Disclaimer: All the characters from the "Magnificent Seven" TV series are property of Trilogy Entertainment, The Mirisch Group, MGM Worldwide.
Chris Larabee had more or less written the day off the moment the Section Supervisor had told him that a journalist was coming to meet him this morning for a preliminary discussion on her requirements for the 'story' she intended writing about them for the local paper. It was more or less decided by himself and he was sure by his Section Supervisor as well, who sounded just as enthused as he was about the subject, that this was nothing more than PR gimmick conjured by some bored bureaucrat. Unfortunately, whatever its origins, the fact of the matter was that in approximately ten minutes, he was going to have to endure a reporter in his office while keeping in mind that shooting someone for being in his face was illegal in this state and most others as well.
Damn, he muttered to himself. They make everything fun illegal.
Glancing past the open door to his private office, Chris noticed that every member of his team had managed to make an appearance today. With the exception of Vin, who amazingly enough did actually look like he was working on something legitimate, the others were using paperwork as an excuse to be in the office. After all, why bother to following leads, carry out background checks on suspects or hell, for that matter even doing anything that might resembled field duty, when there was a new piece of tail walking into the office?
As he waited impatiently for the arrival of Mary what's her face Travis, Chris took a moment to observe his men as they were engaged in the terribly important paperwork that could not wait and had to be done today. Buck was showing his diligence in that endeavour by stroking his moustache every two minutes as if in that time, growth had been achieved and he needed to smooth the new sprouts into cohesion with the rest of his face. Ezra on the hand could be considered to be working on paperwork since the playing cards in his hand was technically made of paper. The gambler had been performing shuffling tricks for the last twenty minutes and if he did not soon stop, Chris was going to show him a trick that could only be performed anally and to a very select audience.
Nathan and Josiah fortunately were more subtle than that and actually promoted the illusion by having a stack of files perched on either corner of their desk. It was just such a pity that neither had considered that he might be sceptical of their efforts when they were still working on the same file they had each started with this morning. Lord only knew what JD was doing but Chris made a mental note to talk to the software guys in personnel tomorrow and have that goddamn solitaire disabled in the kid's computer.
It was true to say that at this point, he was not exactly in the state of mind for visitors.
Still, he was a creature of duty and loathe it as he might, Chris knew he would be cooperative when Miss, Mrs... whatever, Travis arrived. He had endured worse things in his life and knew that one journalist could not be so bad. He snorted derisively as he pictured her to be one of those masculine, bad tempered women with khaki coloured clothes and cigarette breath who were always getting into trouble on every Salvador, Killing Fields type movie about journalistic grit he had ever seen. If she wasn't that then she was probably the other extreme, teased and permed like a poodle with too much shoulder pad and looking like a Mary Hart, Barbara Walters wanna be with an ego to match.
In either case, this next week was going to be sheer hell.
He questioned how the team was going to function with one of these creatures in pursuit, every time they had to go out on a stake out or a bust. Once again, he felt his ire bubble with annoyance at the thought of the imposition being made upon him and the men under his command. As curious as Ezra was at this moment to see their guest, the gambler did make a valid point when he had stated that it was not wise to show the public just how they did things. There was enough trouble with smart operators without letting them in on ATF secrets as well.
Quit bitching about it Larabee, he told himself and wished it was not too early in the day for a drink because he had this premonition he might need a head start for what he was going to have to put up with for the rest of the week. Letting out a sigh and straightening up in his chair, Chris surveyed his desk and made sure it was just as tidy as it had been when he did the same thing about two minutes ago. Wondering if he looked as tense as he felt, Chris told himself to relax. Besides, if he showed her any signs of anxiety, she would probably interpret that as a sign of weakness and then go for his jugular and Chris was not about to let this usurper have any more power over himself and his team then she already had.
He was busy ruminating on this point when he noticed Buck suddenly coming to life behind his desk like a lion at noon feeding. Telling himself for the hundredth time that he was going to take the upper hand the minute she arrived, Chris did not rise from his seat to greet the lady. Instead, he eased further into the leather office chair, grabbing a file off his desk and pretending to read it with an expression of practised indifference on his face. Chris stayed in this position even when he heard her voice speaking politely to Buck, who being completely and irrevocably Buck, immediately oozed charm when he directed her towards Chris' office.
"I'll find it." Chris heard her thanking Buck as she headed towards his open door.
Chris did not look up from his file, determined to take the upper hand as he had been instructing himself to do all this morning. He knew these reporter types who liked using the power of the press to intimidate people. Well, if Miss, Mrs ... whatever, Travis thought such a strategy would work with him, she had another thing coming. This was his team and he if decided that this whole thing was a load a crap, he was perfectly justified in pulling the plug before anyone got killed just because some reporter thought first amendment rights made her God.
He was still ruminating on this when she reached his door and tapped lightly. Chris, who had resisted the urge to look up until now, lifted his eyes over the file at the sound of her knocking and realised that he was in a lot of trouble.
For starters, she had the audacity to look nothing like the images he had been visualising in his head prior to her arrival. He had been psyched for a chain smoking harridan or prom queen. How dare she look the way she did! She was neither caricature. Instead, she stared at him patiently behind her sunglasses, her hair not at all permed but worn in a comfortable braid with loose strands of gold brushing her slender neck, fully exposed to him by the white singlet she was wearing over a pair of loose fitting draw string pants. She could not even allow him the dignity of being partially right by wearing heels or something impractical as her shoes were soft canvas white with laces in front.
"Mr Larabee." He heard her ask and realised that it was the second time she had made the inquiry and had not been answered.
"Sorry," Chris swallowed hard, tyring to hide that his eyes were moving over her shoulders, taking note of the well defined muscle of her arms that appeared cultivated by an healthy exercise regiment or at least some strenuous activity. "Aerobics?" Chris blurted out the word before he knew what he was doing.
He saw her brows shoot up over the top rim of her sunglasses before her lips curled into puzzled smile. "Not at this hour of the morning," she said with good humour. "What about you?" She asked extending her hand towards him.
"Not while I'm on duty." Chris replied meekly and wondered what happened to seizing the day and taking the upper hand. Well shoot Larabee, it just sailed off with a goddamn aerobics class! He thought to himself ruefully. "You must be Mary Travis. Is that a Mrs, Miss... ?" He asked innocently and stumbled into yet another faux pas.
She could almost see him wincing inwardly as he realised how that must have sounded to her. For some reason, Mary Travis was suddenly reminded of one those puppies that tried to impress you in the pet store by doing something clever and being even more appealing when they botched it up utterly. Mary had read the file on Chris Larabee before she walked into this office and expected to find a hard nose ATF veteran who was going to give her hell. Instead, she was standing here wondering if he had any idea just how cute he was trying to be cool and collected when all he was doing was making one obvious blunder after the other.
"I'll just assume that you're just very nervous and not read any more in that question then I should." Mary replied, trying to hide the smirk that was threatening to steal across her face.
"I ain't nervous." Chris retaliated quickly.
"Good," she said deciding he was not going to take her extended hand and sat down instead. "You shouldn't be. This isn't root canal surgery, its just a nice little magazine story the Sunday afternoon accountants will get a kick out of reading over their Cheerios and coffee. Trust me, I can find a lot better stories to cover if I want an exclusive expose that will make the front page."
"Well okay, "Chris nodded somewhat taken back by how easy that was. "I'm glad we got that all sorted out because I'm not having you come in here and turn my department upside down. We don't just sit around and have coffee and doughnuts you know; it gets bloody down here. You want to ride with us for the week, you got to expect things to be rough."
And that concludes the cute portion of his little display, Mary thought to herself. Moving onto testosterone induced male posturing segment of the show.
"I've seen rough," she said not all perturbed by his abrasive manner, since it was all part of the ritual. Perhaps she should sent him a copy of the mating ritual of the highland gorillas of Africa when this was all over and let him see how predictable he appeared at this moment. The only thing he was not doing was thumping his chest and spitting bananas at her but then he was a man so he had to be given time to work up to that.
"Really?" Chris looked at her sceptically unable to hide the sarcasm or the disbelief from his voice.
"I've just spend two months covering the Timor crisis in Indonesia and before that I was spending some quality time in Kosovo. While that may not be as physically and mentally demanding as spending the entire week with you and your team in New Mexico, I think I can handle it."
She said all this with not the slightest bit of hostility in her voice and still regarded him with that amused expression on her face, he could not for the life of him understand. Chris had been diligently following all the rules he had set out for himself prior to her arrival about maintaining his authority and taking control of the situation but at the moment, she was more at ease with this encounter than he. Chris could not fathom how that had come about. He was supposed to intimidate her. Hell, Chris knew he intimidated most people but Mary was just looking at him with that little smile on those perfect lips, (hey where did that come from?) and appeared nonplussed.
"Fine." He said clearing his throat and unable to think of anything else to say because he felt like such a moron as it was. "When do you want to start?" Chris sat up in his chair, deciding that he was at least going to sound intelligible instead of the monosyllabic jerk he must be surely appear to her at this moment.
"Monday will be fine." She replied. "My plan is to follow you until Friday. You understand that I want to be involved in everything. Well, within reason of course and I'd like to talk to your men, get a personal angle to what you people do."
"Okay." Chris answered, unable to find anything about that request to offer protest and wondered since when did he get so agreeable. He should be kicking up all kinds of fuss about her interfering with the men under his command but when she took off her sunglasses and gazed at him with the most incredible blue-grey eyes he had ever seen the arguments seemed somewhat reactionary. Besides, what could it hurt? His men did a hell of a job and seldom gained any credit for placing their lives on the line. Who was he to begrudge them their fifteen minutes of fame? As that line of reasoning crossed his mind, a smaller voice made a smug remark.
Sucker.
"Any questions?" She asked, unable to believe that he was being so accommodating when everything in his records indicated that he was one tough customer who had the lowest casualty rate of any ATF team leader in the field. Chris Larabee did not merely do his job and lead his men; he also protected them with near fanatical devotion to their safety. From all accounts, her research prior to this meeting had implied that he was a sombre, moody and somewhat brooding man whose was suffering the loss of a wife and son. As someone who had lost her husband to violence, Mary had felt an empathy with Chris Larabee's sorrow.
"Why are you doing a story here in New Mexico, when you've been to all those places?" Chris inquired with genuine curiosity.
"I meant with the story." She said firmly, having no desire to talk about her private life to him.
"In that case, no." Chris shook his head, somewhat intrigued by her past now that Mary had refused to answer and was determined to find out all he could about her once she walked out the door. Hey, he had a right to investigate the person whose presence was going to effect his men the next week. His interest was purely professional. Once again that inner voice had something to say on that point.
Sure it is Larabee.
"Then I think we're done, Mr Larabee." She rose to her feet and started to leave.
Chris almost wished he had a question to ask, other than the most obvious one but there were demons inside him that would not allow it to escape his lips just yet. For the moment, Chris was simply reeling from the fact that something inside him had just made shook itself awake after a very long period of hibernation. "I guess we are." He said making no move to walk her out. He had to maintain some dignity after all.
"Monday morning then," she nodded at him and slipped her sunglasses back over face before adding finally. "Incidentally," Mary looked over her shoulder briefly as she walked out of the room. "Its Ms Travis." With that she breezed out the door with Chris Larabee coming to one firm conclusion in the wake of her departure.
His life just became a hell of a lot more complicated.
Okay, it was only Monday and he was getting to her already.
Mary Travis took a deep breath and reminded herself why it was she was doing this job. She could have been flying from one end of the planet to another but instead she had opted to work at a local paper even though with her background she could be at the Washington Post or the New York Times. Instead she was the new kid on the block at semi-decent metropolitan paper in New Mexico. While she hated this puff piece she was doing on the agents of the Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms Bureau, she knew that if she could manage this then the rest was plain sailing. Mary was willing to try anything to build her life here because Billy was depending on her.
Ever since Steven had died, she had lost herself in her work, forgetting about the son that he had left her. For the last two years, she had become a distant memory to Billy, a face that occasionally dropped into to say hello at his grandparent's house, claiming to be his mother. A month ago, Mary had decided that she had enough of being a stranger in her son's life and it was time to assume the responsibility of being his mother. Of course, being an international journalist was nothing like covering a set beat in one city. Nor was it made any easier by the fact that her first big story was being hampered by a sombre, brooding, egotistical civil servant with delusions of grandeur, especially when he was wearing the face of blond demi-god.
She could deal with this.
She had fought off libidinous Serbian guards who had attempted to strip search her in Kosovo when she was crossing the border. She had even manage to keep her temper as she was forced to watch helplessly as militia men gunned down innocent East Timorese voters, she could sure as hell put up with Chris Larabee, no matter how much of a pain in the ass he was attempting to be.
Still it took a special kind of arrogance to match those previous experiences and she had to admit he was managing it quite spectacularly. When she had first met him, Mary had guessed he was going to be trouble. He had a pre-requisite image for her in mind and had not liked it when she appeared to conform to none of it. Not to mention that he wanted her, oh she knew that too. She had not missed how his jaw had dropped around his knees when she walked into the room that first morning and Mary was certain that it was this attraction, which he loathed but could not ignore that was making him behave like such a jerk.
Mary sat in her bath, scrubbing her skin raw and trying to rid herself of the stench of garbage that seemed to overwhelm her senses no matter how much scented bath oil and bubble bath she emptied into the tub. She knew what he was up to of course, Mary had been around pig headed men to recognise that he was baiting her, pushing her to see how far he could go before she finally snapped and give up this whole idea of writing her story. He may get more than he bargained for if he pushed her too far over the edge and she decided to kill him.
No matter how perfectly his dark jeans moulded to that gorgeous rump.
Mary glanced at the clothes piled on the floor, covered in grease stains and soiled from whatever she had picked up when she was down in the sewer with him. As she ran a wash towel over her face, she could picture the satisfied smirk on his face and felt herself flush with a mixture of anger and something else she could not define. There had not been a man that had been able to get under her skin so easily in years and Mary knew herself, just how much it took to penetrate her thick journalistic hide.
You're going to have to do better than that to make me crazy, Mary thought to herself defiantly. Much better than that.
"You were kind of hard on her." Vin commented as he and Chris sat in the bar around the corner from the ATF office about the same time that Mary Travis was envisioning all the wonderful things that could be done to the human body with dangerous farm equipment. Most of Team 7 was scattered around the establishment with Buck only a few stools down, attempting to coax the new owner, a rather sultry and incredibly beautiful Latin American who was viewing his propositions with nothing less than contempt. Ezra was wrestling with a slot machine while Nathan and Josiah were gathered around the pool table as JD watched their game.
"She wanted to see everything." Chris said with a faint smile.
"I don't think she had planned being in a sewer for half the day." Vin pointed out taking a sip of his beer and looking at Chris with amusement even though he valued his life too much to make comment that Chris seemed to enjoy tormenting Ms Travis during their excursion in the city's sewer system.
"We ain't in this job for the glamour," Chris remarked, feeling very pleased with himself and recounted the day in his head with fond memory. "By the way, did you get that background check I asked for?" Chris inquired, showing no more interest in the subject as he would if he were requesting a similar investigation into a known suspect.
"Yeah," Vin nodded, remembering the task that Chris had asked him on the quiet and slipped his hand into his jacket to retrieve the data he had printed before leaving the office that evening. He was about to hand to Chris when the leader of Team 7 said coolly.
"Read it to me." Chris asked, drinking down more of his beer with no signs of anticipation. In fact, he appeared as glacial as ever and Vin started to doubt that there was anything personal in the request at all. Maybe Chris just want to know something about the woman because they were going to be stuck with her all week. After all, it was prudent to know what she was about since she would be going into the field with them. It certainly was not out of character for Chris to be this thorough.
"Sure," Vin unfolded the paper and studied its contents before selecting what would be of most interest to Chris. "Let's see. Mary Susanne Langley, born in Wisconsin 1967 on 17th October, no brother or sisters. Raised by her father, her mother died of cancer when she was ten. Attended UCLA and graduated with honours in political science and communications."
"Skip the resume," Chris said abruptly.
"Okay," Vin nodded and moved his eyes to the more recent information on Mary Travis. "She met and married a Steven Travis while covering a story in the Gulf in 1990 and had a son, William Travis in 1993. Steven was killed while they were in Bosnia in 1997, a stray artillery shell hit the jeep they were in. She walked away, he didn't. Since then, the kid has been living in town with his grandparents and she has been overseas until last month when she took a job with the Clarion News."
Chris said nothing for a few minutes, absorbing the information before responding quietly, "guess that explains why she is here." His voice remained neutral allowing Vin no clue as to the growing attraction he felt for her.
"I guess so," Vin was about to remark when he caught sight of Alexandra Styles entering the premises. "Gotta go pard," Vin climbed off the stool as he dropped some change on the bar counter to cover his tab. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Have a good time." Chris said politely as he saw the younger man bid the rest of Team 7 goodbye and went to join his lady. He tried not to stare as Vin and Alex offered each other greetings in gentle kisses before leaving the bar. Despite his jaded interior, Chris could not help letting a smile cross his face as they left. They made a good couple and Chris had never seen Vin happier.
Following their departure, Chris turned his attention back to his beer and to thoughts of Mary Travis, especially after today...
Earlier that day
She was killing his concentration.
Chris Larabee tried not to notice as he waited patiently for the arrest to go down. For two weeks, they had been tracking a shipment of illegal weapons being brought into the country from some former Eastern Bloc country that was now selling off Soviet hardware to anyone who could pay the price. The weapons were made from ceramic which made their viability as a weapon of assassination extremely attractive since they could pass through metal detectors without drawing any notice. Chris' sources had pinpointed the transaction as taking place at an abandoned factory in the seedier part of town.
While studying the construction blueprints of the structure, Chris discovered that there was an access tunnel that led from the main floor where the purchase would be made leading directly into the sewer system. Chris had no intention of letting two months of hard work go down the drain, so to speak and decided that it was wise to cover that exit point when the ATF agents finally converged upon the suspects. Unfortunately, Chris would not risk any of his men with a civilian nipping at their heels and thus found himself at the sewer juncture leading from the factory manhole with Mary Travis.
As in all weapons arrests, Chris anticipated a lot of firing and trusted his men to follow procedure as well as being able to take care of themselves without his step by step guidance. Besides, he could not expect them to baby sit a reporter and he knew there was no way in hell she would stay in the car. Of all the duty that was currently allotted for this situation, this seemed the least likely to endanger the woman and Chris took it upon himself as the leader of Team 7 to keep an eye on her.
"We're moving into position." Chris heard Vin's voice announce through the cackle of static on the two way radio.
"Good." Chris nodded, wishing he was up above instead of being stuck here surrounded by the rushing sound of foul water and the fetid stench of rotting things, he did not wish to identify.
He glanced at Mary and saw she was fighting bravely not to be affected by their surroundings. Despite their less than glamorous location, Chris could not help but notice her. Through the near overwhelming odour of the place, he could still scent the light whiff of her perfume and instead of wearing her hair in a braid, she wore it loose today. He tried not to stare at the cascade of gold shimmering whenever she moved even though he wanted so much to run his fingers through it and breathed its scent in his lungs.
"They're moving in." He remarked, trying to say something clever and witty but barely managed coherent or intelligible when he was around her. It had been so long since any woman had sparked his interest that Chris no longer knew how to talk to the gender and Mary, well she was not like any other woman he had ever known. The opposite sex was normally predictable in their mannerisms but Mary was nothing like what he had been accustomed to. It made Chris uncomfortable just seeing how Mary looked at him with that bemused smile, like she knew everything he was thinking and could see through the facade of indifference he had been wearing like a second skin around her.
"I heard." She nodded and cringed involuntarily at the sight of a rat running on the walkway on the other side of the tunnel. The sight of it made her lean further back into the wall until she decided that she did not want to make contact with the grimy surface and returned to her original position.
"You could have stayed in the car you know." Chris remarked, seeing her discomfort at being in this place but could not help feeling somewhat entertained by her attempts to hide it.
"You could have let me go with the others." She returned, her blue-grey eyes sparkling with white heat and Chris suddenly had a sense of just how upset she was to be trapped down here with him. Still, despite himself, he was impressed that she had not complained as he would expect most women in a similar situation to do.
"I ain't going to let you get under their feet." Chris said promptly. "You could get hurt or worse yet, you could get them killed." The remark was inflammatory and he knew it but he wanted to see if he could get a rise out of her.
Which he did.
Mary marched right up to him and found herself standing inches away from him as she declared hotly. "I am not some wet behind the ears amateur you know." She glared at him. "I have just as much sense as the next person to not walk into a trouble. I know how to take care of myself Mr Larabee."
"That may be but this is my team and I say what goes." He said taking a step back because he did not like being so close to her. When she was near him, Chris became so aware of her he could not think straight. He had to keep looking at her forehead because if he looked at her hair, he'd want to touch it and her eyes could just drown him in colour. He was not even going to start with what her lips did to him because thinking about their soft, silken texture was almost bordering on arousal. Somehow, no amount of explanation was going to suffice if that arousal led to a more physical reaction.
"If you are attempting to bait me Mr Larabee," Mary stared at him, glad that he had withdrawn because she was somewhat taken back by how his closeness had effected her as well. How could such a devastating looking man end up being so damned annoying? Mary knew what he was doing and she was not about to let him get away with it, nor was she going to let him see that he was getting to her. "It has been tried by better men then you."
"Don't flatter yourself Ms Travis," Chris turned his back on her, a sneer on his face as he turned away. "You're not my type."
"Oh that's a load of crap and we both know it." Mary found herself saying, unable to stop herself and wincing when she made that statement. However, he had done the impossible by provoking her temper into flaring. "You've been lusting after me over ever since we met."
"Lusting after you?" He retorted, bristling with ire that he had been caught out but there was no reason for her to know that. "If keeping an eye on that pretty little butt of yours constitutes as lusting... " Chris realised what he said and groaned inwardly.
"My butt though pretty," Mary said with complete dignity and some measure of triumph. "Is none of your concern. I suggest you avert your eyes elsewhere and let me do my job."
"Your job," Chris said trying to restrain his temper for it was edging towards breaking point almost as precariously as hers. "Is to sit and be quiet while I do my job and not get under our feet like some puppy."
"You had better not be calling me a puppy." She seethed at the description.
"Well you're certainly behaving like a bit... "
Fortunately, Vin's voice on the two way radio interrupted Chris before he could quite finish that particular sentence (thankfully). "Chris! One of them is coming your way!"
The uncertainty that she had seen in his face seemed to vanish immediately and Chris immediately went for his gun and ordered firmly. "Stay behind me." He said quietly as his eyes darted towards the direction that manhole lay.
Mary was not about to argue and immediately narrowed the gap that had been so disconcerting before. She found herself following him closely as he advanced up the tunnel without a hint of apprehension in his face. She wondered how he could be so tongue tied when speaking to her and be so self assured when facing down a criminal. The man was a puzzle, she had to admit and not only that, a rather attractive one. When he stared at her with that intense gaze of his she could be tempted into melting if not for the fact that he had such a rotten demeanour and antagonistic nature. Some women went for deep, penetrating looks, not her. Any woman falling for Chris Larabee would have a more pleasant time dashing herself against rocks than attempting to maintain a relationship with him.
"How many do you think they'll be?" She asked.
"I don't know." He replied with that maddening calm. "Be quiet, I can't hear." He ordered.
Mary fell silent, observing him as he moved because he was an entirely new creature now. He moved like an animal, silent and predatory. Confidence oozing from every step forward, she felt slightly awed by the power of him. His movements were sleek and deliberate, being something of an achievement, considering where they were. For an instant, he reminded Mary of a jungle cat, moving through the trees with lethal agility and stealthy grace. She could sense the danger emanating from him as he continued up the tunnel with a predatory gleam in his eyes that made her heart beat faster in her chest.
Chris did not like this. He could not hear anyone and yet Vin would not give him the warning unless he believed that there was real danger. He especially disliked the fact that he had a civilian with him and if anything were to happen to her, he would be in a world of trouble. It was difficult to make out sound inside the passageway because the running water, rats and other vermin scampering in the dark was confusing. He should have heard someone coming this way already.
"Are you sure someone is coming?" She asked, breaking the silence and giving away their position.
"Do I have to shut you up myself?" Chris looked over his shoulder and issued that warning with a menacing stare.
"You don't have to be so rude about it." She pointed out and saw him bristling with exasperation. "All you had to do was tell me."
"I'm telling you now," his voice sharpened. "Shut up."
"Alright!" She bit back when suddenly, she saw something moving in the darkness. "Look out!"
Chris turned around just to see someone coming at him. He barely had time to move out of the way when he saw a glint of light in the darkness that could only be one thing. "Get down!" He shouted and shoved her backwards, away from the line of fire. He did not notice what happen to her after that because Chris had less than a second to fire. His gun was already out and did not have the disadvantage of needing to be unholstered. He fired twice into the darkness and dropped to his knees, hoping that the position would give him some shelter from the returning fire. Unfortunately none was forthcoming. All he heard were gurgling sounds in the nearby distance ahead and splashing sounds behind him. Chris started towards the former.
The man lay dying in a puddle of blood, choking on the fluid as it drained out of his neck and filled into his mouth. His throat was a mess of torn flesh, shredded by the two bullets that ended his life almost immediately after making contact with his skin. Chris watched dispassionately as the life slipped away from his open eyes and saw that his gun was still clasped in his hand. Picking up the weapon carefully, Chris bagged it and secreted it away for evidence.
"Bastard." He heard Mary's voice and immediately turned back to her.
He had not seen where she had been during the whole incident and remembered pushing her away to safety. He swore under his breath when he saw her climbing back to the walkway, dripping with sewer water and other unmentionables after he had unknowingly pushed her over the edge into the sewer canal. She was covered in dark grime and the scent that he had found so intoxicating before was completely washed away with the rancid aroma of whatever was in the water. She was soaked to the skin and Chris had to bit his lip to maintain his composure. He had no doubt that if he laughed she would kill him where he stood. Quite an effort considering he was the one armed.
"Are you alright Ms Travis?" He asked with a perfectly innocent expression on his face.
There was a clump of soiled leaves in her hair and she picked it out of the tangle of golden strands before tossing it away. Lifting her chin up with the poise of and grace that could only come being a lady, she brushed the errant locks of hair out of her face and replied. "I am perfectly alright Mr Larabee, why do you ask?"
"No reason." Chris answered, allowing her dignity.
She was wearing a plain white t-shirt which was now grey and mottled, not to mention that it clung to her skin so tightly that Chris found himself clearing his throat at the sight and forcing his eyes to look elsewhere as he removed his coat. "Here." He handed it to her. "Wear this."
"I do not need it, Mr Larabee." She said stiffly and made no move to take the garment.
"Well I need you to wear it." Chris replied as he walked past her and shoved it into her hands, giving her no choice but to take it, all the while avoiding looking at her. "Bra-less and wet is not the way to win my cooperation." He declared as he walked towards the manhole they had used to get to this point. "Besides," he added with a perfectly devilish smile as he glanced her way again and Mary flushed with embarrassment he was not looking at her face. "You're cold."
"I'm cold." Mary grumbled as she eased back into her bath tub and finally rid herself of the stink from the day's adventure. "As if he didn't have a good look first." She snorted as she closed her eyes and allowed the warm water to coax the tension from her bones.
Suddenly the telephone next to the bath tub rang and Mary swore lightly under her breath as she edged out of the water long enough to reach it. Easing back into position once she had the receiver in her hand, Mary let the warm water swirl over her skin once more.
"Hello." She greeted.
"Well darling, I had no idea you have succumbed to the trappings of domestic living." The familiar voice responded.
"Julia," Mary exclaimed with genuine pleasure. "Where are you?"
"Would you believe I am in the same area code as you?" Her caller responded. "I've had a job go frightfully wrong on me and I have to stay in town a little longer to explain to my client why I'm not delivering the goods."
"Well, it could not possibly compare to the day I've had," Mary retorted. "Do you know that ATF agents are more pain in the ass than FBI or CIA?"
"I gather we are talking about a man." Julia guessed accurately.
"Oh yes," Mary nodded. "He has to be the most annoying, exasperating, arrogant son of a bitch that has ever walked, no slithered across the earth."
There was silence following that statement.
"Julia, you still there?" Mary asked after the pause had grown quite lengthy.
"Yes I am but you are aware of course, that is the same description you gave Steven when you first met him."
Mary hung up the phone.
Mary Travis had decided one thing this morning; she prepared for whatever Chris Larabee intended throwing at her. After the sewer the day before, she was confident she could handle anything. Thus, when she had arrived at the ATF office that morning, she had done so with the firm belief that he could not possibly out do himself.
She was wrong.
Mary cringed in the vinyl booth she was presently occupying, trying to avoid the leering eyes of rather greasy looking man in a cheap suit and slicked back hair. The man managed to keep his eyes on here even though he was presently spilling his guts to Chris Larabee whom took absolutely no stock of his surroundings even though it was strip joint. In the rest of the dimly lit place, bare bodies only a g-string away from being completely nude, gyrated and wriggled to loud, outdated music. Mary would not call what they did dancing. Their audience was the bottom feeders of the human gene pool and posed a strong argument, each one of them, in the necessity of birth control.
It was bad enough that she was subject to this disgusting display but there were things going on in this room that were enough to make her skin crawl. In the far end of the room, she could see a youth no more than twenty earning the money he had been paid by a fat, sweaty man wearing leather, on his knees. She forced herself not to look at the scene of ragged looking women at the bar, pretending to be paying customers when it was obvious that they were looking for some.
Chris seemed oblivious to her discomfiture, although she was certain he was amusing herself to no end at her expense. Continuing his conversation with the informant called Lennie, she wondered who had selected this venue for their meeting and had no doubt this was just another one of Chris' attempts to embarrass her. Although, to be fair he had asked her to remain in the office with the rest of the team. Unfortunately, Mary had been so paranoid that he was just trying to be a pain in the ass that she insisted on accompanying him and he was not forthcoming about their destination.
"So you finally got rid of Tanner and found some real help?" Lennie gave her a salacious leer once Chris got his information from him.
"Something like that." Chris mumbled, wishing Lennie had asked their meeting place to be anywhere but here. Despite what Mary was thinking, Chris did not appreciate that he had been force to bring her to a place like this. However, there was no telling the woman anything and he wondered how anyone could be so damn stubborn when it was for their own good.
"Well I gotta say, I approve." Lennie said flashing a smile that included several rotten teeth. "I'll bet she must be real entertaining on stake outs."
"Watch your mouth." Chris warned as he saw the smouldering look in Mary's eyes and realised that perhaps he might have handled this differently because there was every indication she was about to go volcanic on him. He did try to tell her.
Yeah, but you could have tried a little harder.
His inner voice remarked and Chris decided that it was best if he rectified the situation instead of ruminating on how it was she had come to be here. He had to admit though, she had held up well considering that some guy was giving another guy a blow job in the corner of the room, she was surrounded by naked bimbos, if you called g-strings being dressed and hookers casing the joint for potential johns.
"Sorry man," Lennie caught the menace in Chris' eyes behind that warning and swallowed visibly. It was never wise to get on the wrong side of this man. "No offence intended ma'am." He said apologetically towards Mary.
"None taken." She said stiffly.
"Is that it Lennie?" Chris asked, eager to get her out of here.
"That's all I know," the informant confessed, wanting to be on his way as well. The venue had been selected because no one of importance frequented an place like this and being seen with the leader of an ATF team was hazardous to one's health in this neighbourhood.
"Good." Chris said gruffly and slid out of the booth. "We're going." He said to Mary before tossing a few notes on the table and walking out of the place without waiting for her.
Chris said nothing as they stepped out into the sunlight once again and breathed in fresh air that was not polluted with smoke, liquor and to their extreme disgust to admit bodily fluids. Mary did not meet his gaze but judging by the sullen expression on her face she was not happy. The regret that had been nagging at him inside the strip joint had evolved into full-blown guilt and he knew that he could have avoided putting her through this if he had been a little forthcoming about where they had been going this morning.
They were almost to the car when Chris paused and started to say. "Mary, I'm s... "
She did not let him finish. Mary swung around and struck him right across the jaw in what was almost a roadhouse swing. Chris was nearly knocked off his feet at the power behind her knuckles and thought in a moment of clarity amidst the disorientation of the blow that she must have had some training somewhere.
"You son of a bitch!" She roared, unafraid of letting anyone hear her as she laid into him. "You know, I thought that I had put up with some crap in my life but you take the cake! I've had border guards molesting me with their hands while they were supposed to be frisking me! Once, I had to pose as a street walker to get a lead, I even had to play a harem girl to crack a white slavery ring and none of that, made me feel as humiliated as I felt today!"
"I tried to warn you!" Chris cried in his defence, feeling like an absolute bastard seeing that she was very close to tears. He had not meant to push her that far, just to make her go away because she was awakening in him feelings that were too close to what he felt for Sarah and it frightened him.
"Oh you tried very hard!" She shouted. "Well I don't care what hang up you have with me but I am writing this story. I am writing this story because there is a seven year old boy that needs me to write it to get his mother back and not you!" She jabbed her finger in his chest. "Or anyone for that matter is going to stop me!"
Chris did not know what to say because in truth, there was nothing he could say. He had been giving her a tough time since she had turned up in his office, particularly because he felt so strongly for her. Mary did not wait for him to speak and jumped into the car and waited for him, invisible line of steam will exuding from her ears he was certain. He joined her in the car and was suddenly reminded of those times when he had arguments with Sarah. She would sit in silence, arms folded and say nothing to him as well. The parallels between Mary and Sarah drove home why he was so attracted to the woman.
"We're going back to the office." He remarked somewhat gingerly.
"You were going somewhere else." She said abruptly. "Go there. I don't need you to hold back because of me."
"I ain't holding back because of you." Chris retorted with a hint of annoyance.
"Then let's go." She challenged.
It was one he was willing to take up. "Okay," he answered starting the car. "It's nothing big anyway. Lennie never has any good leads."
Half an hour after that statement, Chris Larabee and Mary Travis found themselves locked in a room with a gunman who was to guard them while the powers that be who ran this illegal moonshine operation upon which they had stumbled, decided what was to be done with them. Judging by the size of the enterprise they had virtually straight walked into with its factory size location, their outcome could not be anything but fatal.
"Never any good leads huh?" Mary said sarcastically as they were seated on the floor, his arms bound around the back while hers were secured in the front, since he was considered to be the most dangerous of them both. Chris' gun was tucked neatly in the belt of their guard and he eyed Mary with more interest than was healthy as far as she was concerned.
"I'll get us out of here." He grumbled, not liking the way the man was looking at her any more than she did. He did not know what was worse, being caught in this situation where they could die or the embarrassment of having these men get the drop on him in front of her.
"You can't even get out of those ropes." Mary pointed out and received a scathing glare from him.
"I'm working on it." He bristled with annoyance at her lack of confidence in him, particularly when he was in some small way, trying to impress her with his ability to handle any situation no matter how adverse. It did not help that he was so attracted to the woman he could barely think and the idea of harm coming to her was twisting his insides with fear.
"Well work harder." She said looking anxiously at the man before her. His eyes were moving across her form, taking in the sight of her like she was something he was going to be enjoying soon enough. He barely noticed Chris working the ropes behind his back. Still as Mary thought about it, Chris freeing his hands was not going to be enough to effect their escape and suddenly a dangerous idea formed in her head. She glanced at Chris who keeping his eye trained on the man even though the subtle movements behind his back indicated his focus was elsewhere. Chris needed a distraction to act and Mary decided she was going to give it to him.
"Are they going to kill us?" She asked the man, her voice oozing with feminine concern. "I don't want to die." Her lips curled into a full pout that glistened under the single light bulb of their cell.
Chris stopped what he was doing and looked at her immediately, wondering why she playing at. "Mary... " He started to speak to warn her into silence.
"Shut up!" The gunman shoved Chris back into place with a boot in the ATF agent's chest before turning to Mary again, licking his own lips in anticipation at the promise of what her voice was offering him.
"Anyway I can talk you out of it?" Mary asked, her voice becoming more seductive with unmistakable lust oozing from it.
The man caught her meaning immediately, compelled in part by his own desire for this beautiful woman with her golden hair and her soft lips, enticing him with pleasure as he stepped forward. "What do you have in mind?" A slight curl formed on his lips and Chris did not like where this was going at all.
Not one damn bit.
"How about a grease and oil change?" She smiled, tongue rolling across her silky lips in a dance so mesmerising that both men were similarly transfixed.
Chris' mouth dropped open just imagining what she was suggesting being performed on himself and not on this stranger.
The leader of the ATF watched in wide eyed dismay as the gunman became very receptive to that idea as he stepped forward.
"Are you out of your fucking mind?" He glared at her, almost flabbergasted beyond belief at the dangerous game she was playing.
"Shut up." The gunman kicked him in the chest again and slammed him back into the wall once more. "The lady is smart and she made the offer."
The man stepped closer to Mary as she leaned back, readying herself into position as he neared her with one hand on his gun and the other fumbling for his belt. He was within reach of her legs when Mary saw his eyes drop for a moment to a troublesome notch he could not unhook. Knowing it was now or never, Mary took the opportunity because she was sure as hell not going to go through with her offer to him. Kicking her leg out with years of training behind her, the ball of her foot landed squarely on his groin. He barely had time to scream before he doubled over in pain. No sooner than he was on his knees, Mary jumped to her feet and ploughed another kick into his sternum, almost flipping him onto his back before her last kick to the side of his head rendered him completely unconscious. She took a deep breath, unable to believe she had managed such an effort before remembering they were not out of trouble yet.
Meanwhile Chris could only stare at her in a mixture of astonishment and secret admiration. God, how could you not love a woman like this?
"Where did you learn to fight like that?" He managed to ask once he had overcome his amazement at her skilful handling of the situation and by the fact that she might have possibly saved both their lives.
"Kick boxing classes," Mary said breathlessly as she searched the room for something to free her hands and spotted a small pen knife at the nearby work bench. "Friend of mine told me it was a great way to meet guys." She answered as she reached the tool and started working the sharp blade against the ropes around her wrists.
"Really?" Chris almost smiled but held it back.
"Yeah," she replied, concentrating on holding the blade in its awkward place as she continued to slice the ropes. "It was a bust though. Seems there were about fifty other women in the class with the same idea." She remarked as her hands were freed and she hurried to Chris who had at this point risen to his feet and had turned around so that she could do the same to him.
"I have to pass that on to Buck." He muttered as he felt her cutting the ropes behind his back. "He's always looking for new territory to mark."
"The man has no shame." Mary shook her head in disgust as the last fibres were sliced away and his wrists were finally freed. The first thing he did with his freedom was to retrieve his gun and then though not vitally important to their escape but was nevertheless compelled to bring it up, he turned to Mary.
"Grease and oil change?" He looked at her critically.
"Have you ever met a man who has ever said no to an offer like that?" She challenged him with a hint of mischief in her eyes, to say otherwise.
Not from those lips, Chris thought to himself. "Good point," he answered, opting for the safest response and not the one that would get him slapped, again.
"What now?" She asked, glad to turn their escape over to him. Outside the door of this room was at least a dozen armed goons. Mary did so hope he had a way to escape this room that did not require them trying to breach the barrier posed by those men. It would be hazardous to say the least.
Fortunately, Chris had no intention of endangering her life by attempting anything so fool hardy. The only thing that mattered was getting her out of here in one piece. Her resourcefulness had given him an opening and he was going to use any means necessary to exploit its full potential. Turning tail and running never sat well with Chris Larabee but when it came to the life of this woman, his dignity and personal preferences could take a back seat. Scanning the room, he saw a small window that would be a tight squeeze for both of them but not at all impossible for them to utilise as a means of escape.
"Window." He gestured towards the narrow opening.
"I can live with that." She sighed in relief, having dreaded the possibility of making their escape through the door where those armed men were laying in wait. As uncomfortable as that small window might look in their attempt to breach it, it was far healthier than facing the operators of this illegal venture.
Chris ushered Mary through first, having to lift her up part of the way because the window was high above the ground. She had no trouble passing through although her rear end could not make the crossing without help. Chris tried to keep his hands in respectable positions as he pushed her through but eventually, he had to place his palms against that taut, firm curve of flesh.
"Watch your hands." She grumbled as her cheeks (on her face that is) flushed red from embarrassment because his touch was engendering sensations that were completely inappropriate for the time and place.
"You just offer to give a guy a blow job and you're getting prissy about my hands on your ass?" Chris retorted sarcastically with the barest hint of amusement, not to mention secret pleasure stolen at her expense as he lingered a little longer on that sweet derriere than he should have.
"Yes," she said sweetly, craning her neck back far enough to meet his gaze. "When it's your hands."
"Sorry Miss Travis but we're a little pressed for time but you're just going to have to be satisfied with my hands until I have time to use something else." He smiled devilishly before giving her a firm shove that sent her all the way through.
"Wait a minute Chris... " she started to protest as she tumbled to the other side and suddenly she was screaming.
"Mary!" Chris was suddenly filled with panic and he jumped through after her, never moving so fast in his life when suddenly he heard a loud splash and looked down just in time to see that there was no ground beneath him but water! The warehouse had been located at the edge of the canal area and in the split second before he hit the murky surface, he realised why they had only been assigned one guard.
He hit the space next to her, splashing her with water as he submerged briefly under the surface before the escaping air from his lungs forced him afloat.
"What is it with you and getting me wet?" She sputtered in fury when he finally emerged next to her in the water. Her blond hair was plastered all over her face and she looked like the albino version of Cousin It. Of course, he kept that observation to himself.
"Foreplay?" He grinned, not knowing but he was enjoying this whole absurdity immensely.
Mary rolled her eyes in disgust before shoving his head under water again.
"Why is it that every time I telephone you, you seem to be in a bath tub these days?" Julia asked Mary from the other end of the telephone line.
As it turned out, Chris and Mary had managed to make it to the car without any further incident where Chris promptly called for backup. Within twenty minutes, the rest of Team 7 and thirty armed policemen converged upon the location. Despite the indignity of the whole situation, Mary did find that she had exclusive on the arrests that followed and had an interesting chapter in her magazine story.
"Because the man has a funny way of expressing charm." Mary grumbled as she scrubbed the dirt from under her nails while balancing the phone between her shoulder and head.
"So I gather you like him."
"Yeah like an extreme case of syphilis." Mary retorted. "What about you? How come you're still in town?" She inquired wishing to forget Chris Larabee and his stupid, gorgeous smile and the infuriating way he had of making her feel for him even when he was behaving like a complete jackass.
There was a slight pause before her oldest friend answered. "Let's just say I'm developing a taste for something southern."
Unlike the first two days of Mary Travis' assignment covering a story about the men of ATF, Wednesday actually transpired without her being thrown into a waterway of any kind at or below ground level. Instead, she spent a rather agreeable morning, getting in depth material with the men who made up Team 7 and discovered that despite being under the command of a complete ass, they were quite an eclectic and interesting bunch. While avoiding their leader as much as possible, Mary still had to admire Chris Larabee's selection in the men that made up his team and had to respect the feeling of family he had instilled in them for one another.
Before falling under Chris' command, these men had been loners in one shape or form, always on the outside looking in; never feeling they were apart of anything until Chris had recruited them for his team. Mary, whose ambitions for herself had driven her out of the pursuits most women thought important while she considered frivolous, could appreciate the need to belong.
From Vin Tanner's lonely existence as a bounty hunter, to Buck's need for family, keeping the others together with good humour and warmth that Chris could not project to Nathan's whose concern for everyone bordered on motherly at times, though the healer would curse anyone who suggested that to him. Even spiritually inclined Josiah who was a preacher once, could not compare the serenity of the faith with the feeling of kinship he felt with these men and Ezra who was a much a loner as anyone could get, could not deny feeling the same friendship. The gambler had gone so far as to admitting that his jaded outlook on life had improved since becoming a member of Team 7, while JD who strived for acceptance, was growing up with six caring friends to watch his back.
The glue that held them together, despite her personal feelings about the man, was undoubtedly Chris Larabee. He was the link that bound the chain together, the impetus that made the fellowship work. With the close knit bonds that existed between these men, it was easy for Mary to conclude that the reason for Team 7's success rate in the field not to mention low casualty rate had to do with their mutual affection for one another.
Chris had been inside his office most of the day and judging by the fact that he had not emerged from the room since the moment she had arrived, Mary assumed he wanted to have no part of this segment of her story. Burying himself in his paperwork, supposedly, Mary did not see him for most of the morning and to the early afternoon. Deciding that she would pin him down another day, since she had an appointment elsewhere, Mary picked up the phone at the desk they had provided for her use during the week and checked the progress of her car that was in the shop for repair today.
"What do you mean, its not done yet?"
Chris heard Mary exclaim as he was idling away at the filing cabinet near her desk, having deemed it safe enough to emerge since she appeared to be leaving for the day. Chris was grateful of the escape her departure allowed since he had not intention of being included in the heart to heart she was having with the rest of his men.
"But you said two o'clock." Mary continued her debate with the speaker on the other end of the phone "I gave you an extra hour!"
Chris lingered by, wondering what the urgency was about a car. However, judging by the stormy expression on her face as she continued her conversation, it appeared to be extremely urgent for there was something in her eyes that was not just annoyed but deeply upset.
"Fine!" She said visibly angry. "Tomorrow it is, but if I go there and find out you've got more work to do on my car, I will have your guts for garters." With that she slammed the phone down hard and made everyone jump with the sheer intensity of her words and a black mood that rivalled even one of Chris' more inflamed displays. "Bastard!"
"Trouble Miss Travis?" Chris was the only who dared to ask since no one was brave enough to speak with a woman in her state of mind without the safety of protective headgear and eye wear.
"Not trouble, disaster." She frowned and kept silent for about two seconds, when she discovered that she was just annoyed enough to tell him what was bothering her. "My car won't be ready this afternoon." Her lips curled into a slight pout she was unaware he found utterly endearing.
"Civilisation has been known to survive, Miss Travis." He said with a hint of sarcasm, showing indifference to her problem or what that insistent nibbling of her lower lip was doing to him. Still he was unable to fathom why such simple things were that earth shattering for women.
"Why do I even bother to tell you?" She groaned and shook her head in futility.
"Okay," Chris conceded he was being a pain by offering her a gesture of defeat and urged her to continue. "I'm sorry, what so important about your car?"
"I needed to go somewhere," she answered, more focused on trying to decide whether or not a cab would do, instead of listening to his thoughts on the matter. If she was lucky, the cab could get here fast enough for her to still make her appointment, since missing it was not an option in any shape or form. It took Mary a moment to realise that Chris was staring at her in expectation to continue with what she had been saying.
"My son's baseball game, all right?" Mary blurted out with exasperation in her voice, not having time to deal with him and this particular problem. "I promised him that I would be there today. I've never seen him play little league and it is his first game of the summer." She grumbled, remembering how eager Billy had been for her to attend. Considering that she had missed almost everything in his life for the past two years, it was doubly important for Mary to be there for her son.
"What's his name?" Chris asked seriously, understanding completely now why she was so upset. Such promises were not made lightly and if Adam had asked that of him, nothing would have stopped Chris from being there, not even the biggest arrest in history. Of course, he would never know for sure because for Adam, there would never be baseball games or Christmas pageants. Thinking about Adam that way effected Chris more deeply than he liked, especially in font of Mary because the pain surfaced like it always did, quickly and with potent effect. Chris closed his eyes and forced it away in a millisecond but wondered at how it always felt like an eternity.
"Billy," Mary replied, volunteering that information with the same enthusiasm she might have a making a dental appointment. For some reason, she did not want him to know that much about her private life.
"Come on," Chris said suddenly, not wanting her to miss that game because he hated to think of any child disappointed like that. "I'm the boss, I can take some time to give you lift." He declared.
It took Mary a moment to realise that he was not volunteering, he was telling. Still she was hardly in a position to refuse and could see that the offer was a genuine attempt to help her out of a difficult situation.
"You don't have to." She said stiffly, uncertain over how to take this gesture of kindness. "I can take a cab." Mary said reluctantly. However even as she thought that, Mary knew that she had no choice. A cab would take time to get here and if she was going to make the first inning, she would have to leave now. As much as she loathed accepting Chris' help, she was going to have to.
"Easy there Mary," Chris rolled his eyes not waiting for an answer because like she, he knew she had no alternative but take him up on his offer. The leader of Team 7 closed the filing cabinet drawer and started towards his office. "Your gratitude is overwhelming."
"Mary?" She raised a brow at him. "Since when were we on a first name basis Mr Larabee?" She emphasised those last two words so that he would not make the mistake of thinking there were friends.
"Since I started letting you in my ride." He said gruffly.
"If it was not for my son... " Mary fumed, glaring at his back with narrowed eyes, stinging that she was forced to accept the help of that arrogant son of a bitch. This is what they must call a mother's sacrifice. Watching Chris stride back to his office, cocky as all hell and knowing perfectly well she could not refuse, Mary wondered if they, whomever they were, knew just how big a sacrifice it was going to be.
"Whatever," Chris shook his head as he widened the space between them. "Its not like I'm going to run out of gas on the way there or anything." He looked over his shoulder and smiled deviously at her. "Or are we disappointed because I wasn't?"
"Will you just get the damn keys!" Mary sputtered in annoyance and then noticed the faces around the room. Every member of Team 7, save Chris, was fighting hard to keep a straight face. Josiah was holding up a book over his face higher than normal, Vin was hiding his behind a computer screen, Buck did not seem to care and was grinning ear to ear like he was watching something really entertaining, Ezra kept clearing his throat. Nathan excused himself from the room, sniggering as he departed while JD was biting his lip. Mary let her blue grey eyes sweep across everyone still in the room and issued a silent warning that the first person who laughed was going to die.
Mary returned her attention back to Chris who had now reached his office and pondered the question of how someone with such a great ass could create such pain someone else's.
Somehow, they managed to arrive at the baseball diamond where Billy would be playing his game without actually killing each other, even though their journey there was hardly civilised with sarcasm being served from both corners, like a well played tennis game. Chris had to admit it was great day for a baseball game and any duty that took him away from the artificial lighting and air-conditioned staleness of his office was welcome. Even if it meant ferrying Mary Travis around the place and hearing her gripe incessantly at how she still hated him but appreciated the ride.
They arrived in plenty of time before the game was to start. Chris pulled his black Dodge RAM 2000 at the kerb at the baseball diamond, a block away from Billy Travis's school. The school was situated in the suburbs and was one of those environments where accountants and realty people seem to flourish. No doubt, this was the world of bake sales and PTA meetings. He could not picture Mary playing that role on a full time basis.
When the vehicle came to a halt, Mary turned to Chris as she prepared to climb out. Swallowing, it took some nerve to say what came next.
"Thank you," she answered after a moment, softening enough to realise that thanks to him, she would not disappoint Billy. Still, Mary found it extremely hard to say anything nice to him. For some reason, the most potent emotion Chris Larabee engendered in Mary Travis was the strongest desire to slap him silly and wipe that damn smirk he wore only around her.
"I think I might just like to watch a baseball game today." He remarked and started to get out of the Dodge the same time she did, while wearing that damn smile on his face.
"No you don't," Mary's eyes widened with horror because she did not want him anywhere around her or her son. "You got to go back to work and protect the world from illegal alcohol manufactures and cigarette smokers. You can't stay!"
"You mean I drive you down here and you won't even let me stay and watch the game?" He asked, folding his hands and looking at her like she was spoilt prom queen with an expression on his face that revealed he was enjoying her annoyance immensely.
"That's right." She said firmly and let out a deep breath, realising she had no choice but to explain it to this arrogant bastard. "Look, don't take this personally but my son is a very sensitive child. He thinks I'm a reporter like... " Mary closed her eyes and flinched as she sought the horrifying description that was approximation of the point she was attempting to get across. "Like Mary Hart, not like Lois Lane okay? I don't want him to know that I spend my time... "
"Offering criminals grease and oil changes?" Chris asked innocently with a completely straight face.
"Very funny." She smouldered, her voice becoming a low hiss. "But no, I don't want him to think that I offer blow jobs to people!" She barked loudly just as a rather nuclear family was passing by and while the wife's mouth rounded into an o of distaste, the husband's lips curled into a smile of suggestion. Mary saw their expressions and dropped her head against the window of the Dodge.
"If you even mention that to my son... " she glared at him with an icy stare of menace.
"Mom!" A voice suddenly interrupted her threat to render Chris limb from limb. The boy who bounded into her arms had the same white gold hair that Mary did and as she embraced him hard, Chris saw the emotion that seeped into her eyes and thought she never looked more radiant that at that moment. It would stop the heart of any man to be on the receiving end of such affection, he though to himself.
"I knew you'd come!" Billy cried out excitedly, obviously adoring his mother. "Grandma Evie said you might be busy but I knew it! I just knew you'd be here."
"Hey," Mary smiled back at him. "For my little Babe Ruth, you bet your life I'd be here." She hugged him again before Billy noticed Chris standing there and made her scowl, realising she probably ought to introduce him. "Billy, this is Mr Larabee."
"Hi Mr Larabee." The boy said cheerfully and Chris found himself warming to this seven-year-old immediately because the smile on his small face was utterly heart warming, even to someone as hardened as Chris Larabee.
"Hey there Billy," Chris responded. "What position do you play?"
"Second base." Billy replied, his youthful eyes examining the stranger closely. "Do you work with my mom?"
"No, I just throw her into canals and sewers every now and then." He remarked giving Mary a wink while she muttered obscenities under her breath that Billy could not hear or notice while his eyes were focussed at Chris' direction and not at her.
"Mr Larabee is an ATF agent." Mary answered, shooting a venomous glare at Chris while Billy puzzled over his answer. "That means he's with the bureau for Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms."
"You mean like Elliot Ness?" Billy eyes widened with excitement.
"Elliot Ness?" Chris stared back at the child blankly.
"Yeah," Billy nodded, unable to understand why no one could make the connection. Grownups, they could not be expected to be very smart. . "I saw it on TV!" He explained it like the two adults with him were the children. "Elliot Ness stops people from making beer and stuff."
To tell the honest truth, that was one association that Chris had never considered since most people, especially those FBI assholes, tended to describe Team 7 as cowboys, like those in that old Yul Brynner movie.
"Close enough." Chris admitted since that was a good enough description as any.
"Wow! That is so cool!" Billy exploded upon hearing this confirmation. "Do you carry a gun too and bust bad guys?"
"Billy!" Mary gasped, discovering to her horror that her son had not been this animated about any person beside herself, since Steven had died. While she was thrilled that he was coming out of his shell a little, she could not stomach the fact that it was Chris who had inspired all this enthusiasm. "I don't think you should be asking... "
"Would you stay and watch the game Mr Larabee, please?" Billy implored suddenly before Mary could stop him.
"Billy," Mary quickly interjected, realising that things were going downhill from this point. "I'm sure Mr Larabee is busy."
"I was busy but since your mom invited me, I couldn't say no." Chris grinned and offered Mary that same infuriating smile of wickedness that would have gotten him killed if the boy was absent. "And call me Chris." He added, just to dig the knife a little deeper.
If looks could kill, Chris was certain the glare that Mary was sending in his direction would have struck him dead on the spot. Fortunately, the interplay between the two supposed adults was forced to take a back seat for the moment, when a new voice called out.
"Hey Billy!" A rather tubby and greying man, wearing a coach's uniform and obligatory whistle called to Billy. "Game's starting."
"I got go mom!" Billy declared as he pulled away from her and hurried towards the break into the fence that surrounded the baseball diamond.
"Good luck!" Mary waved at him as he left.
"Yeah knock 'em dead." Chris called out, offering his own salutations.
Billy turned around long enough to wave at them, his face beaming with happiness at both the presence of his mother and this cool friend of hers that caught real life crooks. "Thanks mom, thanks Chris." He shouted over the grass before disappearing behind the stands.
When he had gone, Mary whirled around and threw Chris a look of pure fury. In a very low voice she growled. "I really hate you."
"Now is that any way to behave at baseball game?" Chris grinned, enjoying every moment of her ire.
Unfortunately, it did not take long for the situation to change rapidly.
Mary had spotted her mother in law, Evie Travis on the stands with the rest of the spectators to this particular game and immediately went to join them. Mrs Travis was nice enough, making polite conversation with Chris while imparting upon Mary how thrilling it was for Billy that she was present at this game. Chris could understand what she meant by the sheer joy he had seen in the child's eyes at his mother's presence earlier. No doubt, this was at the heart of Mary's decision to stay in Denver instead of globetrotting across the globe, like a journalist of her calibre ought to be doing.
Not long into the game however, an unexpected visitor arrived and threw a monkey wrench in the whole works.
His name was Gerard Whitman, an old friend of the Travis' who was here because his daughter was playing today too. It appeared that he had been a friend of Steven Travis and was an accountant or something boring like that who had recently been divorced. It became very clear from the moment he managed to squeeze himself into the space between Chris and Mary ,what was on his mind and Chris had enough difficulty with Mary at present without having to deal with an unwanted rival as well.
It was not that Chris did not like Gerard simply because he was a rival but the fact that he hated him that caused Chris to concoct possible reasons to shoot the man, during all the innings of the game until they reached half time. Gerard was mediocre and he pandered to Mary with comments like, 'you're still as young as the first time I met you' and was probably one of those guys who liked to take long walks on the beach and gaze at the stars with all that other romantic crap. Finally Chris decided he had better do something or else Mr Whitman was going to find an illegal cache of previously evidenced weapons in his garage followed by a visit from Team 7.
"Whitman," Chris said as he stood up from his seat at half time, "I'm going to for some hot dogs and drinks, I could use a hand."
"Of course." Gerard Whitman said politely and the two men descended the steps as they headed for the kiosk.
Chris made certain they were a suitable distance away before he remarked. "Mary's a fine woman." He said with a neutral expression that hid all evidence of the real affection he felt for the woman.
"She certainly is," Gerard agreed with a slight nod. "How long have you known each other?" He asked, making the inquiry in case he was treading on someone's toes. Mary had introduced this stranger as being a work acquaintance and that suited Gerard just fine but assumption was the mother of all mistakes and so he wanted some clarification as to her relationship with this man.
"Little under a week." Chris answered aware at the nature of the inquiry. "Its a pity though, I'd like to get to know her better but some things aren't meant to be." He capped that sentence with a longing sigh.
Gerard's brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean? Pity about what?"
Chris looked at the man innocently and pretended to feign shock and dismay. These guys were so damn predictable, he thought. "Aw hell, I'm sorry. I assumed that everyone knew. I didn't know it was meant to be a secret or something."
Now Gerard was really curious to know. "Secret about what?"
"That she's recently come out. She's been dating one of our office girls. Just about killed every man in the place to find out that she plays for the other team, if you know what I mean?" He gave Gerard a look that oozed suggestion. Gerard's expression was priceless and it took every bit of self control that Chris Larabee possessed not to laugh when he saw the realisation dawning upon the man to what he was alluding.
"But she married Steven and then there's Billy... !" Whitman stuttered in stupefaction, unable to believe it but then Mary was always fiercely independent and extremely prone to masculine pursuits. It was shocking to hear but in the scheme of things and his past awareness of her habits, the possibility that she was homosexual was not that astonishing in retrospect.
"I know," Chris said apologetically. "Now I understand why she didn't want me to stay for the game earlier so I wouldn't let the cat out of the bag. Look, I'd really appreciate it if you kept this to yourself. I don't want to start unlocking any family skeletons and embarrassing her."
"Oh no," Gerard shook his head in agreement, thinking to himself how ridiculous his words to her must have been earlier. "I'm glad you told me, I certainly wouldn't want to make a fool of myself or anything."
"Hey don't mention it, pard." Chris answered with complete innocence." I'd hate to see any man in that kind of position."
"Where's Gerard?" Mary asked when Chris returned to his seat a short time later, armed with hot dogs and drinks which he distributed evenly between himself, Mary and Evie.
"I don't know." He answered with the same innocence that he had imparted Mary's secret to Whitman while easing back into his chair to watch the progress of the game. "He said he had to go. Something about running some errands before the game was over." His expression betrayed nothing but the bemused smile Mary would not understand unless she knew what he had done.
Mary looked at him suspiciously, trying to discern why he was wearing that damn smile again but deciding, no sane person could ever figure out the inner workings of Chris Larabee's mind.
It was an unspoken rule, at least among men any way, there all was fair in love and war.
Chris Larabee had never had reason to put the adage into effect, at least not until he had met Mary Travis. From the day she had walked into his life, he knew that things would never be simple again and for the first time in too long, something grown cold and dead in his heart was revitalised by a single ember sparked by her breezy smile.
He had not known that he was falling love with her though, at least not until he was up to his neck in the emotion and was completely bewildered at how it could happen to him. Further more, to his astonishment, he found himself doing and saying things that was completely out of character for him. Chris had grown accustomed to being the brooding, sombre leader of Team 7, still mourning the loss of his wife and child. It was an easy persona to wear, at least for him anyway and it kept people from prying or trying to inundate him with sympathy since their fear kept them away. Secretly, he had grown so content with the grim mask he wore that he was not prepared for how easily Mary had decimated it.
And she had decimated it.
Around her, he did not feel sombre or dark. His mood lifted and he found himself enjoying their sparring matches, knowing without even understanding how it was possible he could be so sure, that she enjoyed it too. While her grief for her husband was not as intense as his, it was no less potent for her and when something was said to bring that pain to the surface, Chris felt an empathy for her that would surprise Mary if she knew about it. For the first time in his life, Chris Larabee found himself with the only other woman in the universe besides Sarah, that he understood.
So when a goddamn CPA named Gerard Whitman turned up out of nowhere, with his sensitive and downright drippy manners, setting his sights for the only woman Chris Larabee could ever think of being with again, the leader of Team 7 felt perfectly justifiable for what he had done. Once again, it came back to everything being fair in love and war, right?.
Apparently not.
As found himself behind his desk, staring at what the National Weather Bureau might designate Hurricane Really Pissed Off Mary, he wondered if using that argument to explain himself would get him out of trouble. After all, had that not been the way of things since the dawn of time? He could not be helped if he was slave to the ritual of competition between males for the female of the species since the time they were primates. However, judging by the look in her eyes as she slammed the door to his office behind her while he waited for the torture to begin, he decided that it would probably just make things worse.
Still, Chris being Chris, was not about to let the situation slip out of his control, no matter how furious she was and she was very angry.
"Mary... " He started to say.
"Don't Mary me!" She roared. "You... you... don't get to talk your way out of this." She sputtered in nothing less than outraged fury. The venom in her voice was enough to shut him right up immediately. "Of all the crap I have had to take in my life, this has got to be the most juvenile, stupid, puerile garbage that a grown man who should not be allowed to handle an ice cream scoop let alone a gun, has ever pulled on me!"
She ranted as she paced the floor in front of his desk, so livid with rage that the mention of his gun made Chris glance instinctively at weapon hanging behind him on the wall. Slowly, Chris began to inch towards the gun, rolling quietly along the carpeted floor when suddenly she leaned forward as she dropped in front of his desk on her palms and glared at him, her blue grey eyes were as black as her mood. "Don't even think of getting out of here." She growled and Chris stopped in his tracks.
"Look," Chris tried to regain control of things again. "I know you're mad... "
"Mad!" She looked at him wide eyed, unable to believe his estimation of the situation. "Mister, I'm not mad. Furious yes, murderous definitely, almost certainly homicidal but hell no, I ain't mad!" She glowered. "How could you even think to tell Gerard something like that! I mean I know you've got a sick sense of humour and you're somewhat desperate for a woman but teenage boys have a better way of coping with it than you do! Besides, don't you have a credit card? There are 900 numbers you know! Get off on your sick lesbian fantasies during your own time!"
"Hey!" Chris stood up only to be shoved back into his seat by Mary.
"I didn't say you could stand up!" She barked and gave him a glare that made the infamous one he was known for himself pale in comparison. "You will explain to Gerard that you were delusional and twisted and you made a mistake!"
"Like I hell I will." Chris found his voice at that point. There was no way in hell, he was going to be made to apologise to Gerard Whitman for anything. Making her out to be a lesbian to get rid of the competition, aside, he still had his pride.
"Like hell you will or I will never speak to you again!" She retaliated.
"And this is a threat how?" Chris returned sweetly. "You've be a pain in the ass since I was forced to put up with you! I'm sorry I made a little joke at your expense but you couldn't possibly be serious about that idiot could you? I mean he's known you long enough to not be stupid enough to take the word of a complete stranger that you drink from the fur cup!"
"The word of brain dead, scum sucking pig but yes, I suppose you could look at it that way." She retorted sharply, daring him to counter that opinion of him. "Besides, what business is it of yours if I took him seriously? Gerard is polite, he's sweet, he knows how to treat a woman."
"You mean he's whipped." Chris snorted with a sneer of utter derision.
Mary's jaw dropped open and her cheeks became redder if such a thing was possible. "Well you won't have to worry about being in that position now will you?" She said just as sweetly, giving a triumphant smirk as she made that statement..
"Don't flatter yourself." He snorted, turning away, not wishing her to see that he was at all bothered by that statement. He was not. Mary wanted him as much as Chris wanted her. He just wasn't in denial about it.
"I don't need to flatter myself," she said smugly and leaned closer towards him. "You haven't take your eyes off me since I got here! I've noticed all the pathetic attempts to get my attention, the least of which is this ridiculous story you've told Gerard!"
"Pathetic?" Chris growled, started to feel his own temper stoked into being and Mary had never seen it in full flower to beware of it. "Correct me I'm wrong Ms Travis but you didn't have to come with me the past week, if you weren't so hot be around me either, you could have gone off with anyone of my men. I don't particularly get off on being a nurse maid to you while you try to play big boy games."
"Why you sexist son of a bitch!" She cried out in anger, her mouth gasping in 'o' of outrage as he made that statement and struck him square in the jaw.
Chris felt back into his chair from the force of the blow. She stared back at him, the least bit unrepentant as Chris stood up, rubbing his chin. Leaning forward, he decided that he had enough of this. Narrowing his eyes, Chris exuded a smug expression of perfect calm before he said in a low voice. "That's what they all say... just before they beg me to take them home."
"You twisted... " She raised her hand to strike him again when he caught her wrist, wrapping his fist around her slender hand.
"Don't even think about it." He warned in a low hiss.
"I'm not afraid of you." Mary returned but the truth was she was because suddenly, the rules had changed and she felt the whole thing slipping out of control, her emotions moving from the safe place of being angry with him to the more uncharted waters of naked desire. Mary could see that he was just aware of the shift as she was although he seemed to be better prepared for it than she. However, Mary was not about to cry defeat yet.
"You look it." He replied, unwilling to give an inch because right now in this room, they were getting down to the heart of how they felt about each other, far from the insecurities and trivialities that made modern day relationship so damned hard. He was aware that he was backing her into a corner, forcing her to say it even though the heat of their chemistry saturated the air with its musk, until it became intoxicating and impossible for either of them to ignore.
"I am not afraid of you." She said firmly, challenging him to say otherwise.
Chris did not speak. Instead, he pushed his mouth against hers, crushing her soft, silken lips with his own. For someone caught by surprise, Mary seemed to respond, her lips parting for him as his tongue forced its way past her teeth, tasting her and moaning inwardly at just how perfect she felt. He felt his pulse quicken with arousal as he took in a deep breath of her scent and he reached for her shoulders to draw her closer when suddenly she wrenched herself free of him and slapped him hard across the face
"How dare you!" She hissed. Her cheeks flushed as she stared at him. For a moment, she seemed trapped in amber, stuck between that limbo between hesitation and a leap of faith. Her lips were red and swollen from the delivery of his searing kiss and Chris stared at her in shock at the sudden rejection after such an ardent response when he saw her breathing hard and fast, trying decide what she ought to do.
Suddenly, she leaned forward again and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, her own passion taking hold as her mouth started plundering his, her fingers raking through his blond hair while he wrapped his arms around her and nearly dragged her across the desk. Objects clattered to the floor but both of them were oblivious to everything except the raw aching need that had been stabbing at both since the first moment they had sighted each other. Chris felt himself throbbing as he kissed her, unable to believe just how incredible she tasted.
Mary felt her head swim, stunned that they had been reduced to this as she felt him suckle on her lower lip before moving to thrust his tongue into her mouth again and exploring the sweet recess like some wonderful new discovery. Mary felt herself swept away by the power of that kiss, feeling every perfect sensation down to her toes. She could feel his large hands gliding up and down her back, caressing the flesh with such agonising pleasure that she felt the ignition of white heat from her inner depths. The pleasure of him so eclipsing that she could nothing but let him continue because she could not imagine him stopping.
Chris could not get enough of her as his mouth slid down her neck, tasting sweet flesh in his descent, his hands moving from her back and cupping one of her breasts in his palms though the fabric of her clothes. When he squeezed gently, he felt her arch against him and he continued to lower her onto his desk, his other hand pulling at the t-shirt tucked in her jeans, ruthless in its desire to feel skin. Chris wanted her so badly he could feel his insides knotting from the sheer anticipation of taking her right here and now.
"Oh god Chris... " She groaned as he breached the soft material and snaked his hand against the smooth white skin of her stomach towards the breast he could not see but stiffened with need in anticipation of feeling under his palms. As his fingers grazed the erect tissue of her nipple, he felt her arched against him, pressing her supine body harder against his own. Chris almost came undone at the sound of her languid moan when he started rolling the tiny nub of charged flesh in between his finger tips bringing her closer and closer to surrender.
God, he was amazing, Mary managed to think as she felt him slid further down her neck while at the same time tugging at the t-shirt until it was over her head and discarded on the floor and she lay before him bare. His breath quickened as he paused a moment to look at the magnificence of alabaster skin and Mary felt her cheeks flush, suddenly shy as she recognised the hungry need inside those blue eyes as he remained poised over her. Trapped in the same pit of aching need, she quivered as she started pulling at the buttons of his shirt, eager to expose him as he had laid waste to her a moment ago. The buttons did not come undone fast enough and some of them popped she was sure, joining her t-shirt on the floor as before the shirt came apart and she was able to admire the incredible body he kept hidden under there.
Her palms explored the taut chest, caressed the tiny plateau of his nipples and elicited a pleasured sigh from him as they stood erect from the softness of her palms against them. Chris did not believe he could want any woman so badly when he grabbed her wrists and forced them to her sides before he set upon her, enclosing his mouth around one tight rosebud nipple and drawing it past his teeth as he started suckling in earnest.
"Chris... " she rolled his name off her tongue as her hands broke free and slid over the beautiful muscles of his back, delighting in the feel of firm flesh and found herself singularly lost in the perfection of him. She was barely aware of anything, except the insistent tugging on her nipple that was sending her deeper and deeper into a well of pure sensation, drowning her in the depths of emerging frenzy.
Jesus Christ. That was all that could register in Chris Larabee's mind as he nursed on her, savouring every incredible taste and growing so hard that he could barely stand it. He wanted her so bad, the need for it was beyond reason and when he bit down on that sensitive nipple and felt her nails rake into his back, he felt his own resolve to keep in control of the situation starting to evaporate...
"Mr Larabee, I am so sorr... " Ezra Standish's voice followed the bursting open of his office door when the ATF agent barged in without knocking and froze in his tracks at the scene before them. Mary let out a soft squeal and shoved Chris off her. The leader of the ATF was so startled by the unexpected arrival of his soon to be dismembered agent that he practically fell off his desk and toppled his chair over on his way to the carpeted floor.
In the meantime, Mary had recovered enough to grab her t-shirt, while trying to cover her nudity as she made for the door, with Ezra so stunned that for the first time since either Chris or Mary had known him, he was unable to speak. Mary was mortified as she slipped the white fabric over her head and restored herself to respectability, feeling as if she had broken out of a state of delirium and was still uncertain whether or not it was a good thing or not. She could not deny how close she had come to letting Chris take her in his office because no man had inspired that much desire or feeling in her since Steven had died..
"Mary!" Chris got to his feet and ran after her as he saw her bolting out of his office, his shirt open and flowing behind him. He caught the look of wide eyed fear in her eyes and realised that if he did not catch her, she may very well become lost to him forever. In the light of reason, perhaps the burst of passion had come too prematurely for someone who had not quite recovered from losing a husband, to begin a relationship so intense.
"Chris... " Mary stammered. "Please, I've got to go." She looked clearly distressed. "This was a mistake. I don't know if I'm ready for this yet."
"Mary, don't go away like this." He tried desperately to convince her. Chris reached for her and was mildly shocked when she recoiled from him like she had been scalded.
"No!" She cried out almost in tears. She felt awful about treating him this way but she did not know what else to do. It was too soon! It had only been two years! "I can't deal with this now!"
Chris did not know how to stop her and decided that he could not if she was unprepared to deal with the feelings he knew for certain that she had towards him. The words to stop her would not come from his throat and all Chris could do was watch helplessly as she ran out of the office into the hallway.
He watched her disappear, swearing under his breath and asking himself over and over again, why it was so easy to speak when he was in a life and death situation but not when it was something of a personal nature and this important? She was afraid and he could not blame her for that because he had more than a few years to become accustomed to being without Sarah and Adam while Mary was fresh to the pain even though it was two years since she had become a widow.
Chris was still ruminating on this when suddenly he heard slow, deliberate footsteps behind him and he was struck with a stray, malevolent thought; let the rendering begin.
"Mr Larabee," Ezra stuttered in apology, certain he was going to be killed horribly and cursing that the rest of Team 7 because there would be no witnesses to give Chris pause in his probable need to murder him. "I am so sorry, I had no idea... I mean I came in to apologise for Julia and then I did not hear any shouting... of course there could be no shouting because you two were... never mind that... I mean I just assumed you were recovering from a serious tongue lashing... well let me phrase that another way... "
"Ezra." Chris took a deep breath and let it out. "Before I kill you, do you think you could possibly shut the Hell up!"
"Was I not attempting to do that?" He looked at Chris bewildered.
"That's it," Chris muttered. "I'm going to get my gun... "
The office could tell when Chris Larabee had something on his mind.
He paced the floor of his office, emerged to get pencils out of stationery cupboards, refilled his coffee cup or on occasion go outside and swore at the vending machine for giving him a Mars bar when he had clearly asked for a Snickers. On this particular Friday morning, the mood in the office was tense because everyone was burning with curiosity to learn what had happened between Chris and Mary after their explosive confrontation the afternoon before. All of Team 7 had found an excuse not to come back after lunch because they were certain that their leader would be in a filthy mood after Mary Travis had torn strips of him for telling a close friend that she was a lesbian. Buck Wilmington suspected there was more to Chris' motivation than just a practical joke but Chris could be awfully closed mouth about these things.
Like today.
It was obvious something was wrong even if he refused to say it. However Buck did notice that Mary was absent because ever since she started covering her story with her at the beginning of the week, the woman had always arrived promptly at nine. After seeing her here all week, Buck thought the place did not look quite the same without the lovely blond occupying the desk provided for her use. Mary's presence in the office had made the Team 7 office not feel like such a boy's club and watching her with Chris had been the most entertainment he had since he forced Ezra to sit through the Porky's trilogy with him.
Speaking of the southerner, Buck stood up from his desk and went to see Chris. The rest of Team 7 saw him rise and looked on in admiration as he prepared to breach the lion's den. The others had been giving Chris a wide berth, aware that he did not like being disturbed when he was in this kind of mood and glanced at Buck with equal parts admiration as well as foolhardiness at venturing anywhere near their leader when he was like this. Buck let out a deep breath and closed the distance between himself and the front door of Chris' office. Tapping lightly on the surface, he was rewarded with nothing less than a growl.
"What?" A cold voice barked through the door.
"Need to talk to you." Buck replied and twisted the door knob, not waiting to see if he would be invited in as he pushed open the door and entered.
Chris was behind his desk, sitting in front of a table full of sharpened pencils, the rest of which was presently embedded into the soft porous material of his ceiling. Chris looked unrepentant and dared Buck to make comment. His expression was that of a child throwing a tantrum and Buck wondered what in the hell had happened to make his old friend so... grizzly. There was no other word that described him with better clarity.
"You look busy." Buck said with amusement.
"What do you want?" Chris asked, clearly unimpressed by the intrusion.
"Just had a call from Ezra," Buck replied, undaunted by Chris' demeanour even if he did not wish to provoke it any more than he had already by his presence here. "He's taking a sick day. He'll be in on Monday."
"Sick day my ass." Chris muttered, perfectly aware why Ezra was not present today and it had nothing to do with some imaginary illness. No doubt the southern wanted to stay well away from him after the embarrassment of walking in on him and Mary yesterday.
"Something wrong Chris?" Buck asked, deciding to throw caution to the winds by inquiring.
"No." Chris retorted and glanced at the clock once again. Buck noticed that he had been doing that ever since Buck had walked into the room, shifting his gaze every few seconds to the face of the digital clock that sat at the corner of his desk.
"You expecting someone?" Buck ventured to ask, since it was obvious that he was.
"No." He answered, somewhat defensively.
"Don't mind me saying so Chris but you're pretty antsy today." Buck pointed out.
"Thank you Buck," Chris replied sweetly. "I'm so glad you dropped by, now get lost."
"Want to talk about it?" Buck asked.
"No!" Chris retorted. "I don't want to talk about or discuss or analyse my feelings about it or do any goddamn thing but to be left alone! Now unless you want to be checking liquor licenses at gay bars for the next month, I suggest you get the hell out of my office!"
Buck rolled his eyes, not at all worried by the threat but deciding that if the man did not want to talk about it there was not much he could do about it. "Alright Chris, I know when I ain't wanted." His old friend shook his head in resignation. "By the way, I just wondered, is Mary coming in today?"
"I... don't... know." Chris answered slowly, each word smouldering off his lips as it escaped him and Buck realised that he had inadvertently stumbled upon the reason for Chris' bad mood.
Where saner men would have left it at that, Buck Wilmington decided to make one last ditch effort to talk to his friend, hoping what he had discovered in the last few seconds would be enough to enable Chris to reveal something about what was worrying him so much. "I'm sure she'll be here sooner or later. The little lady can be a little bit of a firecracker but she's a professional, she wouldn't just let what she's feeling get in the way of her job." Buck tried to sound reassuring.
Wanna bet? Chris thought silently to himself. "Buck," he cleared his throat. "I don't give a damn whether or not she's coming in today. She's been nothing but trouble since she walked through that door. The best thing she could for me right now is to stay the hell away from us so we can get on with our jobs!"
"What happened Chris?" Buck pressed on and this time his tone took on a quality that was devoid of humour or light hearted casualness. This was the voice Buck used when he was about to get knee deep in Chris' business, no matter what the consequences. It was the same stubbornness that had allowed Buck to pull Chris out of the mire of self pity that had been his life after Sarah and Adam had died.
Chris saw the sudden shift to and was powerless to do anything but let down his defences for the moment. "She ran from me." He said shrinking back into his chair. "We got past all the crap that's been going on the past week and finally got down to the truth. Damn I wanted her Buck, I haven't anyone like I wanted her since Sarah. Then Ezra walks in and she jack rabbited on me. It never occurred to me that what was happening between us was just as scary for her as it was for me." Chris laughed at the irony of it even thought there was no humour in his voice, just plain disappointment.
Buck took in Chris words and could well understand why Ezra had wisely chose to remain scarce today. He was lucky Chris had not shot him already but that was neither here nor there. At least now he understood why Mary was absent today. She was hiding as Chris was hiding his office, hoping she would come in because it would make it simpler than his having to go find Mary to confront her.
"Maybe you ought to try talking to her." Buck suggested.
"I would if she was here." Chris confessed. "But it looks like she's not going to show up today."
"And what are you going to do about it?" The ATF agent looked at his leader in expectation.
"Do?" Chris stared at him blankly. "There's nothing to do."
"Okay, sit here and stew then." Buck replied shortly and saw the frown deepening on Chris' face. "Chris, you can't expect this to be easy. You care about her, then you got to go explain yourself. Sitting here and biting everyone's head off ain't gonna change much is it? Besides, it sounds like she's about as screwed about this as you are."
Chris narrowed his eyes. "Thanks a lot."
Buck grinned and started to withdraw out of the room to leave Chris alone so that he could think further on this.
She was out of chocolate.
Over the course of the night since her abrupt departure from the ATF building after her exchange with Chris Larabee, Mary had been cutting a swathe through her refrigerator, devouring everything she could find within it because she always ate whenever she was confused or distressed. Thus she always ensured that her pantry and refrigerator was stocked with a copious amount of confectionary and sweets to prepare her for that moment when comfort food was needed. After what happened between her and Chris, she had felt that the situation called for the utilisation of those stored resources.
She knew that food was not enough to quell her nerves when she had cleaned out the tin of Ovaltine with a spoon.
Still clad in her pyjamas, Mary wandered around her house after leaving 37 messages on Julia's answering service, still waiting for her best friend to call while she thought of all the reasons why she should not go to the ATF building today and face him. She could not even bring herself to say his name because to do so would be to remember how incredible his lips had been against her when they were in his office. Mary had never believed she could desire any man as much as she wanted Chris at that moment. If not for Ezra walking in, she would have been borne away solely on impulse despite the consequences to her life.
What consequences?
Her inner voice wanted to know. Consequences! Mary told herself. She did not have the energy or the inclination to get involved with a man right now, especially that one. Chris only had to be the most arrogant member of the male species to ever crawl out of the primordial slime with the sole intent of driving every woman he met insane. There was a moment when Mary wondered if Sarah was not dead, just hiding. However, as soon as she thought that, she felt immediately remorseful because the effect of his wife's loss had marked his soul. It surface occasionally and usually during those moments when he thought no one was looking because all Mary wanted to do when she saw that pain in his steel coloured eyes was to hold him in her arms. Mary understood all too well what he was going through.
Why did he have to be an ATF agent! Someone who could get killed every time he walked out of his safe office into the field. Mary did not want to lose Chris the way she had lost Stephen. She could not imagine going through that hell again and it was that which propelled her out of the room, running like a frightened child when Ezra had inadvertently walked in on them.
Suddenly, the phone rang and Mary leapt out of the bed. She had been in the process of scraping the last fragments of Ovaltine from the bottom of its tin and had been watching 'the Young and the Restless' when she heard its shrill tone and quickly picked it up, hoping that it was Julia and not anyone else.
"Darling, you've been calling." Julia's smooth tones came over the phone.
"You damn right I've been calling, where the hell have you been all night?" Mary demanded as she nestled back comfortably into bed now that she finally had Julia on line.
"I had a few problems," Julia replied not wishing to elaborate. "Now what is the emergency?" Julia who had spent the night with Ezra who was at this moment was procuring them brunch after a night spent in carnal bliss, was aware of the emergency without Mary telling her the details.
"Its all your fault!" Mary gushed. "You had to tell me that stuff and then made me get mad at him! Do you have any idea how goddamn sexy that man is when he is being an utter pain in the ass!"
"Obviously not." Julia said innocently. "What happened?"
"I'll tell you what happened," she stammered. "He said... and then I said... and then he kissed me and it was good. God, it was one those kisses that you know make your toes curl... I need more chocolate. Anyway, he was kissing me and you wouldn't figure that the bastard could do it so well and then my t-shirt came off and his mouth... oh wow anyway Ezra walked in and caught us!"
"So I'm not clear on how this is all my fault again?" Julia inquired innocently.
"You!" Mary accused, aware that she sounded like a teenager on the phone but she could not help it. She had not felt this flustered and uncertain of herself in too long and each time, she tried to think of the words to explain herself, she became more tongue tied. "You started all this. Why did you have to tell me what he said to Gerard!"
"Because I wanted to make the asshole squirm and because it is so obvious he's in love with you for pulling such a juvenile prank." Julia answered, seeing no reason to hide anything. Mary needed to hear the truth even if her mind was racing incomprehensively with fear and doubt at present. Despite her frantic flurry of speech, Julia could tell over the phone that Mary was as in love with Chris Larabee as he was with her. She was just too afraid to admit it, while he had been too stubborn.
"He doesn't love me!" She said defiantly. "How could he love me? I mean we've been tearing each other apart since we've met. I'm surprise none of us have drawn blood!"
"Hey don't knock it," Julia replied. "At least you're not beating the crap out of him every time you see him. Now that's a weird relationship."
Mary felt silent for a moment. "Julia, I'm not ready."
Julia let out a sigh and responded in a gentler voice, devoid of amusement or sarcasm. "Yes you are Mary. It's been two years. I loved Stephen, he was a wonderful man and a good friend but he wouldn't want you to stagnate the way you have been. You've put your personal life on hold for the past two years by burying yourself in the work. You've neglected Billy and you've neglected yourself. Its time Mary, long past it when you have to accept that Stephen is gone and he is not coming back." She paused a moment and spoke her next words carefully. "Things change. Sometimes, in not the way we imagine it would but invariably life goes on and you have to accept what comes at you, no matter how strange it might be at first."
Mary had a feeling that Julia was not talking about her present situation with Chris but something deeper. Mary suddenly felt ashamed because she had been doing nothing but speaking about Chris every time she and Julia had conversed the past week. Obviously something was taking place in her best friend's life of which she had no idea. "He probably won't even speak to me after I ran out on him." She said after some reflection. "I was like a frightened kid and I then I didn't show up there today." Her voice trailed off. "I can't even imagine what he must be thinking."
"Well call him," Julia prompted firmly. "There's only one way to find out instead of moping around the place."
Mary pulled the covers over herself and decided that everything would be alright if she just did not have to leave her bed for the next month. Unfortunately, Julia was right, she had to be an adult about this. "God, why is this so hard?" She groaned with frustration.
"Because you make it that way darling," Julia returned sweetly.
"You're supposed to be my best friend," Mary grumbled, surfacing from under the quilt to respond to her friend's comment.
"I am and right now, I'm giving you the best advice that I can, call the man." The redhead said good naturedly, more than accustomed to handling Mary when she was in this sort of mood. Mary really hated that.
"Alright!" Mary whined, aware that she had not choice but was force to surrender to good advice, no matter how much she loathed to admit it. "I'll do it."
"You know its frightening to me that between the two of us, you're the one with the eight year old." Julia teased.
"Eight year olds are easier to deal with than Chris Larabee, you can smack them when they behave badly." Mary pouted.
"Well you still can," Julia's smile could be seen even though she was miles away from Mary. "Depending what you're into."
"You have no shame." She nearly laughed but managed to cling to her bad disposition a while longer. Besides, her mood was not going to improve when she was forced to call Chris a short time from now.
"This from the woman whose suave Latin lover was so wrecked after one night that he followed her around the entire of the week we were in Rio." Julia deadpanned.
"You are not helping." Mary retorted.
"And you are stalling," Julia said knowingly. "Now quit doing that and just call him."
Chris had not expected to hear from Mary.
When the clock struck 5.30 that evening, he had spent the entire day snapping at everyone that the rest of Team 7 had decided to call an early start to the weekend just to escape his mood. All day, he had tried to ignore Buck's words that he ought to go find her and talk this out but could not find it in himself to make that effort, since he was still vainly hoping she might still come into the office on her own. However, as the day progressed, it was obvious that Mary was not going to appear. Chris had all but given up hope when the phone to his office rang after everyone else was gone and he was remained, trying to decide what he should do about her.
"Chris," Mary's soft voice spoke in his ear.
"Mary." He said simply, holding his breath at the sound of her voice and wishing more than ever they could speak to each other face to face. "Are you alright?" He asked, hoping that she knew that the inquiry was more than just about her being absent today.
"I'm fine," she responded quietly in turn. "We need to talk." She said not mincing words.
"We do." He agreed and decided that he preferred getting to the point than more dancing around. "Tonight?" He suggested, not wishing to wait
"No," she answered quickly. "I have to be at Orin's for dinner. I'll meet you at the office tomorrow."
"The office?" Chris wondered why she had selected that place as the venue for this important discussion they needed to have in order to settle how they felt about each other.
"Yes," she answered coolly. "I prefer it that way."
"Alright then," he said just as equally indifferent. Chris he had no choice if he wanted to play her game because it was her rules.
"I'll see you then." She answered finally. "Good night."
Chris hung up the phone, not entirely sure that her coming to meet him here bode well for their relationship, or what there was of it. All he knew for certain was that for the first time in god only knew how long;
He actually had plans for Saturday night.
Chris did not give Mary chance to talk because if she talked, she was just going to think of a reason why they were impossible together. She had come here to tell him that they were all wrong for each other, that she was not ready. He knew better than she did how ready she was. When it had just been the two of them inside this office, with no Ezra barging in on them prematurely, Mary was willing to give herself to him.
There had been no doubt in her mind then.
Chris knew why she had wanted to meet him here. The ATF building was neutral ground, a place where she could feel safe and reasonable as she thought up her excuses for not wanting to be with him. In the last two days Chris had come to realise that he did not care for those reason because they were the same stupid ones he had given himself the minute he met her because he too, felt the same damn way. If he loved her, as if he even had a choice in the matter, it would be forever. There were not many instances in Chris' life where he was so clear about anything but he was certain how he felt about her. From the moment she had walked into his office, Chris knew exactly what Mary Travis could mean to his life if he allowed her passage into his heart. Perhaps, she did so as well, he could not say for certain but was knew without doubt that Mary did share his feelings.
She was just afraid and she thought too much.
Grabbing her by the waist, he pulled her to him because there had ever been only one moment where she had been truly sure of how she felt about him and Chris decided it was time she remembered. His mouth took hers savagely, giving her no quarter to resist as his tongue pushed ruthlessly past her teeth until she had no choice but to part her lips and allow him access. Once inside, he sought out her tongue and found that it was not as unwilling as the rest of her. He caught it in his lips and sucked languidly until the resistance he could feel in her body, melted away. Chris continued to ravage her lips so ardently that he could hear her sigh into his mouth.
"This changes nothing... " she whispered when he broke away and came up for air. "I don't... "
Before she could say another word, he buried his mouth on her neck, drawing her flesh into his mouth with such torturous pleasure that she could feel her spine melting away and her ability to hold herself up fading just as fast. She wanted to fight him, wanted to keep herself from responding because once she succumbed, she would be lost to him forever, completely and utterly. He had the power to destroy her if she allowed him the chance and yet as Mary felt Chris tugging at the singlet she was wearing, dancing with her feet as he led her towards the nearby desk, there was nothing she could do to prevent it.
And she was starting to wonder why she wanted to in the first place.
Chris understood that she was afraid and knew that as long she kept thinking about all the reasons why they could not be together, she could never truly admit how she felt. So, if that was what it was going to take, he was going to rob her of the chance to do any thinking at all. He pulled down the elastic material of her singlet, forcing it free of her shoulder as his lips devoured the skin of her neck. There was a point where it had stretched as far as it would go and Chris felt the material snap just as they came to a stop at the obstruction of his desk. She was trying to push away still but her attempts were getting weaker by the minute, especially when he slipped one leg between hers and raised his knee just enough to bury his thigh in the rising heat of her sex.
"Oh god, you bastard." She moaned, her head hung back in pleasure as her hands began to take on a will of its own. They were no longer trying to push him away and had instead squeezed into the narrow space between them to work on the buttons of his shirt. Closing her eyes and allowing herself become slave to his attentions, her fingers worked their magic without requiring any conscious thought. She parted the buttons easily until the shirt fell open and that magnificent torso was pressed up against her exposed breasts, thanks to the shreds of cloth around her feet that used to be her singlet. Feeling an ache that was pure lust crushing her insides with need for him, she allowed her palms to run up the length of his chest, savouring the feel of taut, firm muscle that quivered under her touch. She felt a shudder ripple through him even though he was tasting her neck while running his fingers through her glorious hair in order to her closer.
Mary let her hand glide across his chest, finding the small nubs on either side and immediately began rolling the heated points of erect flesh under her palms, the way she would tease another similarly sensitive area in a short time. Chris' reaction was evidenced by his sharp intake of breath before his head tilted back suddenly, leaving her neck and the red bruise he had created from the hunger of his lust. He closed his eyes, languishing in sensation when Mary dropped her hands and snaked down the velvet skin of his stomach, relishing the slight quiver of muscle the closer she reached his throbbing erection.
"You want play dirty," she whispered into his ear. "We can play real dirty Chris."
Her eyes met his with total lust and began a long, torturous journey of hot kisses down the centre of his chest. Licking him in such a way that he could see everything her tongue was doing, Chris' expression started to strain as Mary lowered herself further down his body, naked desire in her eyes as she laved the velvet skin of his clenched stomach. Her fingers slipped into the waistband of his jeans, skimming the edge as she noticed the hard ridge of cock protruding through the fabric, aching to reach her through the coarse denim. She rubbed her cheek against it and watched his eyes cloud over in utter helplessness. His jaw tightened and he grabbed the edge of his desk with both hands, transfixed by what she was doing.
"I can't play with it, if I can't see it." She whispered and watched him swallow thickly as he undid the buttons with trembling fingers and then pulled zipper. Secretly, Mary felt a gush of moisture between her legs knowing that what he was uncovering for her was going to take her beyond the dreams of ecstasy.
"You're a bad girl, Mrs Travis." He said hoarsely, trying to keep his cool even though it was being dismantled brick by arrogant brick. "I had no idea."
"Don't argue with it," she smiled as he freed himself of his jeans and his cock lay before her, weeping with anticipation. Mary smiled seeing how much he was trying to resist the urge to thrust it towards her lips when she took it by the base and licked the swollen head once, savouring the taste of him on her lips as his mind swam from that one action. She continued for a few minutes, flicking her tongue in gentle licks as if she testing new flavours at a local ice creamery before making a final selection.
"You're killing me... " he groaned as she licked and pulled back, repeating it so many times that he was to explode there and then if she did not take all of him into her mouth soon
She sucked one of his balls past her lips and watched his fists clench the edge of the desk once again. He had thrown his head back and was biting down so he would not let out the moan she knew was dying to escape his lips. Mary sucked harder knowing for certain that he liked the raw pleasure of a little pain.
Oh fuck.
That was the only coherent thing Chris could think of when he felt her mouth enclose once of his swollen balls, her tongue covering every inch of it until he did not what the hell was happening or care for that matter, as long as she did not stop. Her hands caressed the inside of his thigh, massaging the flesh until it was just as sensitive as his cock. Her fingers travelled up the curve of his rear, slipping into the crack until she found that place inside him that was sensitive to the touch and traced it with her finger.
"What are you doing?" He grunted as she began working her way inside him. This was new and different. Chris noticed that she seemed to be looking for something specific even though he could not fathom what that might be until Mary touched something inside of him that sent erotic waves of sensation the likes of which he had never known throughout his body. It coursed through him like electricity and awoke every sense in his body as he spasmed in response.
"Oh fuck!" He arched into her hand and trusted forward instinctively, only to have her capture his cock inside her mouth in one deep swallow. Chris had not idea what to do. She continued to caress that tender spot inside of him while her mouth was bobbing up and down his cock and overloading him sensation until his mind started to crumble from the sheer bliss. He could not control himself, not one damn bit, as his mind reeled in confusion whether or not to let her suck him or let her play with that secret pleasure spot.
The semen gushing down her throat was evidence that having at least one or two gay friends whom did not mind talking about their sex life was a good thing. She drank him readily, pleasuring him with her finger as she continued to massage that secret place inside. Her other hand caressed his balls, all the while continuing to go down on him like there was no tomorrow. She had wanted to see him beg. Mary had wanted to see him to surrender and pay for being such an arrogant, hard nosed son of a bitch that it had been almost as physical pleasurable for her to perform her little tricks on him as it probably was for him to experience it.
"Oh goddamnit Mary!" He groaned again and knew that he was so close to coming inside her mouth that he could barely articulate it in time to warn her. She was absolutely ruthless, pushing on that spot each time she brought her mouth down on his cock until he was so mindless from agonising pleasure that he did not know where he was. "Stop.." he pleaded raspily. "Stop! I can't... "
She pulled away then, not wanting him to become spent and knowing that he was very close to it. "I trust you enjoyed that." She smiled wickedly.
"Damn right I did," he said breathing hard before he pulled her up roughly by her arms and turned her around towards his desk. "Now you're just going to have to get some pay back."
Lifting her up onto the desk, he yanked off what was left of her clothes and when she was naked on top of its wooden surface, Chris decided that she was what every office desk needed. Mary smiled at him, enjoying her triumph over him while Chris pulled down the drawstring pants from around her waist and then her underwear. Giving her no time to prepare, he buried his face deep into the cleft between her legs and took a deep breath. In response, Mary grabbed his hair as the soles of her feet began caressing his back, telling herself defiantly that she was not going to submit the way she had made him crumble. When suddenly she felt his tongue find that little pearl of flesh she had hidden away and realise that going to make that very thing happen.
I'm not going to give in, she told herself stubbornly. I'm not going to go to pieces like he did!.
Chris who knew exactly what she was thinking thought secretly to himself.
Like hell you aren't.
He drew it into his mouth and laved its heated tip with his tongue. Chris was going to give her as good as she gave and sucked her erect centre past his teeth, nipping just lightly enough for it to become even more tender. He felt Mary arc against him in reaction but she was still fighting to remain in control and so he decided to intensify his attention. Chris began swirling his tongue around the charged flesh, circling it roughly until her thighs tensed and the hands in his hair started to pull his head deeper against her moist flesh. He could feel the sweat on her skin and looked up long enough to see her body bent back, her golden hair forming a cascade as her eyes remained closed and her lips quivered with pleasure. His hand circled her rear and pulled her closer as he changed tactic again.
"Bastard... " Mary groaned as she felt his tongue starting to dart into her inner passage, causing such a wave of erotic delight that she could only close her eyes and bite down to keep herself from screaming at him not to stop.
Chris was not about to do anything of the sort but he was going to hear her scream one way or another and continued fucking her with his tongue, until the taste of her juices filled his throat in a swell of pre-orgasmic promise. He thrust deeper and deeper into that cavern inside her, reminding himself that she would be this moist and hot when he finally took her. Just thinking that sent another surge of desire to his hungry cock.
God, he was going to enjoy this so much but first, he wanted to hear her. No matter how much resistance she was maintaining, Chris knew she was almost broken. He could feel it by the trembling flesh of her body in his hands and the taste in his mouth. Chris could feel the tension that was pressing against his tongue as he continue to penetrate her with long, languid strokes. It was like a roar building up in his ears, reaching climax with just a little more...
"Oh my God, Chris!!!!"
He smiled upon hearing that scream of utter defeat as her orgasm rushed forward to greet him. Chris lapped her up with contentment, almost as satisfied by that cry of surrender as he was by the pleasure he was afforded when he was lapped up her incredible taste.
She lay panting hard, her eyes glazed and almost uncomprehending as Mary descended from the heights he had taken her. Chris looked at Mary with a grin and then asked with a smug smile. "I trust you enjoyed that."
Mary let out a breathless sigh and declared. "Oh just shut up and get over here."
Chris needed no more incentive than that as he stood up and pulled her legs around his waist. He was so hard, he could barely think but he had so enjoyed pleasuring her. The last time they had become this heated in his office, Ezra had walked in. This time, if anyone interrupted them, Chris was just enough beyond caring to tell whoever it was to grab a seat and be quiet until they was finished. Looking into Mary's glazed eyes, he could tell she felt the same as he plunged deep into her recesses without further hesitation. Chris could not wait, not now. What she had done earlier was beyond his ability to describe. It was sheer stubbornness that had kept him from letting himself come inside her mouth because as incredible as that would had been and hell it had been pretty damn spectacular, Chris wanted to be inside her when he finally succumbed to his release.
"I love you know." He whispered as he pushed inside her, trying to be gentle even though the pull in his groin was not giving him much choice. God, she was so damn wet! He practically slid into her like she made of hot butter. Her heat enclosed him with waves upon waves of cascading pleasure, until he was forced to close his eyes and focus because it was impossibly easy to be overwhelmed by the incredible tightness of her, all slick and compressed around his tortured cock.
"I know," she smiled and drew him towards her as he started to pump.
Chris met her mouth in a hungry kiss as his hands braced himself on either side of her thighs on the desktop. Her legs tensed with each incredible stroke he was pounding inside her body. She tried to match the rhythm of the tongue darting in and out of his mouth as he continued to thrust deeper and deeper into her, until all he could do to centre himself was to keep time with that questing tongue. Chris could not feel her hands and wondered where they had gone when suddenly, he felt butterfly touches against his nipple before she began rolling the erect tips between her fingertips.
"Oh Jesus!" He moaned into her mouth and pumped even harder, ramming himself so far inside her that he could feel the hard ridge of muscle at the end. He felt her thighs tense around his waist and suddenly, realised she had clenched her inner muscles with such taut pressure that each time his cock slid into her, it was being crushed by beatific tension. Chris could not get enough of that wonderfully tight passage and started to feel a roar of indescribable ecstasy each time he was forced to breach that narrow expanse of hot, moist flesh. He had to keep pumping or go mad from being without. The heat of that strangulating pressure was burning a hole through his mind, flooding his nerves with so much enjoyment that he could feel it down to his toes.
"Mary... so tight," he started to moan hoarsely. "Christ, how are you doing that?" He whimpered pumping harder, feeling his cock become so hard that he did not think it was possible. The desk was starting to slide forward from the sheer force of his intense thrusts, until Mary herself was starting to become distracted by the incredible pounding rhythm of his cock inside her. She knew her resolve was starting to crumble when his cock generated a white heat inside her passage that was going to bring about another incredible orgasm. Mary could feel it building in her loins, until every nerve was holding its breath in anticipation of the moment.
"I never said the game was over Chris," she teased as she continued to play with his nipples, until all Chris was able to do was close his eyes and continue to gasp loudly. Sweat was covering that beautiful body of his as his muscles prepared itself for erupting passion.
She continued to clench her insides for him, squeezing his cock mercilessly, taunting his member into reaction as more and more sensation poured into his body until he was one tightly wound muscle, waiting for release. Chris could feel the sweat running down his back as he continued to pump when suddenly, he felt her muscles relax as another shattering orgasm swept through her. Her fingers dug into his chest, giving him a little pain that only added to the excitement he already felt. It washed over his cock like warm honey, warm butter and ever perfectly sweet and deliciously heated thing he could imagine before he opened his mouth to groan only to have Mary push her tongue into his mouth again before crying out her climax.
"Chris! Oh my god, Chris!"
He could not stand it any more. Hearing that scream in his ear sapped the last of his endurance and his stamina shattered at the contraction of muscles around his cock when that final expression of exhausted pleasure, splintered whatever sense there was in his world as he came crashing down from a great height.
Jupiter actually.
"Mary!" He let out a guttural groan as he pumped his seed into her with powerfully hard strokes, forcing every drop of himself into her deepest crevices, feeling his soul escape as well as his passion. His mind swam and everything around him seemed to spin as his body shuddered in the wake of its powerful release. His hands dug into her back as she covered his neck with kisses on his journey down, her fingers raking through his hair as he continued to gasp and shudder, forcing more and more of himself into her until nothing left. When he was done, Chris let himself melt into her arms.
For a long while he did not know what to do except remain in her grasp. She was kissing the slick skin of his neck, her hands still caressing but not with seduction. It was gentle as if she was trying sooth the savage beast after his incredible exertions.
"So what were you going to say?" He found his voice after a moment.
He heard her giggle softly as she held her head in the join of her neck, stroking his hair. "I don't remember." She let out a breathless chuckle.
"All I seemed to remember was that you said you loved me." Chris teased, enjoying how she was holding him and felt a momentary stab of pain when realised that Sarah held him the same way after they had made love. He brushed the thought aside, thinking that this was her blessing somehow, that in some inexplicable way, she had sent Mary to him.
"Typical," Mary retorted. "That would be what you remember."
"My memory is hundred percent," he insisted.
"I'm sure it is." She pulled away long enough to look into his eyes. "Chris," she took a deep breath. "Where do we go from here?"
Chris thought a moment, knowing what an important question this was, not only to her but to their entire relationship from this instant on. What he said now, would define them forever.
"Your place, its closer." He said with a grin.
Mary stared at him and then flashed him a radiant smile. "No, your place."
"My place?" He asked. "Why my place?"
"Because, neighbours won't hear you scream out on a ranch." She cocked a brow as a perfectly evil smile stole across her face,
Chris's eyes widened at the prospect of what she had planned for him before responding. "I'll drive."
"Buck, this is not a good idea." Vin Tanner commented when he and Buck Wilmington started walking up the path that led to the front door of Chris Larabee's ranch home. The leader of Team 7 had not been in a good mood since Friday and Vin was not entirely convinced that he would be any better today. In fact, having himself and Buck turn up unexpectedly might even make the situation worse even though there was no convincing Buck of this important fact. Unfortunately, Vin had to admit that he did feel some concern for Chris safety since neither he nor Buck had been able to contact Chris for the last day and led him to believe that perhaps Buck's insistence had some merit behind it. Men in their line of business had enemies who were not above tracking them to their homes and it was very unlike Chris to stay out of touch with his comrades, no matter how filthy a mood he was in.
"Look, the RAM is here," Buck groaned in exasperation wondering how someone as seasoned as Vin could be so filled with questions. Hell, it was like riding around with JD. At least then Buck expected this sort of behavior from the youngest member of the team, not Vin who was the unofficial second in command. Ever since Buck had picked Vin up at Alex's apartment, he had been forced to listen to this litany of rhetorical questions as Vin debated the logic in coming out here. "So there's no reason why he should not be answering his phone."
"He could be with the horses." Vin grumbled, "this is a ranch you know." Although Vin was not at all happy to be dragged out of the warm bed he and Alex were sharing in order to make this trip with Buck, there were any more than a dozen reasons why Chris might be laying low. At the time, he had allowed Buck's reasoning that something was wrong to sway him into giving this enterprise more concern than he should have. However, the longer Vin had opportunity to think carefully about the situation, the more he became convinced that perhaps Chris just wanted some time alone. After what had happened with Mary on Thursday and the state of the man's disposition on Friday, it was not as if he wasn't entitled to some privacy. Especially if his mood was caused by a woman that almost every member of Team 7 had guessed by now, meant a great deal to him.
Buck gave Vin a look and finally remarked. "Don't be such a baby. What's he gonna to do us if we're wrong?"
"Kill us both and bury any evidence of the crime." Vin deadpanned and garnered another exasperated look from his older companion who shook his head in resignation.
"You know if I had any idea you were gonna be so skittish, I'd got a Josiah to come with me." Buck grumbled, facing the oncoming door.
"You did try to get Josiah to go with you," Vin said smugly. "But Josiah ain't as dumb as I am to let you talk him into coming with you on this snipe hunt."
"That's true," Buck grinned mischievously. "Never mind junior. If it comes to death, I'll let it happen to me first." He slapped Vin on the back.
Vin's eyes narrowed and responded just as sweetly. "You got that right."
The opportunity for further conversation was cut short when Buck and Vin reached Chris' front porch and the big man knocked lightly on the door. There was no reason to go barging into the place yet. The RAM parked outside indicated that the leader of Team 7 was home and it was still early morning so it was quite conceivable that Chris was still in bed. A fact that did not impress Vin at all because Chris went woken up prematurely was like a grizzly bear compared to just your everyday garden variety bear.
When there was no response, Buck knocked again. "Maybe we ought to break in." He looked at Vin, waiting for the younger man's agreement.
"No we are not going to break in." Vin declared deciding to put his foot down. It was one thing coming out here but breaking down Chris Larabee's door, especially when they had no idea what was going on, if anything was so far out of the realm of possibility that Vin would not even consider it. "Chris could be sleeping! He could be out! In fact there could be a whole number of reasons why he ain't answering his door. Too many for me to let you go busting in and have him kill us both when he comes back and finds the mess."
"I'm likely to kill you anyway." Chris Larabee growled when he pulled open his front door open abruptly and found his two best friends bickering at each other so loudly that it could have raised the dead. "What the hell are you two doing here?" He demanded, not at all impressed by this Sunday morning intrusion.
"Why aren't you answering your phone?" Buck returned, hardly registering the annoyance in Chris' voice since he was grateful to see Chris in one piece. However, that relief was soon supplanted by his desire to know where the hell the man had been during the pas4 24 hours. "I've been calling you all night!."
"I know," Chris nodded, having heard the forty two message on his machine and decided that unless Al Capone had been raised from the dead and was currently running lose across his town with illegal weapons, there was nothing that would justify his interrupting his evening with Mary. "That's why I have a machine, for nitwits like you to leave a goddamn message!"
"Where were you?" Buck persisted not about to let him get away with answering the question despite the insult. "We were worried. I mean you don' t normally disappear off the face of the earth for like a whole day. What if there was an emergency?"
Chris gave Vin a look to see if Buck was serious.
"He was worried," Vin pointed to Buck with a smug look. "I'm just here for moral support and to keep your door safe."
"Morale support?" Buck looked at Vin incredulously. "You haven't stopped bitching since we got in the car!"
"It is too early in the morning for this crap." Chris grumbled, starting to get a headache from listening to the rendition of Abbot and Costello that was being performed in his front porch. "Look, I'm fine. I had... " he paused a moment as he searched for the right word to aptly describe what he had been doing since yesterday evening and supposed that having mind numbingly spectacular sex was not going to do. "Things to do."
"Like what?" Buck stared at him with curiosity.
"What are you my mother?" Chris retorted defensively. He remained at the door, unprepared to let either man in although that would only provoke their suspicion further and Chris wanted to keep his relationship with Mary his own private business for the moment.
"What's the matter?" Vin suddenly asked, noticing the way Chris had positioned himself and was trying not to let them enter the house. Suddenly the prospect that there was danger filtered into the younger agent's mind. Chris was very determined to keep them out of the place and a anxious thought suddenly emerged before Vin had a chance to consider it deeper. "Is there someone in the house?"
"No there isn't someone in the house!" Chris growled exasperated wondering whether killing them was really such a bad idea. After all, they were miles from anywhere and no one would hear the shots. What did a man have to do get some privacy! "I had a rough night okay and I want to go back to bed. Now I promise you I'm fine. I'll probably take tomorrow off too, depending on how I feel."
Vin could not argue with that much at least. Chris did seem exhausted. His eyes were bloodshot which seemed to indicate a late night, if he had got any sleep at all which at this time, Vin could not say for certain that he had. The lines on his face and the circles under his eyes seemed to indicate that whatever activity Chris had engaged in yesterday, its had certainly left its effects on the older man.
"Okay," the sharpshooter admitted reluctantly. "Come on Buck, let's go."
"Let's go?" Buck retorted, unprepared to leave because it still felt as if Chris had something hidden underneath his hat that he was not letting them in on. Buck could tell when someone was being evasive and even though Chris was harder to read than most, Buck could always see through that veneer of indifference the man wore like a second. However, he could not deny that Chris did indeed look exhausted and what he had been doing to reach this state of weariness concerned Buck. Was he on the trail of a case that he had not mentioned to the others? With his recent troubles with Mary Travis, Buck knew that it was just like Chris to bury himself in work to forget.
It was at this point, a decidedly feminine voice sang out from the top of the stairs, emerging from the bedroom and sailing through Chris' living room before escaping into the day outside through the open door. From the doorway, both Vin and Buck managed to crane their neck far enough to see Mary Travis emerging from the direction of the bedroom, wearing the same shirt she had ripped off Chris' shoulders in his office the night before. Of course, they were not privy to that fact, aware only that an extremely gorgeous blond with dynamite legs was sauntering along the upstairs hallway towards the stairs.
"Hey Chris, I'm starving. What have you got in your fridge?" Mary Travis asked oblivious to what her appearance had done to Chris' credibility.
Both men stared at Chris.
"Uh Mary," Chris gave them a dark look that told them without his needing to say a word that any response would not be well received at this time. He glanced sheepishly in her direction and remarked. "We've got company."
While the three men before her were wrestling with what appeared to be a supremely embarrassing situation, Mary felt none of it. Her only reaction to Buck and Vin's presence was to do up the top button of the shirt as she proceeded down the stairs. Running her fingers through her blond hair, she drew a collective sigh from the trio as she shook the strands of gold out of her face.
"Hi Buck. Hi Vin," Mary greeted as she padded over to them, with all three men unanimous in their opinion that she looked spectacular wearing nothing but that shirt with her long blond hair looking tousled and wild. Upon reaching Chris, she leaned over and greeted him more personally with a deep kiss that Chris returned even though he was turning red as a beet.
"Good morning." She smiled as she parted from his lips. "I'm getting some coffee. Want some?" She asked.
"Sure," Chris nodded mutely as she pulled away and started back towards the kitchen. He could not help admire the view for a few seconds as she drew away from him.
"What about you two?" Mary threw the question at Buck and Vin with complete innocence on her face that her appearance here was just another every day event, nothing to bat an eye over. "Do you want some coffee?"
"No they don't," Chris said hastily and glared at them. "In fact, they were just leaving. Weren't you just leaving, agents?"
"Actually," Buck was wearing a grin that begged desperately to be wiped off his face with a knuckled fist as far as Chris was concerned. "I could go for some coffee?"
Vin who did not possess a monumental death wish, declined.
"No you can't," Chris retorted. "You can't because you need to get going so that you can be ready for your new assignment."
"My new assignment?" Buck looked at him.
"Yeah you know," Chris said with a truly menacing expression. "The one where you are going to go undercover as a transvestite checking liquor licenses in gay bars for the next millenium unless you get going now!" The man hissed loudly with a glint in his eyes that indicated he was not joking. Buck knew that look well enough to know he was not either.
Buck swallowed visibly, the grin dissolving as baser instincts to guard his virtue in such establishment kicked in. "Point taken. Thanks Mary, we'll be going now." He glanced back at Chris in a gesture of surrender.
"Your loss." Mary answered. "Chris I'll have your cup waiting for you upstairs," she said with a little wink before disappearing into the hallway that led to the kitchen.
Once she was gone, Chris turned back to them and said very firmly. "Not a word."
"Not a one." Vin replied although the sharpshooter was practically gnawing the inside of his cheek to keep himself from bursting into loud guffaws.
"So I take it, you and Mary talked." Buck found himself asking, unable to resist milking the moment for as long as he could. Aw to hell with it, how bad could panty hose be?
Chris cleared his throat. "Something like that."
"Must have been a long conversation." Buck asked again, that smug grin tugging at the corner of his lips, refusing to be denied its moment. "All nighter?"
Chris stiffened and glared at them, aware that hiding anything was going to be impossible now. Especially when Buck's last remark had split the sides of Vin's control and the leader of Team 7 could see the muscles clenching in Vin's jaw as he fought to surpress the snigger that was forcing past his lips. "I am glad that you two are finding this so funny. It's none of your business what I do with my private life."
"Hell pard, we're just glad you got a private life." Vin decided he could not keep silent for much longer either. Not after watching the fiery foreplay that had gone on all week. Suddenly, he had an idea why the rest of Team 7 found his courtship with Alex so amusing. If it was anything like what Chris and Mary had been doing all week, it was no wonder they were keeping an eye with such close interest. It was better than TV.
"Although," Vin found himself unable to add. "I have to admit I just had to shoot Ezra in the ass, I never thought about dumping Alex in the sewer, or in a canal, or taking her to a strip joint or telling people she was a lesbian."
With that, whatever restraint the duo had left was snapped and both men started laughing their asses off.
Chris swore before slamming his door in their faces, all the while having this oddest feeling that if he thought the last week had been bad, they were nothing compared to what the rest of Team 7 would put him through during the next seven days.
The End