am.” With this promise, he
leaned over her and began to savage her neck-covering it with reddened marks
from his hungry mouth before pulling away with a gasp as his movement caused
him to bury himself within her marginally deeper. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He was fucking close, but he wasn’t quite
there yet. He could still think straight
– barely – and in his book that meant he wasn’t even close to being finished
yet.

Her body was limp
on the bed with spent passion, her eyes closed, and her mind a million miles
away. She couldn’t remember having ever
come so hard in her life, and the fact that Jeffrey had never paused for her
had only drawn out the intense pleasure.
And now that she was coming back to herself, she realized that he was
still thrusting his body into hers, even harder and deeper than before.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She groaned as she felt her body
automatically responding to him.

Her arousal didn’t
grow quickly. Her urgency from before
had died away, but she couldn’t resist the allure of her husband’s hard
body. The muscles in her belly slowly
began tightening again, preparing for another release.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Her hands itched with the need to touch him,
and the moment she was able, she opened her eyes and asked, “Please, lover,
please let me touch you?”

“Fine,” Jeffrey
said curtly, giving no other reaction to her request. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He merely kept thrusting into her, as hard and
as brutal as before. A dim thought that
she wasn’t going to be the only one as sore as hell once this was over
skittered across his mind but he paid it no attention. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> By then, any pain afterwards would have been
well worth it.

Salida didn’t have
the concentration it would take to arouse him with her touch, but she style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>needed to touch him.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> With hands that trembled, she rested her
palms against his hot, sweaty skin, simply running them up and down his
arms. “Kiss me?”style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Oh god she wanted him to kiss her.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She wanted to feel his tongue so deeply
inside her mouth that she thought it was her own.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She needed his body to be over hers,
hovering, hiding, protecting.

Jeffrey moved down
to do as she asked, kissing her forcefully to match the actions of his hips. He
thrust his tongue into her mouth without warning, groaning slightly as she
accepted it without hesitation. He could feel his body tensing-wanting, no, style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>needing release-but it didn't come. style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>He didn't come. Not yet, anyway. But
god, he was fucking close.

When he’d leaned
forward, Jeffrey had taken some of his weight off her hips.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Taking advantage of that fact, Salida started
moving as much as she could to meet his thrusts.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She could tell he was close, and wanted him
to come, but didn’t think she’d be joining him this time around.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Of course, if what he’d said before was true,
he might very well finish her off another way.

The movements of
her hips was what did him in. A shudder
went through his body as his control snapped, and he came as hard as he had
ever felt before, throwing his head back and yelling as loudly as Salida had. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> While her deep alto had made his ears ring
slightly and echoed throughout the bedroom and out through the open door into
the rest of the suite his yell practically made the walls shake. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> His yell immediately died off into a series of
gasping moans, as he kept coming into her, his head thrown back still and his
eyes rolled up in the back of his head slightly. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Once he had finally given all he had to her, he
collapsed on top of her in a sweaty tangle of limbs, his body having gone limp.
That didn’t stop him from covering her
neck and face with soft kisses, however.

Feeling her husband
come inside her had thrown Salida’s arousal into a fever pitch, but she didn’t
complain. She laid motionless underneath
him, accepting his kisses and stroking his sweat-dampened back.

“Mmm. . .” Jeffrey
murmured, as content as cat lying in a warm patch of sunshine. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “I’m not through with you yet though, vixen. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> As fucking wonderful as that was, I haven’t
lived up to all of the promises I made earlier. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I will have to fucking rectify that at once,”
he said with a playful nod. He pulled
out of her with a slight wince, now certain that he’d be fucking sore tomorrow.
But who gave a fuck? style='mso-spacerun:yes'> It would still be worth it. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> It always would be. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Dragging his hands over her sweat-slicked
body, he lowered himself until his head was right above her arousal. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “I can fucking feel the heat rising off of
you, vixen. And god, you smell good.” He
ran his tongue along her slit slowly and licked the tip of her clit before
looking up to gauge her reaction.

Her hands were
white-knuckled and fastened in the sheets.
It took effort not to moan or writhe under his touch, although that’s
what she wanted to do. She could feel
his eyes on her, and she managed to make her own heavy lids flutter open.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “I sh-should smell good,” she murmured.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “I smell like you.”

“That you do,
vixen. And I suppose you’d taste like me
too. But I’m willing to bet your own,
pure, sexy-as-fucking-hell taste would win out every single fucking time. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Let’s say we find out?” he said with a wicked
smirk before burying his face in her pussy just as he had said he would. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He could indeed taste what he assumed to be
his own remnants from coming inside of her, but also the sweet tang that was
purely her. He lavished attention on her
clit as well, smiling wolfishly to hear her moans as he did so.

He was rapidly
pushing her to the edge. His mouth was
driving her insane. She could hear her
breath coming fast in her ears as she strained against him, trying to find relief
from the amazing sensations he was stirring inside her.

“Jeffrey,” she
gasped, her hands finding his way to his head and pressed him firmly against
her. “Jeffrey . . . love . . .”

He heard her
proclamation and would have responded if he had been given the opportunity. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> As it was, he could do nothing more than keep
at what he was doing while her hands were keeping his head in place. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> So that’s what he did. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He bit into her clit hard enough to make her
bleed, again – cursing himself as he
did so – and began suckling the cocktail that was purely her, moaning deep in
his throat as he did so. She was fucking
ambrosia. God, he couldn’t get enough of
her. He didn’t think he ever would.

Salida whimpered as
she felt him bite her and whimpered from the pain, but the suction he was
keeping on her soon made her forget about the hurt.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> His moan sent an electric thrill through her
body, causing her to arch under him. She
was so close she was trembling, her mind furiously reaching for the oblivion
that was just out of reach. She needed
to come so badly, needed release, needed . . .

What eventually
pushed her over the edge was his tongue delving into her.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She was incredibly sensitive from his earlier
ravishment that the small penetration was enough to make a long, throaty moan
escape from her as every muscle in her body started to ripple and contract.

The feeling of her
coming around his tongue was nothing short of magical, and Jeffrey didn’t
remove it until long after her convulsions had finally subsided. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Once they had, he pulled away from her and
laid his head down on the bed next to her hips. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Well that was fun,” he muttered with a laugh,
not lifting his head up to look at her.

“Yes,” she
murmured, her once tense and controlling hands now running though his damp
hair. “Would it bother you if I asked
for the bath, but not the sex that usually goes with it?”style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She was pleasantly tired, ready for a nap but
too sweaty to actually doze off.

“No, a bath
actually sounds like a fucking good idea,” he murmured into the bed, enjoying
the feeling of her fingers against her scalp. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> If she kept doing that, she’d put him to
sleep. Something that didn’t sound like
a bad idea either. “Just don’t expect me
to fucking get up and start one,” he muttered.

“I’ll start it if
you’ll wash my back,” she offered, a small smile on her face.

Jeffrey considered.
“Alright. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I can do that. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Just, not yet. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Wait a few minutes. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> And don’t stop rubbing,” he murmured, feeling
his eyes drift shut as she massaged his scalp.

“I won’t . . .”style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She yawned.
“But if you move a little, I could reach better.”style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Her fingers kept up with their combing,
wandering over his entire head instead of stroking the same area over and over.

Jeffrey sighed, not
wanting to move, but the possibility of her being able to better do whatever
the hell she seemed to be doing to him right now, appealed to him. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He raised himself up on his forearms – not his
hands, searing pain would have spoiled the moment – and moved up on the bed and
laid his head on her stomach. He could
think of nowhere else he’d rather be than right here with her at this very
moment. “I love you Salida,” he
murmured.

Salida smiled, but
didn’t reply. Jeffrey knew how she felt.

Now that he was a
bit higher up on her body, she let her left hand rest softly on his shoulder as
her right kept on running through his hair.
She could feel the strands drying under her touch as time passed and
they cooled down. Goosebumps were
breaking out on her arms and chest, but she didn’t complain.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She’d rather keep on lying with her husband
like this than get up and move . . . although resuming this position in a tub
of warm water had its own attraction.

Jeffrey sighed. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He really
didn’t want to move, but if he stayed here any longer, he’d fall asleep. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> And he didn’t want to sleep in a sweaty,
sticky mess. “If you want that fucking
bath you’d better stop before I fucking fall asleep, vixen,” he murmured.

“I’m glad you said
that. I’m getting cold.”style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Pushing gently, Salida managed to roll
Jeffrey off of her and onto the bed.
Hugging herself, she hurried into the bathroom and turned on the water,
watching the water level in the old, claw-foot tub rise.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Looking at the steam rising off the surface,
she was tempted to add some rose water to the bath, but resisted.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She’d done that once and the amount of
complaints that’d emerged from Jeffrey hadn’t been worth it.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> It was best to add scents when she was going
to be the only one in the tub.

Reaching over, she
turned off the faucet and climbed in, being careful to hang on to the sides so
she wouldn’t slip and fall. “It’s ready,
lover, if you still want to join me.”

Jeffrey sighed and
rolled off the bed. It’s not much fun without her in it anyway. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He shuffled into the bathroom and joined her
in the tub, careful to keep his hands and arms above the water level. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He sat against the opposite end but knew that
would change once one or the other of them was situated enough to change
positions. “Okay, now I’m style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>definitely going to fall asleep,” he
said with a sigh, enjoying the feeling of the hot water surrounding his body.

Salida smiled and
crooked her finger at him. “Com’ere,
lover. I wasn’t done earlier.”style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She enjoyed being able to hold him, just the
two of them, the pleasure of being together, and the silence.

Jeffrey glided
through the water to her like some kind of sleek shark, pausing to turn around
and lean against her as that was the only option. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He propped his arms up on the edges of the tub
and gave a soft sigh of contentment. God,
this felt good.

In this position,
his head was a bit lower than hers, the ends of his hair trailing in the
water. She looked down at the top of his
head indulgently before leaning forward and placing a soft kiss on it.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Her own hands – which she’d kept dry –
returned to his hair, playing with it lazily.
Her eyes fell closed and she let her head fall forward as she simply
took the time to enjoy being here with her husband.

“Mmm. . .” Jeffrey
sighed, unable to do much else. He felt
like she had magically turned every bone in his body to rubber. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He was so utterly relaxed that he couldn’t say
boo to a goose right now. He could only
allow himself to indulge in his wife’s gentle touches, feeling himself start to
sink into a state somewhere between wakefulness and true sleep.

The joy that came
from feeling her husband so relaxed in her arms was nearly incomparable to
anything she'd felt before. It happened
so rarely – that he’d drift off and she’d stay awake – that she always treasured
it when it happened.

Time passed.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Whether it was five minutes or five hours,
Salida couldn’t really tell. Her only
system for measuring time at the moment was how quickly the water was cooling,
but it still felt warm to her. “Jeffrey?”
she murmured, her hands still playing.

“Mmm?”

“Will you tell me a
story?”

“What kind of
story?” he murmured, not opening his eyes.

“I don’t care.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Something that won’t ruin the mood?style='mso-spacerun:yes'> No mass amounts of death and destruction?”

“Ah, not a true
story then,” he joked lightly. “Fine, I’ll
tell you a story. If that’s what you
really want?”

“Yes.”style='mso-spacerun:yes'> She kissed the top of his head again, her
lips curling into a smile against his hair.
“I’d beg, but I’m too worn out.”

“Alright, alright. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I’ll tell you a fucking story.” He cleared his
throat gently, but still didn’t open his eyes. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Once upon a time there was a young boy of fourteen
that lived in a huge fucking castle on a hill. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> For sake of argument, let’s call him Sands. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Now within this young boy, there was another
boy, we’ll call him Jeffrey. Now Jeffrey
hated everything about the place he lived in. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> The food, the clothing, the people, the whole
grandeur of it all. He knew that Sands
did too – well he at least hated the people – but this is Jeffrey’s story so
fuck Sands. Anyway, however much Jeffrey
hated this place, however much he wanted to run away, he couldn’t. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He was trapped. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He couldn’t even move. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> All he was, was a voice inside that other
little boy’s head. Nothing more. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> But one day, that changed.”

Jeffrey paused and
opened his eyes, staring across the tub at the wall. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Sands fucking fell asleep one night and I was
able to take control for the first time ever.” style='mso-spacerun:yes'> If he had noticed he’d stopped referring to
himself in third person he gave no sign. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “It was late at night, in July or August, I
can’t remember. And it was fucking hot. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I got up and walked out on the balcony to look
at the stars. But that wasn’t enough. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I had to get out of that fucking suffocating
place. Using nothing by my own hands and
feet, and wearing nothing but a pair of boxers, I scaled down the side of the
mansion until my feet hit the grass. No
one was fucking awake except for the security, and they didn’t see me. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I was too fucking sly foem. em.

“And do you know
what I did? I didn’t go on any rampages,
I didn’t kill anyone, hell, I didn’t even and and run away. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I just laid down in the grass in a row of
Sands’ mother’s garden – the only thing I liked about that fucking place – and
watched the stars. I must have fucking
watched them for hours, wishing I could somehow fly up to greet them. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Sands woke up the next morning still in the
rose garden and got fucking beat for wandering out. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I always fucking remembered those stars. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I still do. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> The only moment of fucking peace I ever had in
that place until Sands burnt it down.” style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He paused then, almost wishing he hadn’t told
her all of that. “I’ve never told anyone
that story, vixen. I don’t even think
Sands knows,” he murmured, suddenly tense in her arms.

Using her hands in
his hair, she tilted his head back enough so that she could give him a soft
kiss. “It was the sun for me,” she
whispered. “The first memory I have is
of talking to Tess in the dark, and then being blinded by the sun.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I don’t know how long she’d been out there,
but I know it’d been too long. That she
was suffering. But I loved it.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I loved feeling the hot Mexican sun beating
down on my back. I still love it.<
st
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> It soothes me . . . almost like a mother’s
touch, I suppose. Not that I would
know. Not even she does.”

“Aren’t we a
fucking pair?” he asked wryly.

“Not at the moment,”
she said, a touch of humor in her voice.

Jeffrey titled his
head back just enough to give her a confused look, not catching the meaning
behind her words.

“Fucking.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> We’re a pair, but we’re not fucking at the
moment.”

Jeffrey let out a
snort at that. “It seems I’m not invincible.”

“I could have told
you that,” she murmured, refraining from glancing at his many injuries.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> The water was growing cooler, and she was
getting more and more sleepy. “I say we
move this little party back to the bed.”

“Alright. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I’ve pretty much turned into a big fucking
prune by now anyway,” he murmured.

Both of them
stifled groans as they stood up and climbed out of the tub.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> With the towels provided them, they dried
each other off enough that they wouldn’t soak the sheets, and with tired
footsteps they went to the bed and climbed in.

Salida was starting
to doze off when she realized something that made her smile.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Tomorwe’lwe’ll be in our own house,” she
murmured.

“Hmm, you’re right,”
he responded, still allowing himself to be held for a change. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He knew it wouldn’t last, but he’d give her
this much while it did. “How about that?
I think I kind of fucking like that
idea.”

“I know I do . . .
even if we won’t be alone. At least we’ll
have more privacy than we do here. And I
like the thought of having a real home, not just a permanent address at a
hotel.”

“Mm . . . yes, that
does have a certain appeal. Until
tomorrow, vixen. Now shut the fuck up so
I can take a fucking nap. I’ve had a
long day,” he teased.

Her only answer was
to place a kiss on his shoulder, and then to rest her cheek against his head.

Jeffrey let himself
drift off to sleep, utterly content in her arms.

 




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