Mercenaries of Wresllo (AU,M/L,ADULT) COMPLETE - 3/11/11

[Shadowlynxbehr]

Warning: sexual scene between Tess and Kyle occurs in this part

Part 11

The day dawned bright and sunny for the group who stood in the clearing that had been chosen for their latest stop to continue practicing their skills. Ever since they had discovered Isabel’s ability to manipulate water which Liz claimed made sense because Isabel had the healing ability, Max decided she needed to learn how to develop her powers in a controlled environment.

When the others inquired as to why it made sense to Liz, she had gone on to explain. “Even among my people water is sacred and symbolizes a sort of renewal. It flows through all life forms where it both sustains and gives life to. Just like Isabel’s healing skills, water also heals and refreshes. Water also appears in certain life events such as in the creation of new life and through the tears we shed. Of course, that’s just a few things her healing ability has in common with water.”

So with that brief explanation, they had found an area with a small lake nearby to practice. While Michael, Maria, Kyle and Tess practiced more fighting techniques as a group, Isabel was helped by Liz and sparred with Alex’s fire magic while Max looked on. At first Liz just tried to make sure Isabel figured out how she controlled the water and made it do whatever she wanted it to.

Once Isabel had managed not only to make the water in the lake ripple and build to massive waves, she had moved to actually making shapes with the water as if it were clay to mold. Then when Isabel felt ready to move on, Alex started little fires which Isabel had to put out. They built up the mock battles until Isabel got to the point where she was using walls of water to block things and created long tendrils of water to attack with.

Liz was amazed at how easy it was for Isabel to learn how to use her powers and the ease with which she came up with ways to defend and attack. In no time at all Isabel seemed to have her water magic powers perfected. However, Liz wondered if Isabel could use her powers even without a body of water nearby, so she suggested to Max that the four of them move to another area far away from the lake.

Once they were away, Liz informed Isabel that she was to use her powers to try to draw moisture from around her, but not from the lake. At first Isabel was confused about how to do that but then realized that Tess, Alex and Liz all seemed to call their magic up from literally nothing. She knew each of them had ways of asking their magic source to help them with whatever it was that they were trying to accomplish.

With that in mind, she set out to try something similar. At first she simply stood still and closed her eyes, reaching out with her senses. She knew after working with the water in the lake and from her experience with the moat water that there was a certain feel to any source of water. It took a little while, but eventually she sensed the cold wetness seeping from the ground. There was also some in the air around her, but mostly it was in the ground.

Since it was a bright, sunny day she knew her best bet was to call the moisture from the ground and not the mostly dry air. So she pushed her senses towards the ground and silently asked the moisture to respond to her call. Soon she could literally feel the cold wetness rising from deep underground as it traveled towards the surface.

Max and Alex watched in amazement as water seemed to seep from dry ground at first until Isabel was lifting her arms and seemingly commanding the expanding water to form into waves and leap through the air. Liz on the other hand knew Isabel was smart enough to get the gist of it and simply looked on proudly. However, this summoning of water from almost nothing was much harder than working with a plentiful source so it didn’t take long before Isabel began to tire.

Liz simply went over a few exercises with Isabel at that point before they stopped for lunch. The exercises she taught Isabel were for her to do whenever she had some down time. They would help her strengthen her summoning abilities and build up her stamina and clarity of the mind. Isabel knew that these exercises would come in handy to keep her from easily tiring when using her water magic.

With her new exercises learned, Isabel joined the rest of the group around the campfire for some lunch where they all seemed to have something new to talk about. She had her new powers, Tess had learned hand to hand combat from Maria and Michael and Alex and Kyle simply were amazed at the diversity of the group as a whole. Even Liz commented on both Alex and Isabel’s growing magic abilities as well as Tess’ new physical abilities.

Only Max remained silent for the most part. He listened to the others talking leisurely about their morning activities while he ate his lunch. When the majority of them seemed done eating, he decided to speak up about the afternoon activities.

He got up to dispose of his leftovers, thus capturing their attention. “Well I guess we should discuss how we are going to divide up for the next practices. Maria, I think you should show Isabel…”

“Wait a minute Max,” interjected Maria. “I think we all know enough for now. Michael and I want to take advantage of this nice day to relax together for a bit.”

“She’s right Max,” added Michael. “We can practice more later. It’s not like we’re that helpless anyway and I think we deserve some time off.”

Max frowned at Michael, who was normally the hardest working one next to him.

“That’s not a bad idea actually,” said Isabel. “I’d like to go for a stroll through the woods and maybe look for some herbs since my supply is running a little low. Liz, want to join me?”

“Sure,” piped up Liz, “Tess, you should come with us!”

Tess smiled at Liz, “No thanks. I think I’ll just hang out here for a bit.”

She looked at Kyle out of the corner of her eye and was glad when he leaned over to ask her, “We could go sit by the lake for a while. If you’d like?”

“I’d like that,” she replied as Michael and Maria cleaned up after themselves then headed off hand in hand.

“Now wait a minute,” started Max.

Liz got to her feet and sighed. “Give it up Max. Everyone’s been working hard lately. We all deserve a few hours to just relax, even you.”

As Tess and Kyle made their way towards the lake, Isabel and Liz got ready for their stroll through the woods. Just before they left, Alex approached the two of them.

“Ladies, I hope you don’t mind me asking but would you allow me to accompany the two of you during the stroll? I’d like to learn a bit about herbs and I know the two of you could help me the best.”

Liz looked to see if Isabel was okay with it. When she nodded, Liz gave Alex a smile. “We’d love to have you come Alex, just make sure you’re comfortable to do a lot of walking as well as some work in the ground. This may get a little dirty under the nails, you know.”

“Not a problem. Thank you ladies.”

Alex went to quickly prepare himself before joining Isabel and Liz for the walk to the woods. As he passed a stoic Max, Alex stopped to ask him, “Care to join us Max?”

Max looked up from where he’d been banking the fire. “No thanks. I’m just going to finish setting up camp for the night and keep watch over our belongings. The horses also need tending to.”

Alex shrugged before moving away. “Suit yourself. See you later Max.”

He reached Liz and Isabel just as they were nearing the edge of the lake which they had to walk by to get to the woods. Kyle and Tess were walking hand in hand towards a small grove of trees on the opposite side of the lake and it was obvious that the two of them were as absorbed in each other almost like Michael and Maria tended to be. As Alex started asking Isabel about her potion mixing skills, Liz looked towards the couple heading to the grove on the other side of the lake.

Her wistful gaze followed the happy couple as they smiled at each other’s conversation. Their body language said they were becoming very comfortable with each other in much the same way as Michael and Maria’s did. However, the latter couple’s body language suggested much more intimacy than this former couple did. Still, she knew it was just a matter of time before Tess and Kyle exhibited the closeness of Michael and Maria.

It was a closeness she couldn’t help but envy if she really stopped to think about it.

************************************************************************

Michael and Maria had walked into the woods far ahead of Liz and the others. Eventually the two of them had found a shaded area where dappled sunlight filtered through the trees. They sat together for a while simply talking and relaxing on the blanket Michael had brought along. Soon, one thing led to another and the two of them enjoyed a little leisurely tryst there in the woods.

While that couple spent the next few hours enjoying each others company, Max remained at camp attending to setting up camp for the night. At first he simply tended to his and Liz’s belongings but before long he grew bored and began tending to the entire camp. He was still trying to figure out why Liz wasn’t talking to him as much as she used to because he noticed she now spent a lot more time with Isabel now. She even seemed to talk to everyone else a lot more than to him and he had even started to notice that her smiles came easier with everyone else except him.

However, the thing that had disturbed him the most was when she began to ride on the back of Isabel’s horse with her while leaving him on his own horse alone. She gave him the excuse that she had a lot to discuss with Isabel about powers and potions and such, but that had been days ago. Ever since then he had been trying to figure out why she seemed to be giving him the cold shoulder even though he went out of his way to be nice to her.

As he continued to muse over Liz’s behavior and ignorance of him, he finished setting up camp before taking the horses to have a drink at the lake. He tethered them nearby then unburdened them and brushed them down before allowing them to graze on their own. Then he went about gathering more wood and restarted a fire for the group’s evening meal.

Liz listened to Isabel and Alex as they continued to discuss ideas about making various potions. She smiled as she saw how animated the two of them had become as their conversation continued. She was glad the two of them had that in common and that Isabel seemed extremely receptive of Alex’s friendship. She knew that Alex had more than a passing interest in Isabel, but kept that knowledge to herself and allowed Alex to work on his own. However, if she felt he needed assistance, she would be more than happy to give it to him. Luckily he seemed to be doing just fine on his own.

The three of them continued to gather herbs and other ingredients they found within the woods as they chatted among themselves. As the light began to fade they began making their way out of the woods and back to camp. Just as they walked out of the woods, a very content and happy Michael and Maria joined them and all five of them crossed the clearing to the camp where Max was beginning to prepare a meal for the evening.

**********************************************************************

As Kyle held Tess’ hand during their walk around the lake towards a small grove of trees, he couldn’t help the thrill he felt that she had joined him rather than go with the others. After the talk the two of them had a couple of nights before, they had seemed to grow closer. After that they had seemed to talk about anything and everything when they were together.

It was incredibly easy to talk to each other, thus learning each others quirks, since they both shared the same horse. For that, Kyle was grateful since it meant they were together more often than not. The plus was that he realized that Tess actually wanted to spend more time with him rather than with anyone else.

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and saw the contented smile she wore. When she turned to look at him, he graced her with a smile of his own and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. Not that she was weak, but she did deserve to be treated like a lady. Even he had manners when he wanted to use them and Tess was one of the few who deserved it.

Granted, he did have a hefty dose of respect for any woman who could hold her liquor and drink him under the table, but part of his respect for her was the way she seemed to be able to pick herself up and keep on going. Nothing seemed to hold her down and judging from the little she had told him about herself, he knew she had been through more hardship than he could even imagine.

They made it to the grove of trees and continued to walk among them until they found the perfect spot to sit down in. Once they had made themselves comfortable, they had continued their light hearted conversation. Before long, they had quieted down for a bit and Kyle decided to see if Tess would talk about a more serious topic.

“Tess?” he asked as she leaned in closer to his side, allowing his arm to drape completely over her shoulders.

“Hm?” she replied.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure. What is it?”

He hesitated a moment before softly saying, “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

Tess tilted her head back and gave him a puzzled look. “What is it Kyle?”

He sighed as he decided to just come out with it. “Why don’t you talk about your childhood much?”

She blinked as she seemed to think about it before she finally gave a little shrug. “I guess I never really thought about it. There’s not much to tell really.”

Kyle just sat there looking into her eyes and Tess could tell he was trying to figure out what she was hiding. She knew she had to set him straight.

“Kyle, there’s nothing bad. I mean my life wasn’t exactly an easy one, but it wasn’t bad either.”

When he frowned, she reached out and tapped his cheek. “It’s the truth Kyle. My parents died when I was a baby so I never knew them. I was raised in an orphanage that could barely keep everyone fed or clothed but somehow they did. Then when I was old enough to fend for myself, they let me go and I did what I could with what I had to make a life for myself.”

Kyle quirked an eyebrow. “I thought you grew up with Isabel.”

“I did.”

“How did you know about your powers if you grew up in an orphanage.”

Tess gave him a small smile while the look on her face said she was remembering the past. “Izzy was an orphan just like me. We both seemed to gravitate towards each other but we didn’t know why. It was around that time that Isabel also seemed to make everyone around her feel better with just a touch.

Of course no one knew that she had powers, not even the two of us saw them as magic. We just thought maybe she was the kind of person everyone just wanted to be friends with.

Then one day, I think I was about twelve, Izzy and I were playing outside away from everyone else. This dog came running towards us and tried to snap at Izzy so she threw our ball at it. When it tore our ball to shreds then came after us again, I got scared that it would hurt us so I remember thinking ‘go away’ and that’s just what it did. It just stopped growling and snapping, looked right at me in confusion, then turned and ran away from us.

When Isabel asked what that was all about, I told her what I had been thinking so she asked me to try it on her. I gave her a few mental commands and that’s when we both realized that I had mental powers, but we both swore to keep it between the two of us. Then Isabel was adopted the following year but she did what she could to find out stuff for me about magic. So by the time I was free to leave the orphanage, I had an idea of what I could do and what I hadn’t tried yet such as weather magic.

Izzy helped me find a place to live and I began to hone my powers on my own. By the time I was doing okay for myself, Isabel was taken to another village by her stepfather and I was alone until she showed up at my door a few years later. Then it was my turn to help her out after all she had done for me. After that she returned to her father’s village but we kept in touch.”

When she finished Kyle just looked at her in amazement. Here was a woman who had grown up an orphan with no one to turn to except another orphan her own age. He knew her life could have turned out much worse if Isabel hadn’t turned out to be such a great friend to her. If not for Isabel, someone might have found out about Tess’ powers and used them for evil. Either that or Tess would have been killed if anyone thought she was evil herself.

Despite having Isabel in her life, Kyle knew Tess’ life wasn’t that easy. He knew what orphanages were often like. With kids stuffed into every space available and never enough food to feed them with. In fact, he was certain that what they ate couldn’t even be called food plus the living conditions were often unsanitary and uncomfortable.

Yet the woman who sat next to him gave no indication that she had led a hard life. She seemed healthy and whole despite her upbringing. The only thing that might give away the fact that she had a hard life was the way she carried herself when dealing with obstacles and the way she fought. Tess was stronger than what a woman raised in a home where the man was the protector of the family would be. She was stubborn at times, could think on her feet and could celebrate like the hardiest of men.

He smiled at the image of her on the nights the two of them got into drinking contests and the like. No guy, big or small, ever seemed to stand a chance against the petite Tess, not even him. But that was what he liked the most about her, the fact that she could put him flat on his back if he wasn’t careful.

Tess returned his smile. “What are you thinking?”

His smile grew wider. “I’m thinking that I’ve got to be the only man alive who thinks a woman’s attractive if she can easily put a guy on his back.”

She smirked at him. “Oh yeah?”

He chuckled. “Yep.”

The next thing Kyle knew was that he was flat on his back with Tess straddling his hips as she leaned down over him still smirking.

“How’s that for attractive?”

Kyle lay there with a stunned look on his face. He’d barely felt her pushing him to the ground and pouncing on him which attested to her air magic. She was quick as the wind and just as silent.

However with her face hovering just about his own and the feel of her thighs resting on his hips, his thoughts turned to something much more heated. He looked up into her ice blue eyes that were twinkling with merriment and lifted a hand to brush his fingers over her soft cheek. Her amusement turned to seriousness as his thumb trailed over her lips.

He watched as her eyes darkened as she searched his eyes with her own. “Kyle I…”

She stopped whatever she was going to say and suddenly leaned into him, covering his lips with her own. It didn’t take long before the kiss deepened and her tongue was in his mouth dueling with his. Moments later, her lips had trailed down his neck as her hands made quick work of his shirt.

He gripped her wrists for a moment, effectively stopping her. When she gave him a quizzical look, he gave her his puppy dog eyes and stated, “Go easy on me, huh? It’s my first time.”

Tess looked stunned for just a moment before she started laughing. “No it isn’t axe man!”

He growled as he flipped them over so that she was beneath him. “You’re right, it’s not.”

Then he went back to kissing her as she went back to removing his shirt. While neither one of them was new at it, this would be the first time they did it with each other but they both knew that after this neither one of them was going to want to find their way into anyone else’s bed.

Before long, Tess had them flipped over again so that she was on top. She’d managed to get all of his clothes off before flipping them over again. Now, she stood over him and removed the last of her clothing. As she let the fabric drift to the ground, she slowly sank back onto his hips allowing him to take in the view.

Kyle lifted his hands to her hips, helping her settle over his body. When her heat met his groin, both of them moaned at the contact. She leaned over to place her hands on his shoulders before sliding against him, slicking him up with her moisture. Their lips met again, tongues mimicking what their centers would be doing soon enough.

Tess took her time grinding into him, feeling him get harder with each stroke of her body. Then when she felt they were both ready, she lifted up slightly with his hands still on her hips and took him into her hand. He pulled her down as she guided him in until he was buried deep. As soon as he was, she tilted her head back with her eyes closed and simply sat there enjoying the feel of him inside of her.

Kyle slid his hands up her sides until he was cupping her breasts and teasing her nipples with his thumbs. She groaned.

“Gawd, that feels sooooo good!”

He grinned at her vocalization. She’d never sounded sexier.

Within moments she was lifting up with her knees and sliding back down over him without his help. He just kept right on enjoying the way her breasts felt in his hands and let her ride him to her hearts content.

She was enjoying the hell out of him. He could tell by the gasps and other sounds she was making as she picked up the pace. Then there was the feel of her walls fluttering around him. He gritted his teeth as he felt the end nearing and slid one hand down between her legs to find the spot he knew would get her to where he needed her to be.

Sure enough, a few strokes of his fingers later and she dug her fingers into his ribs, threw her head back and screamed his name to the sky. That image of her as well as the way she said his name was more than enough for him to jerk up into her and let go with a shout of his own. He was vaguely aware of her walls milking him and the feel of her hips still riding him as if she were trying to prolong both of their highs.

It would be a long time before she collapsed on his already dozing body and an even longer time before they both dragged themselves up and got decent enough to be the last two back to camp for the evening.

TBC

[Shadowlynxbehr]

Hi, sorry to post and run...but I'd like to give some SO's to keepsmiling7, Alien_Friend, Natalie36, garcia88, SmileeUK and 2004 for leaving a review! Thanks guys and hope you like this part...next one should be posted in a couple of days if all goes well!

Part 12

“Isabel is right Max. Looks can be deceiving but then not everyone is an open book either,” snapped Liz.

Max scowled at her. “I didn’t say that, but there’s still always a way to figure out the truth about a person and sometimes it just requires a lot of patience.”

“Uh huh, which you seem to have in spades,” replied Liz before muttering, “as well as being thick.”

“What?” asked Max.

“What?” replied Liz.

Again Max scowled as he looked in the direction that they were heading. The others around them remained silent but exchanged knowing looks which both Liz and Max didn’t see. The group had been traveling for a few days now in which they had no choice but to listen to the verbal sparring between Max and Liz. Each day it had seemed to get worse as the tension between the two seemed to be reaching an impasse.

Liz was still riding behind Isabel on her horse and it had become clear to everyone that Max was getting frustrated with Liz’s treatment of him. Of course, only Liz and Max seemed to be clueless about what the others could clearly see. In fact, one could say that it had been apparent to everyone from the day they had each met the pair.

It was extremely clear to everyone that Max and Liz were attracted to each other, yet they just couldn’t come out and explain their true feelings for each other. It was either that or they really had no clue that what they were feeling was indeed attraction. Either way, every time Liz and Max seemed to get into it with each other the rest of the group simply sat back and watched the two of them go at it. Albeit with the occasional knowing looks, stifled laughter and rolling eyes which seemed to be happening more and more often.

It wasn’t long before Max could see a small village up ahead, so instead of continuing the sparring with Liz, he pointed it out.

“Look, there’s Montmere, so everyone needs to think about what supplies we need so we can get them quickly then be on our way. We are not staying in the village tonight, understand?”

There were a few grumbled replies, but no one outwardly disagreed with Max’s statements.

As they made their way through the village, stopping along the way to procure whatever it was they needed, they were eventually approached by an elderly woman.

“Begging your pardon good folk, but I be wondering if you be the mercenaries we hearing about?”

The others looked to Max, letting him answer since he was often the leader and spokesperson for the group.

“What if we were not?”

“Then it be a shame. My late husband’s farm has a horse stable an’ grounds that be in bad shape. There be a few hands there but they only know horses, not building an’ repair. I can nae pay the fee some ‘round here be asking, but I can pay in meals an’ place to sleep.”

Max glanced at the others before nodding at the woman. “Very well then, we are the mercenaries you speak of but there is no need to pay us for the work. We’ll be glad to help.”

The woman waved her hand, “Ah well the least I can do is buy the rest o’ the supplies you clearly be stocking up on. Come, let’s finish your purchase then be on our way to the farm.”

Max nodded as he and the group finished gathering everything they needed before following the woman to the farm a couple of hours later. She showed them the horse stable which needed a new roof and several of the stalls inside that needed to be repaired. The enclosure that was connected to the stable had a few pieces of fencing missing and the grounds within needed to be leveled in some places as well as more natural grass cover for the horses to feed on. Even the pump for the water trough needed repair.

Max, Michael and Kyle went to work on the stable and fence repairs while Liz, Tess and Isabel worked on the grounds. While all of them worked, Alex and Maria kept watch over the groups horses and supplies. Soon everyone was hard at work with their specific repairs.

Michael spent most of his time up on the roof while Max and Kyle started with the stalls inside of the stable. Since it was the two of them working together, they were able to finish in half the time it took Michael to do the roof. Once they were done in the stables, they moved outside to work on repairing the parts of the fence that needed it.

Luckily Liz had already made sure most of the grounds had been leveled out. She had used her powers to coax the dirt to fill in any holes in the ground except the places where it looked like the fence poles would go. She had long been finished with that task by the time Max and Kyle went to work on the fence itself.

While Liz had worked on the ground, Tess and Isabel had fixed the water trough pump together. Both of them had managed to find the strength to position the pump correctly and in a place where Isabel could feel the water pooling just beneath the surface. Even so, Isabel used her powers to coax more water into the pump’s well beneath the ground. Somehow she managed to make it so water would always be readily available to the pump.

When the women were done with the ground and the pump, they three of them moved on to work on getting grass to cover the ground. Liz would move to a section and coax whatever grass was there to spread and grow thicker to cover the ground, then Isabel would come behind her to irrigate the ground with water. Tess simply walked with Isabel, lending her any help just in case she needed it as well as spreading a bit of fertilizer along the ground.

They were still working on the grounds when Max and Kyle finished with the fence then moved to the roof to help Michael. By this time, the sun was beginning to set, but no one stopped what they were doing since they all knew Max didn’t want to stay in the village that night. That was also the reason Alex and Maria took turns watching their belongings and running food and water to the ones that were working. There just wasn’t enough time to take any breaks.

The women were almost finished when a few men who were the hands that took care of the horses for the owner came to the stables. They looked surprised to see that the stables and grounds were being repaired until they spied the three women in the enclosure. Grinning at each other, they made their way towards the women.

“Well hello there! I guess the mistress finally found someone to fix up the place, eh?” asked one of the men.

Tess turned to talk to them since Liz and Isabel were still busy. She gave them a friendly smile as she spoke to them.

“Hello and yes, we were in the village buying supplies when she found us. She offered to buy the rest of our supplies in exchange for our labor.”

One of the other men looked around before turning to grin at her. “Place looks amazing! How did you three do it?”

Tess winked at him. “Magic.”

The men looked at each other and let out a few chuckles. Tess chuckled with them, glancing over her shoulder to make sure Liz and Isabel were fine before continuing to talk to the men.

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Max glanced up from where he was working on the roof to frown at Kyle who had stopped working and was now simply sitting there staring into the distance.

“Kyle! Snap out of it and get back to work!”

Kyle turned to Max with a shrug. “Sorry Max, just keeping an eye on the ladies. Although I know they can take care of themselves, they got company.”

Max’s head snapped towards the woman and saw what Kyle was talking about. His eyes narrowed as he watched Tess talking to a group of four men out on the grounds. Kyle was right, Tess could clearly handle those four men all on her own if she had to, but that didn’t stop him from feeling wary. He especially didn’t like the way they were eyeing all of the women.

Still, he knew they had a job to do and daylight was fading fast. “You’re right. Tess can handle it. Let’s just get this done. We don’t have much time left!”

Kyle nodded and returned to his work just like Max did, although Max continued to keep one eye on the women. It wasn’t until the men retreated into the stables did Max relax enough to fully concentrate on what he was doing again.

Soon the roof was done as well as the grounds, so everyone began cleaning up or putting away any tools they’d used to work with. Max and Kyle went to a nearby shed to put up the last of the tools while Michael joined Alex and Maria outside of the grounds where their belongings were stored. Liz was helping Isabel coax the now returned horses to feed or quench their thirst within the grounds as Tess began to make her way towards Kyle and the others.

She hadn’t gone far when the four men came out of the stables to greet her again.

“Finished are ye?” asked one of the men.

Tess turned to them and nodded. “Yes, all done. We just need to get cleaned up then we’re on the road again.”

“Aw now, it’s late as ye can see. Surely ye have a place to stay for the night!”

“Yes, surely our mistress offered you a place to rest?” added another man.

Tess shrugged. “She did, but we already had other plans.”

“Tess what are you…oh! I’m sorry am I interrupting?” asked Liz, clearly looking apologetic.

One of the other men stepped forward and gave her a slight bow. “No need to apologize, milady. We were just admiring your handiwork.”

Liz smiled shyly. “Why thank you!”

“You are very welcome,” he answered. “We were just telling Tess here that you three have been doing amazing work here and wondered how you did it.”

“Oh really?” Liz asked as she glanced at Tess.

Tess grinned at Liz. “I told them it was magic.”

Liz answered with a grin of her own. “She’s right. It was easily done with magic.”

The group of men chuckled and moved a little closer to Tess and Liz as Isabel joined them. Despite the closeness of the group, the men were still respectful of the three women even though they weren’t beneath a little flirting. When Tess and Isabel flirted back with them, they knew they hadn’t overstepped any boundaries.

It was just this sight that greeted Kyle and Max as they walked out of the shed nearby. Kyle was the first to see it and stopped to gawk at them. That got Max’s attention when he almost ran into Kyle’s back until he looked up to see what Kyle was looking at. He scowled as he noticed the four men from earlier were once again talking to Tess. However, this time even Liz and Isabel had joined in.

Max narrowed his eyes at the way the men seemed to crowd closer to the women. He didn’t like the way they seemed too familiar with the women and he really didn’t like the way Liz was responding to one of them in particular. If she wasn’t careful, Max was sure that man would take her responses the wrong way.

Without another pause, he strode purposefully towards the group with a curious Kyle right behind him. They approached just in time to hear Tess’ conversation with one of the men.

“So, how about that offer of a place to rest for the night?” asked the man in a more suggestive tone.

Tess chuckled as she stepped closer to the man and looked him up and down. “Thanks, but no thanks sugar. You see, I already have a great place to lay down and I’m not crazy enough to give that up just for one night with you.. I like what I already have.”

The man simply shrugged. “Ah well, can’t say I didn’t try.”

Tess looked past him to see Max and Kyle approaching. She grinned at Kyle then bounded past the man she’d been talking to with a giggle. Kyle had a grin of his own that matched hers as he opened his arms and allowed her to jump into his embrace.

“How’s my girl?” he asked.

She nuzzled his nose with hers. “Better.”

He chuckled as he leaned over to whisper in her ear. “Just so you know. The way you handled these guys…so hot!”

Tess laughed as she hugged him tighter until they noticed that Max had joined the rest of the group. While the two of them had been wrapped up in each other, Max had approached Liz in time to hear her conversation with one of the other guys.

“Well since you claim to wield some magic, do ya think ya could use that magic on me?” asked the man as he wiggled his eyebrows at Liz.

Liz laughed and shook her head, “Oh no, I couldn’t do that! It’s too dangerous!”

“Mmm, but I like dangerous,” replied the man as he stepped closer to Liz.

Max intercepted before it could go any further. He just knew Liz wasn’t catching the innuendos the man was dropping so he needed to stop him before he went too far. After all, Liz was under his care so long as her father allowed her to remain with him.

“You may like dangerous, but believe me, you don’t want to see what we are really capable of.”

The man stepped back at the hard tone of Max’s voice. He knew a veiled threat when he heard one. “Okay, sorry. I didn’t realize…”

“Now you know,” Max cut in before he could go on.

Liz stepped up to Max with a frown, but before she could speak, Tess interrupted.

“Come on everyone, we should get our things and get on the road soon. It’s already so late!” She held her hand out to Liz, who took it but continued to throw a frown in Max’s direction.

Max waited until Kyle, Tess, Isabel and Liz had left the grounds before he gave the four men a curt nod and followed after them.

******************************************

No one spoke as the group traveled out of the village. Liz was once again seated behind Isabel on her horse, leaving Max alone on his own. The only sounds uttered since they had left the village had been the heated argument between Liz and Max. An argument that had only seemed to get worse the further away they got from the village.

Liz had thought she was having a pleasant conversation with the man until Max had jumped in and ended it so rudely. She had no idea why Max was being so surly and why he never let her make friends on her own. This was what she was trying to get an answer to, but Max was being his usual strange self.

Max knew Liz still didn’t understand what the man had been trying to suggest to her and tried to tell her so. However, she kept insisting that she knew what she was doing and told him to mind his own business. The two of them were still arguing as Michael finally scouted out a good place to camp for the night.

Everyone quickly made camp while Max and Liz seemed to do their best to avoid each other. It wasn’t until they were beginning to settle around the campfire for their meal did the argument begin again.

“I’m not a child Max! You shouldn’t be treating me like one!” Liz snapped.

“I know that,” muttered Max.

“Hmph! You could have fooled me,” bit back Liz. “Sometimes I wonder if you even see me at all!”

Max gripped the cup he was holding harder. Glaring into its depths with a tense jaw, he refused to answer her.

“What’s the matter Max?” Liz prodded. “Are you tired of having me here? Do you want me to return to my father? At least he has more of a right to tell me what to do!”

Max shut his eyes against Liz’s tirade until Maria finally jumped to her feet and exclaimed.

“Oh for heaven’s sake! Would you two just do it and get it over with!”

TBC

[Shadowlynxbehr]

Part 13

Max snapped his head up to stare at Maria while everyone else seemed to sit in stunned silence. Even Liz was looking a bit stunned at Maria’s outburst. Maria looked from Liz to Max, then back again before she threw her hands in the air and muttered something in her language.

“What did she say?” Kyle asked Michael who shrugged before responding.

“I don’t know, but I’m guessing it wasn’t good.”

Maria scoffed. “I said it’s about time those two got their heads out of their asses and stopped dancing around each other! We are all tired of their games!”

“Games? What games?” asked Liz.

Tess patted Liz’s knee. “Not that kind of game honey.”

Max growled. “Tess!”

Liz scowled at him. “No you don’t Max! I want to know what they’re talking about!”

Isabel chuckled. “Yeah Max, Liz deserves to know the truth.”

Max scowled at her too.

“She’s right, Max. You should just talk to Liz. I mean hasn’t it occurred to you that you may be sending her the wrong signals?” added Alex.

Max rose to his feet and dumped the remainder of his food into the fire. “All of you should just mind your own business! This isn’t any of your concern!” he snapped.

When he was answered by a few chuckles, he couldn’t hide the heat that rose to his cheeks.

“Hard to avoid it when you two insist on letting us hear the pent up frustration,” said Isabel.

At that everyone except Max and Liz began roaring with laughter. Max scowled at each one of them before he turned away from them.

“Yes, that’s really funny! I’m going to start guard duty. You all should get some sleep now!”

He’d tried to make it a command, but he could still hear the laughter following him as he disappeared into the night.

Liz watched him go before she turned to the others still looking confused. “Okay, I don’t understand what is going on. What is wrong with Max?”

The others glanced around at each other before Kyle got up and yawned. “Well, Max is right. We should get some sleep. Especially me since I’m on duty after Max.”

Alex nodded. “Yes, I’ll clean up here then head to my bed.”

Michael stood up and grinned at Maria, “You coming mi amour?”

Maria chuckled. “Si!”

Michael helped her up and the two of them went to their bed together.

Liz scowled at Tess and Isabel who were the only ones that remained. “Are you two going to bed also or are you brave enough to tell me what’s going on?”

Isabel gave her a sympathetic smile before moving closer to Liz’s side. “Liz, how do you feel about Max?”

Tess scooted closer to Liz’s other side as Liz answered Isabel. “When he’s not acting strange, he’s a nice man.”

Tess chuckled. “No Liz, what Isabel is asking is if you have deeper feelings for Max. Like the kind I have for Kyle.”

Liz’s eyes went wide as a blush stained her cheeks. “Oh that.”

Isabel reached out to lay a comforting hand on Liz’s arm. “Yes, that. It’s okay Liz. I think everyone here knows how you really feel about Max except Max himself.”

Again Liz’s eyes went wide. “You do!”

Tess squeezed her hand. “Yes we do, but maybe it’s time you told Max how you feel because that’s the only way he’s going to get it. He doesn’t see it the way we do, so you have to be blunt with him.”

Liz sighed. “I don’t think I should tell him how I feel. He’ll just think I’m being ridiculous. Besides that, he doesn’t share my feelings so what’s the point?”

Isabel shook her head. “You’re wrong Liz. Max shares your feelings, but he’s letting his stupid ideas about honor get in the way.”

“That’s why you think he’s acting weird,” added Tess. “When you think he’s interfering with you, that’s Max’s way of telling you that he has feelings for you.”

Liz blushed. “It is?”

“Yes, he thinks he’s being a hero, a true knight in shining armor coming to rescue you, the damsel in distress,” teased Isabel.

That made Liz chuckle. “I didn’t see it that way.”

As she thought about the way Max had been acting lately, she realized it could be true. Even the time those two women had come on to him, he’d been acting the gentleman. Politely declining their offers the same way he chivalrously protected her.

She nodded. “You might be right!” she giggled. “I guess I’m as clueless as he is!”

Tess laughed. “Oh no Liz, you’re not as clueless as Max. All you need is a little clarification and you get it. Max needs it spelled out for him!”

“He needs to be hit over the head with it!” added Isabel.

The three of them laughed at that before Liz finally sighed and looked in the direction Max had disappeared in. “I should go talk to him.”

Both Isabel and Tess gave her hands an encouraging squeeze. “Yes,” they both murmured.

Liz nodded and rose to her feet. “Thank you both for explaining things. I’ll see you in the morning.”

She didn’t wait to see them nod to her or get up to go to their beds. Instead, she walked in the direction Max had gone and thought of how she was going to talk to him. Before the night was over, Liz was determined to have the truth laid out between them once and for all.

****************************************

Max sat quietly in partial darkness. The moon’s light only revealed half of his body to Liz as she approached him. He was sitting on a fallen tree stump with his back leaning against another tree whose leaves shielded the moon from half of him. He appeared to be deep in thought and hadn’t noticed her approach.

Liz took the time to study his profile, what little she could see in the moonlight. For a human, she knew he was probably one of the most handsome men around. After all, she had seen the way many women had eyed him even when he was completely oblivious to their stares. Even so, she too liked the way he looked.

He had a strong jaw line and perfect aristocratic features for someone born on a farm. Those features were only enhanced by his slightly shaggy hair and the shadow of his whiskers. The combination only served to make him appear more ruggedly handsome, as did the tanned and weathered skin he had from working outside. Add in the muscles built from farm labor and sword wielding and you had a very nice specimen of the human male.

The men of Liz’s race tended to all be sinewy muscle and lean compared to the slightly bulkier Max, but Liz preferred Max’s physique to the others. However, it wasn’t his rugged good looks or his physique that had captured her heart at first.

It was his smile.

A smile that rarely showed itself since he was always so serious and stern. Always so focused, but when he smiled it lit up his entire face and made his eyes sparkle. Little laugh lines appeared at the corners of his eyes and deep dimples formed in each cheek. That smile always took her breath away and made her stomach flutter.

Unfortunately that smile was nowhere near making an appearance that night as Liz stepped closer to Max thus alerting him to her presence. His head turned in her direction and he blinked as if he wasn’t sure she was really there. They stood looking at each other for a heartbeat before Liz broke the silence.

“Max, can I talk to you?”

When he finally nodded, she moved to sit on one end of the stump and clasped her hands in her lap. Max didn’t say a word, he just sat there staring into the distance. He gave no indication that he was surprised to see her after everything that had happened.

Still, when he heard her approaching he had been hesitant to look at her. It wasn’t until she’d stepped into a shaft of light that he’d raised his head to look at her. Like always when he caught sight of her, the rest of the world seemed to disappear. The moonlight made her dark brown hair glisten and her brown eyes glowed with otherworldly light. She was one of the elusive ones in every way and Max believed he had never seen anything as beautiful as her.

Even her voice was magical, tinkling like bells in the wind, sending chills down his spine and straight to his groin. It had that same effect when she asked to talk with him before seemingly gliding to her seat on the stump. She always looked so graceful to him, like an angel always floating and never touching the ground.

He knew he shouldn’t harbor the feelings he had for her, but he couldn’t help it. Liz was something unattainable. She was so far out of his reach and forbidden, yet he wanted so badly to touch her and taste her. And every time some random man paid attention to her, it just made it harder for him to resist his feelings.

“Max?” came her low voice, snapping him out of his reverie.

He glanced at her before he sighed. “What do you want to talk about, Liz?”

She shifted slightly so that she faced more in his direction. “I just…well, I wanted to tell you that I do appreciate your chivalrous acts even though you and I both know I don’t really need any saving.”

Max stiffened. “Liz, you don’t know…”

“I know what he was after Max.”

When Max turned a questioning gaze on her, she clarified. “The man at the farm, I know he was trying to acquire my favors.”

Max’s jaw clenched at that. “Well, you didn’t look like you had a clue.”

Liz stared at him as he hissed those words through gritted teeth before she rolled her eyes. “I can see perfectly well Max, it’s you who doesn’t seem to have a clue.”

That came out a bit harsher than what she would have liked, but there it was.

Max frowned at her. “What are you talking about?”

Liz sighed. She took her time before answering and tried to gather her thoughts. She wanted them to talk, not revert back to arguing like before.

“Look Max, I’m sorry if I’ve been short with you but I was a little upset over things I never should have been upset about in the first place. There are things I should have told you instead of sulking about it like a little girl.”

“What were you upset about?” asked Max.

Liz waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “I guess you can blame my female hormones because I was feeling jealous that night those two women tried to offer themselves to you. You knew they were after you, but you never seemed to notice anyone else giving you hints before. It bothered me, so I became moody.”

Max gave her a confused look even as he tried to think of the instance she was talking about. “Women? What…”

He stopped as soon as he remembered the two women that night who had been hanging all over him as well as Liz’s cold demeanor towards him immediately following that encounter. He stared at her.

“You were…” he paused before going on. “Liz, I turned them down. I don’t have any interest in them or anyone else for that matter.”

Liz arched an eyebrow. “No one else?”

At his silence she added, “At all?”

Max sighed as he looked into the distance again, but Liz could see the tenseness of his jaw. When he continued to sit in silence, eyes seemingly scanning the darkness, Liz moved to sit closer to him and lightly brushed her fingers over the back of his hand to get his attention.

“Max?” She waited until he turned to look at her. “I need you to answer this question. Why were you so upset that I was talking to those men back at that farm?”

She watched as his eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched even more. It was obvious it still bothered him and she knew he wasn’t going to say anything when he began to turn away from her. She decided to set him straight as she grabbed his arm.

“Max! I knew he was flirting with me.” Max’s eyes snapped to hers as she finished. “I knew what he was hinting at.”

Max literally growled. “You knew because someone just told you!”

Liz shook her head as she removed her hand from his arm. She sighed as she looked into his eyes for a moment before looking away.

“You still see me as this naïve child Max, but I am not what you think. My world may be quite different than yours, but my kind do have courtships, you know. Every species has a way to signal to each other when they want to mate, why should mine be any different?”

Max took a deep breath. “Your father…”

Liz held up a hand to stop him. “My father sent me to travel with you for a while but he didn’t say you had to treat me like a child. You don’t have to protect my virtue Max, I can do that just fine on my own.”

Max frowned. “Wouldn’t he be upset to find out that you were corrupted by humans?”

Liz rolled her eyes. “He knew the dangers of sending me with you. It’s why he did so. I am to learn all I can about living among the humans. That means both the good and bad!”

Max shook his head. “Why are you telling me this now?”

“I had assumed you understood. You didn’t start acting strange until lately.”

“I didn’t start…you started first!”

Liz sighed. “Max, this isn’t a pointing fingers game! I’m trying to be honest with you. I’m tired of this fighting between you and I. It has to end! I think it’s time we just told each other the truth about everything that’s going on with us.”

Max tensed and looked anywhere but at her. Liz sighed as she reached out to touch his cheek with her fingers.

“I miss you Max,” she whispered.

His fingers closed over those of hers on his cheek as he looked back at her.

“I miss us,” she continued. “The way it used to be so easy for us to be a team. To be together.”

Max swallowed as he curled his fingers in hers and brought their linked hands down to the stump they sat on.

“Liz…you don’t understand, things are…”

“Different,” she finished for him.

He nodded. “Yes. I’m sorry but I can’t…”

Liz squeezed his hand. “What if I said I don’t want to go back Max?”

He stared at her, trying to understand what she was saying.

“I don’t really want us to just go back to the way it was, but I want us to move forward. To take the next step in our….relationship.”

He swallowed. “Liz?” His voice was hoarse. “What…what are you saying?”

Liz looked him straight in the eyes as she answered him. “I’m saying that I want to be more than just a friend to you Max. Don’t you see? When I saw you recognize that those women where flirting with you, I got upset. I got upset because you noticed them, but you’ve never noticed me.”

Max sighed. “I’ve always noticed you, Liz.”

“Then why haven’t you made a move?” she asked, her voice slightly annoyed.

It was a few moments before he replied. “Because I’ve always thought I didn’t deserve you.”

She gasped. “What?”

He shrugged. “You are an elusive one Liz. A being too special to consort with us mere humans. And all I am is a retired knight, a has-been soldier. You are so far out of my reach…”

Liz refused to let him go any further as she grabbed his face in her hands and pulled him towards her. Her lips crashed onto his, stunning him into silence. She let her lips linger on his for a few moments before she pulled back to look into his eyes.

“Tell me you don’t want me Max! Tell me that these feelings I have for you are wrong! That I shouldn’t want you so badly that I want to destroy every woman who looks at you or manages to get your attention! Tell me!”

Max’s breathing had intensified at her words. This time he had no doubt what Liz was trying to tell him. She felt the same way he did.

Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her closer and covered her lips with his. She responded by letting him deepen the kiss as her arms went around his shoulders. He nipped at her bottom lip before sliding his tongue over it, eliciting a moan from her.

As her lips parted, he slid his tongue inside her mouth and began teasing her tongue with his. Liz slid one hand up into his hair as she leaned her torso against his for support. Max’s tongue dancing with hers made her feel light headed, which meant she needed his body to support her swooning one.

His arms tightened around her, almost literally bringing her into his lap as he continued to kiss her until they were both breathless and moaning. It was then that Max realized how much things were heating up between them from just a simple kiss and he knew that he had to slow it down.

It wasn’t the time or place for them to take things further despite his body’s reaction. Liz protested when he pulled away from her to place his forehead against hers. He knew how she felt, his body was screaming at him for stopping too.

He waited until he could breathe again before whispering to Liz. “I want you Liz. I want you so much…but we can’t do this here. You deserve more than this.”

Liz couldn’t help but pout. “Max…”

He silenced her with fingers over her lips. “It will happen Liz. I promise. Some day, you and I will have our time together but not tonight.”

She sighed in understanding. Max was on guard duty, she knew he couldn’t leave his group unprotected like that. It would weigh heavily on him if something happened while he was distracted.

He smiled at her. It was one of those rare smiles, the one that made her heart race and her breath catch.

“Stay with me? Help me guard? I could use your company. I missed you too.”

She giggled. “Okay.”

Liz shifted to sit next to him on the stump. Max slid his arm around her shoulder, bringing her into his side. She leaned into him as he kissed her temple, then tilted her head back for a simple kiss on her lips.

They smiled at each other again before getting comfortable on the stump together. They remained that way, content just to be near each other, until Kyle came to relieve Max of guard duty for the next shift.

TBC...

[Shadowlynxbehr]

Okay, now I feel REALLY bad having read the responses from Alien_Friend and Kris! Thank you both for enjoying this story and for hanging with me after all these YEARS!

Unfortunately, I have sad news for all of you. I have decided not to continue with this story as I have moved on from this fandom into another one...and I'm also focusing on writing several original stories as well.

This story has always been such a hard one to write and I feel like I have completely lost my drive/muse/inspiration to write it. This elf/magic genre was never one of my strong ones which is why I still haven't been able to complete this last Roswell fic. I am now admitting defeat...I bit off more than I could chew when I chose to write this kind of story...so I am letting it go.

I have decided to post this one last part....at least the last portion of it which I have completely finished as a parting gift to all of the faithful readers of this fic. The sketch/outline of the first portion is also included so you know what led up to it....thus the sequence from the last fully posted part will not be lost.

And there is one more thing...I do have the entire story written in paragraph/outline form, so I did know where the story was going to go and how it was to end.....and since I have no intention of finishing this story here...maybe I will for my own pleasure somewhere in the distant future...I am willing to send anyone those paragraphs so that you will know how the story was supposed to play out...if you want it.

If you do, send me a PM and I will send the outline to you. If you don't want to know and are satisfied with the way it ended on this thread, then I shall bid you goodbye...and thank you all for taking the time to read this story! Now...here is the final part...

Part 14

Tess snuggled closer to Kyle in their bedding and yawned. Blinking her eyes sleepily, she caught sight of Liz’s sleeping figure next to Max’s upright one. She smiled at the way Max’s fingers were entwined in Liz’s loose tresses while Liz had one hand curled over Max’s thigh. Liz was already fast asleep in her bedding which was right next to Max who was sitting up with his back to a tree and his legs stretched out in front of him.

Max was still wide awake with eyes constantly scanning the surroundings and the rest of his body alert despite the cozy picture he and Liz presented. This had become a regular sight over the last few weeks, ever since Liz and Max had finally had a heart-to-heart talk that night. Since then everyone had noticed the change between the two of them.

The arguments had suddenly stopped and Liz was once more riding with Max on his horse. Not only that, but the two of them seemed to move together more cohesively, as if they each knew the move the other was going to make before they made it. Overnight, the two of them seemed to have become the formidable team they had been in the beginning, but even more so now that they were closer to each other. It was a sight to see the two of them flowing around each other in battle as if they shared the same mind.

Aside from their public appearance, it was easy to see they had grown closer privately as well. There was a lot more physical contact between the two of them as evidenced by the way they were at the moment. It was rare that they were apart now, even when Max was doing guard duty. Liz would simply curl up next to where Max was doing his watch and Max would settle himself around her as she slept. When his shift was done, he simply curled himself around Liz and went to sleep in her arms for the rest of the night.

Now that Max and Liz seemed to be back together and happy, the mood had definitely lightened among the rest of the group. Granted, Max was still a solid and formidable leader but at least no one had to put up with the tension between their leader and his unrequited love anymore. They all could handle Max’s usual harsh leadership so long as things between he and Liz remained happy together. It was quite obvious that Liz balanced Max’s brooding personality, so if the two of them were at odds then Max became unbearable to the others.

Tess yawned once more before closing her eyes and snuggling closer to Kyle who draped an arm around her even though he was asleep. As she drifted off to sleep, a contented smile played on her lips.

*******************************************

(Insert missing scene here: Another village was attacked by a demon so the group went in to fight it. Because it is harder to kill than the last one, Liz becomes exhausted and is hurt by it which makes Max worry.

Alex finds another medallion and although he still doesn’t really understand what they are, no one else notices that he found it. They all notice, however how the demon attacks seem to be coming more frequently and they are getting harder to kill.

After the remaining members manage to get rid of the demon, they are given rooms in a nearby inn where Liz is placed in a private room so that Isabel and Alex can heal her. After Max has made sure everyone else and their supplies are situated, he goes to check on Liz.)

Silence fell as Max stepped into the room. His eyes took in Liz’s appearance as well as the way Isabel and Alex sat on either side of the bed. As usual, those eyes missed nothing. And from the looks of it, Isabel and Alex had been able to heal Liz with little difficulty. Liz smiled and sat up, making Max relax his rigid stance.

Isabel stood up and motioned for Alex to join her. They walked to the door as Max stepped aside to allow them passage. Alex winked at Max before he disappeared out the door, but Isabel stopped long enough to give Max’s arm a squeeze.

“She’s doing fine, Max. We didn’t have any problems, so all she needs now is a good night’s sleep.”

Max nodded. “Thanks.”

She smiled at him before she left the room, closing the door behind her with a soft click.

He didn’t move from where he stood. He was still drinking in the sight of a healthy, wide-awake Liz.

She had given him quite the scare earlier. When he had seen her unconscious form lying so close to the demon’s formidable claws, the world had stopped turning for him. Her life had been so close to being extinguished by that creature that it was a wonder she was even smiling at him now.

He knew Liz was trained for that kind of fighting and she was tough enough to take a beating, but that didn’t stop him from worrying. He knew it was because of the feelings he had for her. He just couldn’t stop wanting to protect her even though she could probably do a better job at protecting him. It was just his nature to want to care for the ones he loved.

Liz patted the bed next to her as she continued to smile at him. “Come sit, Max. You know I won’t bite…unless you want me to.”

Her remark elicited a smile from him as he shook his head and made his way to sit next to her. His smile widened when she took his arm and draped it over her shoulders before snuggling into his side.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, as he pressed his lips into the top of her head.

“Better, now that you’re here,” she replied with a sigh.

He chuckled. “That’s not what I meant.”

“I know,” she answered before lifting her head so that she could look into his eyes. “But if you continue to worry tonight, you’ll be ruining my mood!”

He arched an eyebrow. “Who’s worried?”

She rolled her eyes. “Nice try, Max. I know you.”

He sighed as he brushed her cheek with the back of his hand, the smile fading. “You didn’t have to see what I saw, Liz. I thought…do you have any idea what would happen to me if I lost you?”

Liz captured his hand in hers and brought it to her lips. She kissed his knuckles as she stared into his eyes, watching the way they darkened with intensity. Lifting her free hand to run her fingers through his hair, she whispered to him.

“I know Max. Every time we go fight, I feel the same way about you. I just hide it better, but it doesn’t mean I don’t worry just as much as you do.”

Max swallowed. “Oh Liz…”

She let her hand move to the back of his head, tugging him closer to her. Max willingly covered her lips with his, giving her a sweet kiss that quickly turned heated. He slid his arms around her waist, lifting her slightly so he could lay her down in the bed as he settled besides her.

She was beneath the covers, but he was on top of them as he finally pulled his lips from hers and gave her a tender smile.

“You should get some sleep, honey.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Max Evans! Don’t be such a prude!”

This time he smiled the smile she loved to see and it took her breath away.

“I know heard Isabel,” he replied. “You need a good night’s sleep.”

“That was her way of dropping a hint, you think-headed lug!” she hissed.

He laughed. “Thick-headed, am I?”

“Yes! And then some!”

She was just about to go on when Max captured her mouth in another heated kiss, thus ending all conversation. He leaned over her, pressing her back into the bed as he deepened the kiss and his hands buried themselves in her hair. Tilting her head slightly back, he slid his tongue over her soft, warm lips until she parted them for him. Slipping his tongue between them, he invaded her moist cavern until he found her tongue and began the dance he hoped the rest of their bodies would soon mimic.

Liz was already responsive to him, both of them not realizing how much her close call had only added to their desire to be together. As his mouth continued to taste the drugging sweetness of hers, her body arched into his and her arms wound tightly around his shoulders as if to tell him she was never letting him go. Soon her breathing grew short, forcing her to let go of his mouth to let out a desperate plea.

“Max…”

He knew what she wanted as his uneven breaths matched hers. Gazing into her liquid brown eyes, he spoke in a breathless voice.

“Are you sure…you want this…Liz? Because once I start…I don’t think…I can stop.”

“Yes! Please…Max!”

That was all the answer he needed as his lips reclaimed hers briefly before moving to nibble along her jaw. As his lips continued their teasing, he lifted slightly to push the covers out of the way until only the thin gown Liz wore was the only thing covering her skin. His tongue slid along the pulse in her neck as he felt her hands working on the lacing of his undershirt. He had already disposed of all his armor and weapons before he’d come to see how she was doing.

Liz quickly had the lacing undone and reached down to pull the shirt out of his trousers, letting her fingers caress the bare, sleek skin of his broad, muscular chest as she removed the shirt completely. Tossing it aside, she went back to trailing her fingers over his chest. From the defined pectorals, sparsely covered in soft, short hairs to the tight abdomen that rippled beneath her touch.

Max groaned into her neck as her fingers continued to drive him wild in their exploration of his body. When he felt them tugging at the lacing of his trousers, he lifted his hips to give her more room to work, but never stopped teasing the skin of her shoulder and neck with his mouth.

Liz trembled with pleasure as Max nipped at her shoulder with his teeth, then moaned when his tongue licked over an extremely sensitive spot behind her ear. He was making it difficult for her to concentrate on removing his clothing, but she didn’t mind in the least. This had been a long time in coming and despite her never having done anything like this before, she wasn’t the least bit hesitant about it.

Soon she had his trousers loosened and slipped her hands beneath the edges to push them down over his hips and to his thighs. Max stopped what he was doing to lift himself off of her, making her pout until she noticed that he was simply removing all of his clothing for her benefit. Her mouth watered at the sight of all of that firm, tanned flesh that covered such a strong, proud male body.

He tossed his clothing to the ground before turning to crawl back over her, looking like some powerful, magnificent animal stalking its prey. She could feel the liquid warmth collecting between her thighs as he settled his body over hers and gave her a smirk that told her he knew she had enjoyed the view. She answered him with her own smile before growling and wrapping her arms around his naked torso to hold him close to her.

Max lowered his hips, allowing her body to cradle his as he brushed his groin against her cloth-covered one. He moaned at the feel of her wetness that soaked through the cloth and turned his heated gaze to hers.

“Liz…” he whispered huskily.

She bit her bottom lip as she lifted her hips to grind her center against him, letting him know just what she wanted.

“I know Max…I want you so badly too!”

She could feel the way his thick erection throbbed against the last remaining barrier to her most secret place. Max lowered his lips to hers, kissing her with a hungry urgency while he made short work of the rest of her clothes. He pulled them off of her in between his kisses, until there was nothing left between their passion-heated skin.

She gasped into his mouth as his work-roughened hands cupped her breasts while his rigid shaft rubbed against her folds. She lifted her legs to wrap around his hips, holding him captive as she tilted her own hips to entice him further.

Max flicked her nipples with his thumbs, making her gasp his name as her body jerked against his in response. He groaned as he felt her tiny buds harden against his thumbs as well as the answering wetness that coated his hardness. He knew she was ready for him, but he was trying to prolong their pleasure for a little longer.

Liz had other ideas as she tightened her legs around him then reached on hand between them. Curling her fingers around his swollen member, she began guiding him to her opening all while letting her thumb spread the essence that had leaked from his tip over the ridged skin of him. He half-groaned, half-begged her name.

“Liz…”

“No,” she mumbled against his lips. “No more waiting, Max. Just take me…please!”

He couldn’t argue with her as she placed his tip against her opening, then slammed her hips hard against his, bringing him inside of her. Still, it wasn’t enough to break her barrier making her whimper in disappointment.

Max kissed her again, making her forget her frustration for the moment. Then, when he felt it was time, he gripped her hips in his hands and slightly pulled out of her before swiftly thrusting back into her welcoming body, finally breaking the last remaining resistance.

The only sign of pain Liz gave was the swift intake of breath and the sudden digging of her nails into his shoulders. Other than that, she never loosened the grip her body had on his as Max remained perfectly still, waiting for her to get used to his girth.

He let her take the lead as usual, not moving until she began rocking against him. When she did, he removed his hands from her hips and rested his forearms on the bed to get better leverage as he began to match her rhythm. As their bodies moved in tandem, Liz opened her eyes and gazed up into his, gracing him with a smile. He returned her smile with his own as he picked up the pace and shifted his hips to go even deeper.

Liz’s lips parted at the feel of him so deep inside of her and when she lifted her legs up to his waist, she threw her head back in pleasure. He was now hitting a spot that made her body respond in a most wonderful way.

“Oh yes, Max! Right there!”

Max simply responded with faster and harder thrusts, keeping his eyes on her face to watch the pleasure explode over her features. When he rolled his hips against hers, her eyes went wide and she cried out his name in ecstasy.

“Max!”

He groaned as he felt her walls shudder, then grip him while he was drenched in waves of her tumultuous release. He couldn’t help the swelling of love and pride in his chest as he watched her writhe beneath him from the pleasure he was still giving her. He never stopped his thrusting movements inside of her as her body continued to tremble until she lowered her gaze to look at him.

“Oh Max,” she breathed. “I love you so much!”

Those words, coupled with the look in her eyes, was all that it took to send him plummeting over the edge towards his own end. Amazingly, he could feel her own body joining his for a second time.

Liz gripped him hard as she let herself go, enjoying the way he had managed to make her see stars twice in one night. A smile spread over her face in satisfaction even as their bodies continued to ride the wave they had created together.

It was several long minutes before they managed to find their breaths again and their bodies began to recover from their play.

When Max rolled to his side and pulled her close to him, he could see the smile of satisfaction she still wore. Lowering his lips, he kissed her forehead, the tip of her nose, then her lips before whispering against them.

“I love you too, Liz.”

Her smile widened as he lifted the covers and settled them around both of their cooling bodies. As he wrapped his arms around her, she settled against his chest, letting his heartbeat lull her into the good night’s sleep that Isabel had suggested she get.

She missed the matching contented smile Max wore as he too joined her in a much needed restful sleep.


And there you have it. That is the end...at least Max and Liz finally got their moment right


Once more...I want to thank all of you for coming along for the ride...I am just so sorry that I had to cut it short, but there just wasn't anything I could do to make myself finish this. I will always remember this place with fond memories and shall miss the friends and laughter we all shared through the years! Thank you all!