Sorry this is late. I was a lot busier today than I had expected to be.
Part 31
To Max, it felt wholly strange to be returning to the house after everything that happened. He'd finally called Phillip when they'd landed, and told him that he had Liz with him.
Though he'd carefully tried to make his voice appear unaffected, both for Liz and Phillip's benefit, his father had immediately taken on a wary tone.
"What happened, Max?" Phillip asked carefully.
"David is dead," Max said in a toneless voice. "Liz knows the truth."
He felt her eyes on him from the passenger seat, though he didn't look at her.
"You told her," Phillip said with a sigh.
"Yes," Max said in a clipped tone. "I'll explain everything when we get there. We're at the airport. We'll be there in a half hour."
That half-hour passed in silence, the vault-like interior of the Mercedes making the silence seem even more deafening.
Now, as he pulled into the driveway and looked at the house he had called home, it no longer seemed the safe haven it used to be to him.
They'd barely stopped the car before the front door opened and Maria rushed through it.
Liz opened the door and got out, closing the door just before Maria reached her, throwing her arms around her.
He could hear Maria's muffled cries of relief as she embraced Liz, and Liz's muted replies. He couldn't make out the words, but he could tell just by the tone of their voices that the reunion was a happy one.
He sighed and slumped in his seat, unwilling to turn his head to watch.
For the first time, he wondered what it was like to have friends, people that loved a person unconditionally and not because they had to. He knew without a doubt that this was the way Maria felt about Liz.
But then, in some respects, it was the very same way he wished he could feel about Liz. Until mere days ago, everything had been conditional. He'd battled with his own feelings constantly, browbeating her for answers she could not give him, placing a price on his trust, on his acceptance of her, when it reality, he too had secrets that he'd dared not divulge. He'd judged her on her secrecy, but hadn't he done the exact same thing she had?
When he finally glanced out the passenger window, he saw Liz and Maria retreating into the house. He watched them with a heavy heart, wondering how long it would be before they left, for he was certain that this would surely be the case.
In his eyes, Liz's silence was her answer.
He wanted to curse himself for allowing Liz Parker to penetrate his heart. He'd sworn after his mother's death that he would never let anyone in, never allow himself to be vulnerable.
But she'd taken his heart without his even realizing it, and now he was quite certain it would be shattered before this was all over with.
He knew their secret was safe with her. He didn't even question it now.
But safety was no longer enough for him. He'd had a taste of what it would be like to really know Liz.
Those few moments they'd had before he'd told her the truth, moments when the danger of David no longer stood between them had been like nothing he'd ever known. The way she'd looked at him, the way she'd touched his face, the soft press of her lips against his only hinted at what it would be like to know the full intensity of being loved by her, and it left him craving more.
He closed his eyes with a sigh, leaning his head back against the seat.
And then he'd told her the truth, and once again, in a matter of moments, everything had changed.
He opened his eyes, his features hardening.
He'd been foolish, foolish to allow his emotions to get the better of him. But he would not, could not let himself fall apart.
If Liz were to leave, then he wouldn't stop her. He would not beg her to stay. Outwardly, he would be what he had always been, in control. It was expected of him. He expected it from himself.
He wasn't sure what he'd been thinking. How could he ever have expected this to turn out well? How could he have even allowed this to get this far?
Liz was a human girl. He was...something else entirely.
Yes, Isabel and Alex had found each other, and it had seemed to work out well for them, but Isabel was wholly different than he.
And she had told Alex what she was under completely different circumstances. And her existence had not been the cause of a life of terror, of running, of fear.
How could he possibly expect Liz to feel the same when all of the horrible things that she had experienced had been set in motion because of his family, because of what they were?
He couldn't, as much as he longed for it.
So he would do the only thing that he could, he would shut himself off from it.
It was the only thing he knew how to do.
He opened the door and got out of the car, shutting the door, seeing his father standing in the doorway waiting for him.
********
Phillip embraced him as he met him at the door.
"Are you all right?" he asked, concerned.
Max nodded tightly.
"What happened?" Phillip asked, without preamble.
"He was going to kill her," Max said grimly. "He had her tied up in the basement of a house. I'd almost had her out when he came back. We fought and she shot him, but he'd gotten a shot off with my gun and she was hit."
Max paused, rubbing his eyes.
"It was bad, and she wasn't going to make it," he said.
"You healed her," Phillip said quietly.
Max nodded.
"I had to tell her," Max said. "I told her everything, about us, Mom, David...."
"She must have been...upset," Phillip mused, worried.
"I don't know what she's feeling," Max said carefully, shaking his head. "She hasn't said a word to me since. She said she wouldn't tell anyone."
"But what about you?" Phillip asked. "Max, she told me she had feelings for you."
Max looked away.
"She's got a lot to think about. We're a big part of why she went through what she did all of these years," Max said, his tone signaling Phillip not to pursue the conversation any further.
"Max," Phillip started.
"Dad, just...don't," Max said, stepping back.
"Max!" Isabel cried from the top of the stairs.
Max looked up as she hurried down the stairs toward him, Michael behind her.
She threw her arms around him as she reached the bottom.
"God I was so worried!" she said, her voice trembling. "Liz is upstairs with Maria and Nancy. She seems to be ok, but I was worried about you."
She stepped back and saw the dried blood on his shirt.
"Oh God, what happened?" she cried, her fingers hovering over the stain. "What did he do to you?"
"I'm fine," Max said, shaking his head. "I've already taken care of it."
He glanced up to see Michael watching him from the bottom step. In his eyes Max saw clearly the lingering fear he must have been feeling, knowing that Max had rushed off headlong to face the enemy that had killed Edward, the enemy that had caused them to live in fear their whole lives.
"Hey Max," he said quietly, and Max nodded at him, an unspoken understanding in his eyes. Michael looked away.
"Pierce is gone?" Isabel asked, pulling away from him. "He's really gone?"
Max nodded.
"Yeah, he's gone," Max said.
Isabel's eyes spontaneously filled with tears and a hiccuping sob escaped her lips.
"So it's over," she said. "It's finally over."
"I don’t know," Max said quietly. "Pierce was the one pushing the funding for the Special Unit. I don't know what will happen now that he's dead."
Isabel's eyes widened.
"There will be an investigation," she said, almost frantic. "The position he was in....it's going to get a lot of attention."
"Don't worry about it," Max said. "It will never come back to us. I made sure of it."
"Nancy's been asking for you," Michael said. "At least, that's what Maria thinks."
Max's eyes snapped to Michael's.
"Does Maria..." he faltered.
"I told her about us, what we are," Michael said. "I didn't have much of a choice. She practically tried to beat it out of me after you left. She was a little freaked out, but she said that as long as you brought Liz back, she'd find a way to deal with it."
So it hadn't mattered after all whether Max had told Liz or not. If he hadn't, then Maria surely would have, and in the end, that would have been worse, because he wouldn't have told her himself.
Max instinctively knew that Michael had received a similar response to Liz's at the revelation. For the first time, he wondered how Alex had reacted when Isabel told him. He'd never actually asked.
Max turned to Phillip.
"Have you seen Liz yet?" he asked.
Phillip shook his head.
"I heard her come in from the kitchen, but I saw you outside and I wanted to make sure that you were all right," Phillip said.
"Is it all going to be all right Max?" Isabel asked quietly.
Max wished he knew the answer. Before, his biggest concern would have been whether they were in danger of being exposed, but now everything had changed. He was quite certain that they would continue to be safe, but suddenly he wasn't sure if that was enough any longer. In fact, he was discovering that it didn't matter to him at all, if that meant that Liz wasn't part of it.
*******
Liz took a step forward, toward her mother.
For the first time in her memory, she wasn't afraid for her, for the both of them.
The others had left, and now it was just she and Maria in the room.
Isabel, Alex and Michael had been in the room when Liz had come in with Maria, anxious to see for herself that her mother was ok.
"Liz," Isabel had said, as if she wanted to embrace her, and then faltering, unsure how Liz would receive it. "I'm so glad you're all right."
Liz had felt an uncustomary sting of tears in her eyes. For as many differences as they had, in many ways she and Isabel were alike, having had to hide most of their lives. She genuinely liked Isabel, but it was hard to see past what she now knew about what she was.
"Thank you, Isabel," she said. "I'm sorry that I ran off. I know I put Max in danger because of it, but I didn't know..."
Isabel shook her head.
"He wouldn't have gone unless he wanted to," Isabel said. "He was so afraid he was going to be too late..."
Liz had lowered her head, taking a step back, knowing what Isabel was inferring, and she couldn't talk about it, not now.
"I owe Max a great deal," she said, glancing over at her mother, who was facing away from her, looking out the window. "I owe you all..."
"That's the thing about family," Alex said, and she turned toward him, surprised at his words. "They just do things for each other."
Isabel glanced at her husband with tears in her eyes, the love she had for him apparent in her eyes.
Liz looked at Alex for the first time, really looked at him, and saw the man Isabel had fallen in love with. He had always been quiet, remaining in the background, but within his heart lay an acceptance and a strength that Isabel drew on, qualities she wished she possessed in that moment.
"I'm glad you're back and that you're ok," Alex said, and Liz nodded at him with a teary smile.
"I'm going to find Max," Michael said abruptly, and Isabel turned to him.
"I'll go with you," she said.
Maria's eyes followed Michael as he left the room, but she said nothing. Liz looked at her and saw the same knowledge she had learned earlier mirrored in her friend's eyes, along with the accompanying uncertainty.
Neither of them said a word. Now wasn't the time.
Liz once again turned toward her mother, her heart filled with love and stepped toward her. She didn't even register Alex backing quietly out of the room.
Liz dropped to her knees in front of Nancy, who sat in a staring absently out the window over the gardens.
"Momma," she whispered, her eyes blurred with tears. Maria's hand fell to rest on her shoulder in silent support.
Her mother turned to her with a look of slight confusion before her eyes seemed to clear.
"Hi sweetie," she said with a smile. "Have you and Mari been outside again? You have some color."
Liz's heart twisted, just as it did every time this happened, which was quite often since she'd found her mother again after the years in South America.
She didn't think she'd ever quite get used to it.
"Momma, David is gone," she said. "For good this time. We don't have to run any more."
Her mother's eyes filled with fear, and she shook her head.
"He'll never be gone. I don't want you to ever let your guard down. Mind me, the both of you. He'll come when you least expect it," she whispered. "You don't know what he's like. You don't know what he's after."
"Yes I do," Liz said in a low voice, tenderly brushing a stray lock of hair from her mother's face. "Momma, Max found me..."
"Max?" Nancy said absently, shaking her head with confused frown.
"Diane's son. Max," Liz said.
"Oh Diane's boy," she said with a nod, and then froze.
"But David wanted them, all of them," Nancy said, trying to rise from her chair in panic. "Because she killed, with her hands."
"Mom, it's ok. I promise you. He's gone. Max took care of it, took care of him. He won't ever be coming back," she said.
Nancy settled into her seat again, but it was a long moment before she relaxed.
"Such a nice boy, Diane's son. So very brave to bring you home," she said in a small voice. "He promised me."
"You were brave too, Momma," Liz whispered, a tear slipping down her cheek. "You were so very brave."
"I had to be, for you sweetie," Nancy said, looking into her daughter's eyes with unusual lucidity. "How I wished a normal life for you. You know I've always loved you. It didn't matter what happened, how you came to me. You know that, don't you?"
Liz nodded.
"I know that Momma," she said, smiling through her tears. "I've always known that. And I love you too."
"She didn't do anything to deserve what they did to her," Nancy said in a faraway voice. "No one deserved to be treated like that."
"Neither did you, Momma," Liz whispered, as she felt Maria crouch behind her.
A wistful smile flitted across Nancy's face.
"We play the cards we're dealt, don't we honey," she said.
"Yeah, I guess we do," Liz said, thinking of Max, and how he'd had to live his life, how all of them did.
Nancy sighed.
"Now you girls give me a hug and run along outside. There won't be too many more nice days like this before it gets cold," she said.
Liz looked into her mother's eyes and saw the hazy look that had returned to them. There was no use trying to say anything further about it.
"Ok Momma," she said, wrapping her arms around Nancy, as Maria wrapped her arms around the both of them.
"Love you Nance," Maria said softly.
"Oh you say that now, but you wait till I tell your mother you ran away to visit me," she said, in a joking tone.
Maria smiled tenderly.
"You wouldn't do that. You love me too much," Maria said with a teary smile.
Nancy shook her head, shooing them both away.
"You always know how to play me Mari, like a fiddle!" she said exasperated.
****
Max stepped back from the doorway before Liz spotted him, unwilling to intrude on her reunion with her mother.
He quietly walked to the other end of the house, slipping into his room.
Phillip and the others were downstairs waiting for Liz, but he wasn't prepared to hear what she might have to say, and was headed for the refuge of his room.
He'd paused at the door when he'd heard his name, stepping near the doorway, seeing Liz crouched on the floor in front of her mother.
Max watched a series of emotions play across her face, ranging from love, to relief, to sadness.
"Momma, Max found me..."
"Mom, it's ok. I promise you. He's gone. Max took care of it, took care of him. He won't ever be coming back..."
His heart lifted briefly knowing what it meant to Liz to be able to say that to Nancy, and knowing that he had brought her back.
He listened quietly, peering through the door.
"Such a nice boy, Diane's son. So very brave to bring you home..."
It wasn't bravery. It had been for love. And despite everything he would have done things the very same way if he had a chance to.
"She didn't do anything to deserve what they did to her. No one deserved to be treated like that."
A lump formed in his throat at her words. He’d been so wrong, judging the whole human race on the actions of the worst of them.
Nancy had been thrown into their secret, much like Liz had. Still, he knew now that not everyone wanted to destroy what they might fear. He thought Alex had been a unique exception. He knew now that he wasn’t. Acceptance might be rare, but it wasn’t once in a lifetime.
Not that this made him feel much better. No, Liz hadn’t run screaming, but he knew she was afraid. While he certainly understood it, he couldn’t help the part of him that felt wounded at the thought that she might fear him, or what he was.
Walking over to his bed, he sat heavily upon the mattress, lying back to stare at the ceiling.
He shouldn’t have told her he loved her until after she knew the truth. He knew that now. He’d left himself wide open and vulnerable, and that was not like him.
But there was nothing he could do to change any of it.
******
“God, this whole thing has just been surreal,” Maria said under her breath as Liz closed the door behind her.
“I mean, it started out fine. Michael was a cute guy, and I didn’t mind playing the part. And then I got to come to stay in a gorgeous house, and said cute guy happens to be here. And then, you ran off without me, and everything I thought I knew about anything got turned upside down!” she hissed.
She looked at Liz.
“Max told you, didn’t he?” she asked, with a frown. “About the…you know…”
She pointed upward.
Liz nodded.
“So back to what I was saying, I come to find out that the people I’m staying with are aliens, and that your mother knew about it!” she whispered, shaking her head.
“I’m sorry Maria,” Liz said, pausing in the middle of the hall.
“Sorry?” Maria huffed. “How could you just take off without me!”
“Because, you would have been killed,” Liz said.
“Did you ever think that maybe I might be able to help?” Maria asked. “Do you have so little faith in me?”
“It had nothing to do with faith Maria!” Liz exclaimed. “I couldn’t bear to see anyone else I loved hurt or killed. I’m back and I’m ok.”
“Only because Max saved your ass,” Maria scoffed.
Like looked at her agape.
“Wait a minute,” she said. “What is this? You’re not freaking out about these people being aliens, but you’re pissed at me because I wanted you to be safe?”
“I did freak,” Maria hissed in a low voice. “I’ve had a few days to think about it and to calm down.”
“And what? Now you’re ok with it?” Liz asked, incredulous.
“Liz, that first night I found out, I was scared shitless. I was ready to run, but I knew if I did, and I took your mom, we’d never know what happened to you, and I’d never be able to forgive myself. I thought to myself, ‘they told me, and they hadn’t done anything to me’, so I stayed, and I locked myself and your mom in my room, and I didn’t sleep a wink, watching the door, waiting for one of them to come and bite my head off or something,” she said, sounding almost contrite.
“Nothing happened, except for me losing a night’s sleep,” she finished.
“They wouldn’t hurt you Maria,” Liz said in a low voice.
“I know that…now,” Maria said. “I had a long talk with both Michael and Phillip, and they told me everything, about how your mom knew Diane, about Pierce, everything. But you should know, Max was pretty devastated that you left. He wouldn’t eat or sleep. He wouldn’t rest until he found you.”
“I know,” Liz nodded, averting her eyes, willing the tears that blurred her vision not to fall.
“How do you feel about it? Are you all right with it?” Maria asked.
“It’s so complicated Maria,” Liz said. “Too complicated. Everything they are is tied up in the life I led, the life I’ve spent every waking minute wishing to be free of. Finding this out was a huge shock, and I don’t know what to do with it. I have all these…feelings, not just for Max, but for all of them. I really like them, and I don’t want to hurt them. But I don’t know what to do with any of this. I’m…afraid.”
Maria studied her for a long moment and then sighed.
“You know whatever you decide, I’ve got your back,” Maria said finally.
“I know,” Liz said gratefully, nodding.
“I’ve got to talk to Phillip,” Liz said quietly.
The Kindness of Strangers (AU, ML / Mature) (Complete)
Moderators: Itzstacie, Forum Moderators
32
Carol - Thank you for your kind words. 
Yes, I live on Long Island, and I took the train in on Monday to see "Happily Even After" with a few friends. Jason played a very different role in HEA than he had as Max Evans. I liked Max much better.
Well, I am sure y'all won't be too happy with me after this part but yes I am going to stay on the same schedule I was on. Sorry this is a bit later in the day than usual. The week's been hectic. I've been preparing for a trade show at work and I spent my birthday with my family tonight.
So go easy on me after reading this, hmmm?
Part 32
Maria wouldn’t let go of her hand as Liz walked down the stairs toward the library, where she knew Phillip waited.
What would she say to him? She didn’t even know where to begin.
She suddenly felt like an intruder in this house with the knowledge that she now had. Truth be told, it was now finally hitting her that this family, the man that had saved her from Carlo, was the very reason she’d been in that situation in the first place. This family was the reason that her mother had lived in terror for years.
It wasn’t as if she thought it was their fault, because she knew that wasn’t fair. None of them had any control over what happened all those years ago. She knew that. Fate had brought Diane and Nancy together, and circumstance had taken over.
She knew that Diane had done everything she could for them; so had Phillip, once he’d found her. And Max had saved her life mere hours ago.
Max.
A lump formed in her throat, knowing what he’d sacrificed to bring her home.
She couldn't think about Max. Not now, not when she still had to face Phillip.
She hesitated in the doorway seeing him waiting for her.
He smiled, and she stepped forward, Maria letting go of her hand.
“I’m going to go and find the others,” Maria said softly, and Liz nodded, turning back to Phillip.
As he walked toward her, she realized that this man she thought she knew, in reality was a stranger to her. Even knowing why he’d kept it from her didn’t lessen the sting, because he’d known almost everything about her. She felt like she’d been betrayed.
“I’m so glad you’re safe,” he said, taking her hand in between his large ones.
“Thank you,” she said in a low voice. “And thank you for watching over my mother.”
He shook his head, an uncomfortable silence blanketing the room as he struggled for the right words.
“There’s no point in saying I’m sorry,” Phillip said quietly, “because any apology I offer would only be an insult.”
She shook her head.
“Phillip, please…” she started.
“No, let me finish,” Phillip said. “I have so much to thank both your mother and you for. If Nancy hadn’t stopped that night for Diane, we most definitely would never have seen her again. And I wouldn’t have had the privilege of having my children in my life, my children who I love more than anything in the world.”
“Your mother gave that to me, Liz. And knowing you for these past months had been such a joy for me. You are a beautiful girl, both inside and out, more so because of what you’ve been through. It would have been an honor to have you as my wife, even in name only. But you wouldn't have accepted otherwise, would you? You knew my heart always belonged to Diane. Knowing that I was offering you the haven that you needed meant more to me than I can possibly begin to tell you,” he said, backing away.
“I know all of this must be a shock for you, and I can’t even begin to imagine how you must be feeling right now. All I can tell you is that Diane never stopped thinking of your mother. She lived with the guilt of that every day of her life,” he said. “She told me to find the two of you. With her dying breath, she asked for my oath, to find you and make things right.”
He started to pace the room.
“I told you that I wasn’t anywhere near the husband I should have been,” Phillip said ruefully. “She was right. She knew I would have been furious with her if she hadn’t been dying. God, I was so selfish! I made her so afraid, that she didn’t dare tell me beforehand. I molded my son into my image, one that hated and feared human beings.”
He stopped to look at her in almost a pleading manner.
“Liz, I know that I had my hand in trying to put you and Max together, and I should have stayed out of it. But I saw something in his eyes when he looked at you, and it was something I’d never seen before. Something I thought I would never see. I don’t even think he knew what he was feeling,” he said with a wry smile.
“Phillip, I asked you this once, and I’ll ask you again. What good could you possibly think would have come out of this?” she said with a weary shake of her head.
He stilled, looking at her for a long moment.
“Happiness for my son. And happiness for you,” he said quietly.
“Through what? Lies and deceit?” she asked. “I was lying to him about who I was, about my feelings for you…about my connection to David. And both you and he were lying to me about yours, and about what you are! How could that possibly lead to anything but disaster?”
Phillip sighed heavily.
"If things hadn't happened the way that they did, could you have married me, Liz?" Phillip asked.
Liz was taken aback by his question.
"I...I would have," she stammered.
"Even knowing how you felt about Max?" Phillip prompted.
The truth was, she had been having second thoughts before that night she ran. She had waged an internal battle against her heart, wondering how she would find the strength to marry Phillip when her heart surely belonged to his son.
That night when she approached Max in the garden and told him the garden and told him she was going to marry Phillip, she'd said it not only to convince him, but herself. That last-ditch attempt to push him away had been sheer torture.
The last night, the night she'd run, she'd come home early, secretly hoping that Max would be there, hoping that she could find some way to talk to him, to tell him how important it was that she married Phillip. She needed him to stop with his questions. She needed things settled between them. She needed him to know that was might have been between them couldn't be.
For something deep inside of her told her that if he didn't back off, she never would have made the wedding day. She would have taken her mother and run first, for the thought of seeing Max, seeing his face day in and day out while betrothed to Phillip would have been devastating.
*****
Max stood on the stairs, listening to the conversation between his father and Liz. He'd thought it would look worse if he didn't make an appearance with the others, but it seemed that they were nowhere to be found.
"If things hadn't happened the way that they did, could you have married me, Liz?"
"I...I would have."
"Even knowing how you felt about Max?"
"I would have done what I had to. I would have done whatever it took to protect my mother," Liz said.
"At the cost of your own heart," Phillip said. "She would never want that for you. Nor would I."
"What are you saying? That you wouldn't have married me? I thought that was what you wanted!" she said.
"I wanted you to feel safe, and at the time, I thought my hand in marriage was the best way to offer you that. But things changed," he said.
"It doesn't matter what everyone wants for me! I live in reality, Phillip. I always have. I had no choice," she said angrily.
"You have a choice now," he said meaningfully.
"Yes, I have a choice, now that I found out that all of you are not at all what I thought you were," she said bitterly.
"Does it really matter?" he asked.
"How can you ask me that? How do you expect me to answer that?" she said miserably. "Everything I am, every miserable thing that's happened to me is tied into your family, not to mention that your family is not even from this planet. God, Phillip! How could you do this to me? How could you keep that from me?"
"Because our very existence depended on it, just like your existence depended on me keeping your secret," he said.
All was silent for a moment.
He heard his father sigh heavily.
"This is getting us nowhere," she said in a low voice. "I'm grateful for everything you did for me, Phillip. I'll be grateful to Max for the rest of my life for what he did today. But I can't stay here any longer. I...I need time to think."
Max leaned against the wall heavily, his eyes closing in defeat.
"I'm sorry Phillip," she said, her voice on the verge of tears.
Max pushed himself from the wall and strode to the front door, quietly letting himself out.
*********
Liz packed up what little she had left in the room adjacent to Phillip's, while Maria sat beside her on the bed.
"Are you ok, hon?" Maria asked softly.
Liz visibly flinched at her question. Okay? She would never be ok again.
"I'm fine Maria. Or I will be," she said quietly, lying through her teeth. She didn't dare think about it too much, or she was sure she'd go mad.
"Are you sure your mom's ok with us coming to stay for awhile?" Liz asked, glancing at Maria.
"Do you even have to ask?" Maria scoffed. "She's so looking forward to seeing you...and Nancy. It's been so long."
"I know," Liz sighed.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Maria asked carefully. "You know, leave?"
Liz nodded, fighting tears.
"I have to Maria. I can't stay here," she said. "It's not fair to any of us. Phillip gave me the car. I promised I would pay him back, but he's refusing to accept anything for it."
"Are you going to say goodbye to Max?" Maria asked.
Liz stilled, closing her eyes.
"He left this afternoon, and he hasn't been back," she said quietly.
"Oh..." Maria said.
Liz couldn't say that she blamed him. And on some level, she thought she was getting off easy, not having to face him. But there was another part of her that wanted to turn around and unpack her bag, that wanted him to put his arms around her once again, that wanted to unlearn everything she had learned.
But that wasn't going to happen.
"Isabel and Alex left as well. I guess she must be upset with me too," Liz said, her hair falling to cover her face as she snapped her bag shut.
"I guess that's it," she said, looking around the room , fighting her tears.
She walked over to the dressing table, looking down at her hand, her ring finger still enclosed by the gold band holding the champagne diamond.
She slipped the ring off of her finger, placing it carefully on the table before turning away and picking up her bag.
"Are you going to say goodbye to Michael?" she asked, looking at her friend.
"He's MIA too," Maria said, lowering her eyes. "It's probably for the best anyway. It would have been uncomfortable."
"Yeah," Liz said, her voice cracking.
"We should...get Mom," Liz said, struggling to maintain her composure.
"'Kay," Maria said, picking up her own bag that she'd set on the floor.
Liz took one last look around the room, and snapped the light off, closing the door behind her.
*******
Maria closed the rear passenger door of the sedan after making sure that Nancy was settled in, turning back toward Liz and Phillip.
"Phillip, I really don't feel comfortable just taking this car. We could have taken the bus," Liz said, looking up at him.
He shook his head.
"I want you to have it," he said with finality.
"Well...thank you," she said, lowering her eyes.
"Thanks for letting me come to stay, Phillip," Maria said. "And for...everything."
Phillip knew exactly what she meant without her saying it.
He nodded.
"It was nice getting to know you Maria," he said, his eyes turning toward Liz.
They stared at each other for a long moment.
"Phillip," she said, half sobbing, taking a step forward and wrapping her arms around him.
"Thank you," she said, pressing her cheek against his chest. "For what you did for my mother, for me...."
"I wish that things could have been different," she said, hot tears slipping down her cheeks.
"I'm sorry," she said, pulling away from him, swiping at her eyes unable to meet his.
"Tell Max I said thank you...and goodbye," she said, backing away. "Tell him...tell him I'll never forget him."
She hurried around the car and got in, starting it and putting it into drive.
Phillip watched the car disappear down the driveway.
"I don't think he'll ever forget you either, Liz Parker," he said softly.
Yes, I live on Long Island, and I took the train in on Monday to see "Happily Even After" with a few friends. Jason played a very different role in HEA than he had as Max Evans.
I liked Max much better.Well, I am sure y'all won't be too happy with me after this part but yes I am going to stay on the same schedule I was on. Sorry this is a bit later in the day than usual. The week's been hectic. I've been preparing for a trade show at work and I spent my birthday with my family tonight.
So go easy on me after reading this, hmmm?
Part 32
Maria wouldn’t let go of her hand as Liz walked down the stairs toward the library, where she knew Phillip waited.
What would she say to him? She didn’t even know where to begin.
She suddenly felt like an intruder in this house with the knowledge that she now had. Truth be told, it was now finally hitting her that this family, the man that had saved her from Carlo, was the very reason she’d been in that situation in the first place. This family was the reason that her mother had lived in terror for years.
It wasn’t as if she thought it was their fault, because she knew that wasn’t fair. None of them had any control over what happened all those years ago. She knew that. Fate had brought Diane and Nancy together, and circumstance had taken over.
She knew that Diane had done everything she could for them; so had Phillip, once he’d found her. And Max had saved her life mere hours ago.
Max.
A lump formed in her throat, knowing what he’d sacrificed to bring her home.
She couldn't think about Max. Not now, not when she still had to face Phillip.
She hesitated in the doorway seeing him waiting for her.
He smiled, and she stepped forward, Maria letting go of her hand.
“I’m going to go and find the others,” Maria said softly, and Liz nodded, turning back to Phillip.
As he walked toward her, she realized that this man she thought she knew, in reality was a stranger to her. Even knowing why he’d kept it from her didn’t lessen the sting, because he’d known almost everything about her. She felt like she’d been betrayed.
“I’m so glad you’re safe,” he said, taking her hand in between his large ones.
“Thank you,” she said in a low voice. “And thank you for watching over my mother.”
He shook his head, an uncomfortable silence blanketing the room as he struggled for the right words.
“There’s no point in saying I’m sorry,” Phillip said quietly, “because any apology I offer would only be an insult.”
She shook her head.
“Phillip, please…” she started.
“No, let me finish,” Phillip said. “I have so much to thank both your mother and you for. If Nancy hadn’t stopped that night for Diane, we most definitely would never have seen her again. And I wouldn’t have had the privilege of having my children in my life, my children who I love more than anything in the world.”
“Your mother gave that to me, Liz. And knowing you for these past months had been such a joy for me. You are a beautiful girl, both inside and out, more so because of what you’ve been through. It would have been an honor to have you as my wife, even in name only. But you wouldn't have accepted otherwise, would you? You knew my heart always belonged to Diane. Knowing that I was offering you the haven that you needed meant more to me than I can possibly begin to tell you,” he said, backing away.
“I know all of this must be a shock for you, and I can’t even begin to imagine how you must be feeling right now. All I can tell you is that Diane never stopped thinking of your mother. She lived with the guilt of that every day of her life,” he said. “She told me to find the two of you. With her dying breath, she asked for my oath, to find you and make things right.”
He started to pace the room.
“I told you that I wasn’t anywhere near the husband I should have been,” Phillip said ruefully. “She was right. She knew I would have been furious with her if she hadn’t been dying. God, I was so selfish! I made her so afraid, that she didn’t dare tell me beforehand. I molded my son into my image, one that hated and feared human beings.”
He stopped to look at her in almost a pleading manner.
“Liz, I know that I had my hand in trying to put you and Max together, and I should have stayed out of it. But I saw something in his eyes when he looked at you, and it was something I’d never seen before. Something I thought I would never see. I don’t even think he knew what he was feeling,” he said with a wry smile.
“Phillip, I asked you this once, and I’ll ask you again. What good could you possibly think would have come out of this?” she said with a weary shake of her head.
He stilled, looking at her for a long moment.
“Happiness for my son. And happiness for you,” he said quietly.
“Through what? Lies and deceit?” she asked. “I was lying to him about who I was, about my feelings for you…about my connection to David. And both you and he were lying to me about yours, and about what you are! How could that possibly lead to anything but disaster?”
Phillip sighed heavily.
"If things hadn't happened the way that they did, could you have married me, Liz?" Phillip asked.
Liz was taken aback by his question.
"I...I would have," she stammered.
"Even knowing how you felt about Max?" Phillip prompted.
The truth was, she had been having second thoughts before that night she ran. She had waged an internal battle against her heart, wondering how she would find the strength to marry Phillip when her heart surely belonged to his son.
That night when she approached Max in the garden and told him the garden and told him she was going to marry Phillip, she'd said it not only to convince him, but herself. That last-ditch attempt to push him away had been sheer torture.
The last night, the night she'd run, she'd come home early, secretly hoping that Max would be there, hoping that she could find some way to talk to him, to tell him how important it was that she married Phillip. She needed him to stop with his questions. She needed things settled between them. She needed him to know that was might have been between them couldn't be.
For something deep inside of her told her that if he didn't back off, she never would have made the wedding day. She would have taken her mother and run first, for the thought of seeing Max, seeing his face day in and day out while betrothed to Phillip would have been devastating.
*****
Max stood on the stairs, listening to the conversation between his father and Liz. He'd thought it would look worse if he didn't make an appearance with the others, but it seemed that they were nowhere to be found.
"If things hadn't happened the way that they did, could you have married me, Liz?"
"I...I would have."
"Even knowing how you felt about Max?"
"I would have done what I had to. I would have done whatever it took to protect my mother," Liz said.
"At the cost of your own heart," Phillip said. "She would never want that for you. Nor would I."
"What are you saying? That you wouldn't have married me? I thought that was what you wanted!" she said.
"I wanted you to feel safe, and at the time, I thought my hand in marriage was the best way to offer you that. But things changed," he said.
"It doesn't matter what everyone wants for me! I live in reality, Phillip. I always have. I had no choice," she said angrily.
"You have a choice now," he said meaningfully.
"Yes, I have a choice, now that I found out that all of you are not at all what I thought you were," she said bitterly.
"Does it really matter?" he asked.
"How can you ask me that? How do you expect me to answer that?" she said miserably. "Everything I am, every miserable thing that's happened to me is tied into your family, not to mention that your family is not even from this planet. God, Phillip! How could you do this to me? How could you keep that from me?"
"Because our very existence depended on it, just like your existence depended on me keeping your secret," he said.
All was silent for a moment.
He heard his father sigh heavily.
"This is getting us nowhere," she said in a low voice. "I'm grateful for everything you did for me, Phillip. I'll be grateful to Max for the rest of my life for what he did today. But I can't stay here any longer. I...I need time to think."
Max leaned against the wall heavily, his eyes closing in defeat.
"I'm sorry Phillip," she said, her voice on the verge of tears.
Max pushed himself from the wall and strode to the front door, quietly letting himself out.
*********
Liz packed up what little she had left in the room adjacent to Phillip's, while Maria sat beside her on the bed.
"Are you ok, hon?" Maria asked softly.
Liz visibly flinched at her question. Okay? She would never be ok again.
"I'm fine Maria. Or I will be," she said quietly, lying through her teeth. She didn't dare think about it too much, or she was sure she'd go mad.
"Are you sure your mom's ok with us coming to stay for awhile?" Liz asked, glancing at Maria.
"Do you even have to ask?" Maria scoffed. "She's so looking forward to seeing you...and Nancy. It's been so long."
"I know," Liz sighed.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Maria asked carefully. "You know, leave?"
Liz nodded, fighting tears.
"I have to Maria. I can't stay here," she said. "It's not fair to any of us. Phillip gave me the car. I promised I would pay him back, but he's refusing to accept anything for it."
"Are you going to say goodbye to Max?" Maria asked.
Liz stilled, closing her eyes.
"He left this afternoon, and he hasn't been back," she said quietly.
"Oh..." Maria said.
Liz couldn't say that she blamed him. And on some level, she thought she was getting off easy, not having to face him. But there was another part of her that wanted to turn around and unpack her bag, that wanted him to put his arms around her once again, that wanted to unlearn everything she had learned.
But that wasn't going to happen.
"Isabel and Alex left as well. I guess she must be upset with me too," Liz said, her hair falling to cover her face as she snapped her bag shut.
"I guess that's it," she said, looking around the room , fighting her tears.
She walked over to the dressing table, looking down at her hand, her ring finger still enclosed by the gold band holding the champagne diamond.
She slipped the ring off of her finger, placing it carefully on the table before turning away and picking up her bag.
"Are you going to say goodbye to Michael?" she asked, looking at her friend.
"He's MIA too," Maria said, lowering her eyes. "It's probably for the best anyway. It would have been uncomfortable."
"Yeah," Liz said, her voice cracking.
"We should...get Mom," Liz said, struggling to maintain her composure.
"'Kay," Maria said, picking up her own bag that she'd set on the floor.
Liz took one last look around the room, and snapped the light off, closing the door behind her.
*******
Maria closed the rear passenger door of the sedan after making sure that Nancy was settled in, turning back toward Liz and Phillip.
"Phillip, I really don't feel comfortable just taking this car. We could have taken the bus," Liz said, looking up at him.
He shook his head.
"I want you to have it," he said with finality.
"Well...thank you," she said, lowering her eyes.
"Thanks for letting me come to stay, Phillip," Maria said. "And for...everything."
Phillip knew exactly what she meant without her saying it.
He nodded.
"It was nice getting to know you Maria," he said, his eyes turning toward Liz.
They stared at each other for a long moment.
"Phillip," she said, half sobbing, taking a step forward and wrapping her arms around him.
"Thank you," she said, pressing her cheek against his chest. "For what you did for my mother, for me...."
"I wish that things could have been different," she said, hot tears slipping down her cheeks.
"I'm sorry," she said, pulling away from him, swiping at her eyes unable to meet his.
"Tell Max I said thank you...and goodbye," she said, backing away. "Tell him...tell him I'll never forget him."
She hurried around the car and got in, starting it and putting it into drive.
Phillip watched the car disappear down the driveway.
"I don't think he'll ever forget you either, Liz Parker," he said softly.
33
Part 33
Six Weeks Later
Liz sat behind the counter in the small general store that Amy Deluca ran in the rural desert near Palmdale. The store had been empty of customers for hours. She supposed it was the stifling heat which kept people indoors.
Sighing, she looked out to the road, the air shimmering above the superheated pavement. Even the air-conditioning in the small shop didn’t diminish the feeling of the very air roasting around it.
She’d agreed to watch the store so that Amy could take Nancy on a day trip to the beach. Though Nancy had adapted remarkably well to being moved around so much, she had seemed a little anxious. Amy thought seeing the ocean once again would give her some peace, as Nancy had always loved it.
Liz thought it would be good for her mother to be with her old friend. Maria had said she had errands to run, and Liz didn’t really mind watching the shop. It wasn’t as if she had anything else to do.
When they’d first arrived at Amy’s house after an eleven and a half hour drive from Las Cruces, the news of David’s death had already broke.
CNN was the first media organization to link the arson to a right wing domestic terrorist group. This group had been unhappy with Pierce’s policies regarding international security, and had been very vocal about it. An incendiary device was found at the scene, a calling card that this particular group liked to leave. So far, no arrests had been made.
Max had obviously done his research, she thought, almost sadly. Of course he would have had access to that information in the business he was in. But she couldn’t help but admire his thoroughness.
Liz watched the funeral coverage days later, dispassionate. For the first time she saw the half-sister she had never met. But it did not elicit any sadness in her. She had no desire to meet either the girl, or his wife. She would not magnify their already tragic circumstance by making her existence known. No, she would leave them to their memories of David, whatever they were, good or bad. The girl was not her family, not in any way that counted.
Even the Evans had been more of a family to her in the short amount of time she’d known them, then they.
Her mind wandered toward thoughts of Max for about the twentieth time that morning.
She couldn’t stop thinking about him. He haunted her day dreams, her sleep, any moment her mind was idle.
His golden eyes would not let her rest. She couldn’t let go of the memory of being in his arms and feeling so totally safe for the first time in her life.
She knew she’d been cowardly, not staying to explain herself face to face. For three weeks it ate at her, until she couldn’t stand it any longer.
She’d called the Evans house, and Charlotte picked up the phone.
When she asked if Max was at home, she wasn’t really surprised at the answer.
“No, no, Senorita,” she said. “Él es nunca de casa ya que usted se marchó. No sé donde él es sólo puedo darle su número móvil.”
He is never home since you left. I don't know where he is but I can give you his mobile number.
“¿Y Senor Evans?” Liz asked.
“No, él no está aquí tampoco,” Charlotte said.
No, he isn't here either.
“ ¿Puedo tener el número de Max por favor?” Liz asked.
May I have Max’s number please?
“Si. Si,” Charlotte said.
Charlotte gave Liz Max’s cell phone number, and after thanking her, Liz had hung up.
She hadn’t called him right away, arguing with herself about whether to contact him or not. It was quite possible he didn’t want to talk to her at all. He’d left the house and hadn’t returned at all before she left.
She admitted to herself that she was afraid to call. She was afraid of how he’d react to hearing her voice. After all, she’d run away from him.
She knew she was wrong, and she owed him an explanation. She owed him much more than that. But how did she explain what she was feeling when she didn’t even know herself? How could she explain it without making things worse than they already were?
Finally, she picked up her phone and dialed the number, her heart thundering with expectation mixed with trepidation.
When he picked up the phone, her heart felt as if it had jumped into her throat, hearing the sound of his voice.
“Evans.”
He only said one word, his last name, but for an instant, that one word made her forget why she called. She forgot what she wanted to say to him. She forgot everything but the silky tone of his voice and the things it did to her.
A shiver ricocheted up her spine as she opened her mouth, willing something to come out.
“Hello?” he said, his voice taking on an impatient edge.
“Uh…hi Max,” she managed to say, cursing her shaky voice. “It’s Liz.”
There was a long silence on the other end of the line, but she knew he was still there, because she heard the faint rush of traffic, and the hum of his Mercedes.
“What do you want, Liz?” he asked in a neutral voice.
“I…the reason I’m calling is…,” she stammered.
“Did something happen?” he asked.
“No. I’m fine,” she said. “We’re all fine.”
Another uncomfortable pause stretched over the line.
“Liz…” he finally prompted, almost impatient.
“Max, I’m sorry,” she blurted out. “I’m sorry that I just left like that. I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you first. I was just…I didn’t know how to handle it all. It was a lot to deal with.”
Again, another silence.
“Max, what I did wasn’t right. I still don’t know how I feel about all of it, but…”
“It doesn’t matter,” he said in a clipped tone.
“It matters to me,” she said softly. “Max, you have to understand-“
“I understand completely,” he said. “Things…our feelings just got out of hand. It never should have happened. If I had known the truth before the night Carlo came for your mother, it never would have. Unfortunately I was my father’s son and wound up doing the same thing to him that he’d done to my mother. I made him afraid to tell me the truth.”
She didn’t know what to say.
“You and I….it never would have worked. I don’t know what either one of us could have been thinking. There are just too many bad ties between our families. And we’re too different. It would have wound up a disaster. I think we both know that,” he said.
She closed her eyes, stifling back a sob. Three weeks ago, she'd had been so certain of the very thing he'd just said, and when she left, she had just assumed that her heart would come around, that the feelings would fade. But here she sat, still conflicted, angry at the situation and the connections she hadn't known existed, stunned by a secret she wouldn't have imagined in her wildest dreams, and balking at the idea that it would represent more danger for her own family.
But intermingled with those emotions was the powerful love that had grown in her heart for Max. She had expected them to be smothered by every numerous reason her common sense had come up with to run and never look back. After all, there was only one reason for her to be with Max, and she wasn't sure if it was enough. She hadn't thought her expectation was unreasonable. After all, they'd only known each other for a matter of weeks, and they'd spent most of that time at odds with each other. They'd only shared two kisses. So why did she feel as if she being ripped apart by her opposing mind and heart?
Max's own words to her only solidified the argument her common sense was waging against her heart. Even he realized the feelings they had for each other were a mistake. He had obviously come to his senses before she, which is why he hadn't contacted her.
“Yeah,” she said finally. “I guess you’re right.”
“I have to go,” he said. “Take care of Nancy, and yourself Liz.”
Was this it? Was this the last time she would ever speak to him again? A shiver of panic iced her veins in an instant.
"Max," she blurted out frantically.
"Yeah," he said, sounding distracted.
Another uncomfortable silence hummed across the line as she desperately searched for the right words and failed to find them.
"Thank you," she quietly. "Thank you for everything you did for us."
"You're welcome," he said in a dull voice. "Goodbye Liz."
As she listened to the click of his phone disconnecting, her eyes fell closed miserably.
She couldn't help but to compare it to the sound of Max's heart, closing the door between them.
She knew she should be relieved, and she had convinced herself that she was. If only she could silence the painful twisting in her heart.
******
Liz sighed, wondering how much longer the afternoon was going to drag on.
She walked into the back to look for anything that might need to be put on the shelves, solely to give her mind something mundane to do, something to take it off of her preoccupation with the Evans family.
Her eyes scanned the metal shelves looking for something, some item that she hadn't seen on the racks up front.
She thought watching the shop would be a welcome distraction, but the lack of customers left her with nothing but time to dwell on the mess her life had become.
She should be happy. She was finally free, finally safe. She could now walk down the street without fear of danger. Her life was her own. So why did she suddenly feel as if what she'd wanted was not really what she thought at all?
She had to stop thinking like this, obsessing over something that surely would have been a big mistake.
The ringing of the bell over the entrance caught her attention.
"I'll be right with you," she called, sighing in irritation when she could find nothing to tag or rearrange.
"Can I help...you..." she said, her voice trailing off, her steps faltering as her eyes fell on the customer who had entered.
"Alex," she said in confusion.
"Hi Liz," he said warmly, with a grin.
"What...what are you doing here?" she stammered.
"Sweating like a pig," he said ruefully with a snort. "I didn't realize it was going to be this hot."
"It's unusual for this time of the year," she commented inanely.
"Figures," he said wryly, pulling a folded handkerchief out of his pocket and wiping his brow.
"Let me get you something to drink," she said.
As she went to the freezer case she tried to collect herself, her mind racing. To say she was stunned to see Isabel's husband of all people would be an understatement.
She pulled a soda out of the case, and opened it for him, panic starting to tense her body.
He accepted it, and took a grateful swig from the bottle.
"Thanks," he breathed with relief.
“Alex, it's not that I'm not glad to see you, but...what are you doing here?"
"Is something wrong? Did Phillip send you?” she asked, fear edging into her voice.
He shook his head.
“No one knows I’m here. I was in LA for a convention, and I decided to take a chance that if I drove out here, you might be here," he said.
"But how did you know where…Phillip knew, but…" she asked, shaking her head.
“Marrying into a family whose business is investigation and security, you tend to pick up a few things,” he shrugged.
"How have you been?" he asked, his piercing blue eyes locking on hers. She felt uncomfortable with the scrutiny and lowered her eyes.
"Great," she said. "We've settled in nicely with Amy and Maria, and my mom's doing really well."
"Mm-hmm," he said, prompting her to elaborate.
"There's nothing else to tell," she said with a shrug.
"Ok, and how are you handling the whole Max being not-of-this earth thing?" he asked point blank.
Of course. She should have known. They must have sent him to feel her out.
"Is that why you’re here?" she asked. "To find out if I'm going to tell anyone? Alex, I told Phillip and Max that their secret is safe..."
"That's not why I'm here," Alex interjected. "I told you, no one knows I came to see you."
She looked at him in confusion.
"Look, for the longest time, I've been the only...human that knows their secret. And I was completely ok with that, because I love Isabel. But I remember how I felt when I first found out. I was blown away by it for a little bit, and I thought that if you wanted to talk about it, you know, I wouldn't mind. I mean, it'd sort of be nice to be able to talk about it with someone who's in the same boat," he said.
"So if you want to ask me anything, if there's anything you want to know..." he trailed off.
"How did you do it?" Liz asked suddenly, and a surprised grin appeared on Alex's face.
"Well that didn't take long," he chuckled, as Liz's cheeks burned pink.
"How did I do what?" he asked.
"How did you just...accept what Isabel was?" Liz asked.
Alex was quiet for a moment, his face growing serious.
"I loved her before I knew, and I guess it didn’t change much for me, other than she can do some things that I can’t," he shrugged.
How Liz wished it could have been that easy for her.
"She’s still the same person," he said with a loving smile. "You know, Max is too. Whatever you love or even hate about him hasn’t changed because you found out that his cells are a little bit different than yours, has it?"
"No," Liz said after a pause.
"Isabel never really thought of anyplace else as home. This is all she knows. She said to me that she thought that Max was afraid to think of it like that, because it hurt too much to know that he would always have to hide, would always have to look over his shoulder expecting the worst. And he’s seen the worst Liz," Alex said soberly.
"I know," she said, lowering her eyes. She could only imagine what Max must have been feeling having experienced what he did at such a young age.
"The thing is, I know that the whole situation is messy. I can’t imagine how you must feel knowing what happened to you and your mom was because of Diane," Alex said. "But this hasn’t been easy for Max either. The way I see it is, you two have more in common than you think. Max didn’t have many choices either. Like you, he didn’t ask to be born and he didn’t ask to be terrorized by Pierce. Like you, he didn’t ask to have to live in fear of being captured or tortured or killed because of who he was."
"Like you, he was afraid to get too close to anyone," Alex said. "See the thing is, it’s over for you now. Pierce is dead. Carlo is dead. You can do whatever you want with your life now. No one is going to come after you again."
"But Max and Isabel…they can’t ever let their guard down. They’ll never know for sure that the government won’t come looking for them. Max told Isabel that it was over, but I know as well as he does that it’s never going to be over, not as long as the Special Unit still exists. And by all accounts it still does. We don't know how big it is or how long it will be around, but its there," he said quietly.
"You’ve just gotta ask yourself one question, the same one I asked myself when I found out about Isabel. And the question is, do you still love him? Even knowing what you know?" he asked.
She realized that she never truly was afraid of Max, of what he was. She was afraid of what he represented, of hiding, of the lingering danger being with him would bring into her life. When she first realized that Pierce was dead, she thought that they were both free. But Max would never truly be free of those that wished to conquer, to destroy what they could not understand.
But God help her, she did. She loved him.
"Yes," she whispered, looking up to meet his eyes.
And as she did, she realized how badly she'd messed everything up. Suddenly, she saw things as Max would have seen them. She saw that he had risked everything to save her life, and had risked his own safety to tell her his deepest secret, opened himself and his heart to her...and she had run.
“God, I’ve been so stupid Alex! I’ve been so selfish! Such a coward,” she said miserably digging her hands in to her hair resting her elbows against the counter. “What have I done? How do I fix this?”
Alex leaned against the counter next to her.
"The only thing I can tell you is to follow your heart Liz. That's what I did," he said in a low voice.
"I have to talk to him," Liz said, lifting her head. "I have to explain."
Alex shook his head.
"I don’t what will happen if you do," Alex said truthfully. "I don't know how Max will react. He sort of shut himself off from everyone after you left."
"So you think I'm too late," she said in a dull voice.
"Liz, I don't have the answers for you. I can't tell you that it will end well if you do. All I do know is that I would regret it if it were Isabel and I didn't at least try," he said, pushing away from the counter.
"It was something Isabel said that made me decide to come out here. She said that since that shooting on the beach, she hadn’t seen Max show any real emotion…until you," Alex said. "And yes, the situation is complicated. But nothing worth anything isn't."
Liz started at the similarity between Alex's words and the words of Juan, their tour guide from Mesilla.
"Love is a rare thing, Liz. And in the end it doesn't matter whether a few cells are different between you, as long as what's in your hearts is the same," he said.
His eyes met hers, and in them she saw the happiness he had with Isabel. There was no fear, no regret, only the happiness and contentment that came with finding his soul-mate.
"I've got to run," he said regretfully. "I've got a thing to get to in LA."
"Alex, thank you," she said, embracing him impulsively.
"You'll figure it out," he said. "The heart always finds its way."
"Whatever you decide to do, just take care of yourself," he said.
With a jaunty salute with his fingers, he was gone.
For a long moment, Liz stood in the middle of the store, riddled with indecision.
And suddenly, she knew what she had to do.
She picked up the phone and dialed Max's cell phone.
It rang continuously, and went to voicemail. She didn't want to say what she had to say through a message, and she hung up.
Frustrated, she called the Evans house.
Once again, she was greeted by Charlotte and she asked for Max.
"¡Hola! Charlotte. Este es Liz. ¿Podía yo por favor hable a Max? Es muy importante."
"Ah Senorita Liz! Siento pero Max no está aquí."
Liz then asked how she might reach him.
"¿Sabe usted cómo puedo alcanzarlo?"
Charlotte sounded sympathetic.
"Ah nina, siento pero él está en Los Ángeles, de negocios. Él supervisa una ceremonia de premios grande. La Emmy's."
Liz thanked her and hung up the phone, reeling from this latest information.
He was in LA? At the Emmy's? Of course! Phillip had mentioned something about it weeks ago. Suddenly Alex's business in California made perfect sense.
Grabbing her bag, she locked the store and jumped into her car. It was only a few hours drive. She could make it if she left shortly.
She drove at almost breakneck speed back to the house, bursting in the door to find Maria standing in the kitchen.
"Liz, what's wrong?" she asked, alarmed.
"Nothing," Liz said, moving quickly to her room to retrieve a jacket and some cash.
"I'm going to LA," Liz said on her way back to the door. "I may not be back tonight."
"LA?" Maria said, her mouth agape. "What are you going to do in LA?"
"I'll explain later! I'll call you," Liz called as she closed the door behind her.
Maria stood in the middle of the kitchen, shaking her head.
Six Weeks Later
Liz sat behind the counter in the small general store that Amy Deluca ran in the rural desert near Palmdale. The store had been empty of customers for hours. She supposed it was the stifling heat which kept people indoors.
Sighing, she looked out to the road, the air shimmering above the superheated pavement. Even the air-conditioning in the small shop didn’t diminish the feeling of the very air roasting around it.
She’d agreed to watch the store so that Amy could take Nancy on a day trip to the beach. Though Nancy had adapted remarkably well to being moved around so much, she had seemed a little anxious. Amy thought seeing the ocean once again would give her some peace, as Nancy had always loved it.
Liz thought it would be good for her mother to be with her old friend. Maria had said she had errands to run, and Liz didn’t really mind watching the shop. It wasn’t as if she had anything else to do.
When they’d first arrived at Amy’s house after an eleven and a half hour drive from Las Cruces, the news of David’s death had already broke.
CNN was the first media organization to link the arson to a right wing domestic terrorist group. This group had been unhappy with Pierce’s policies regarding international security, and had been very vocal about it. An incendiary device was found at the scene, a calling card that this particular group liked to leave. So far, no arrests had been made.
Max had obviously done his research, she thought, almost sadly. Of course he would have had access to that information in the business he was in. But she couldn’t help but admire his thoroughness.
Liz watched the funeral coverage days later, dispassionate. For the first time she saw the half-sister she had never met. But it did not elicit any sadness in her. She had no desire to meet either the girl, or his wife. She would not magnify their already tragic circumstance by making her existence known. No, she would leave them to their memories of David, whatever they were, good or bad. The girl was not her family, not in any way that counted.
Even the Evans had been more of a family to her in the short amount of time she’d known them, then they.
Her mind wandered toward thoughts of Max for about the twentieth time that morning.
She couldn’t stop thinking about him. He haunted her day dreams, her sleep, any moment her mind was idle.
His golden eyes would not let her rest. She couldn’t let go of the memory of being in his arms and feeling so totally safe for the first time in her life.
She knew she’d been cowardly, not staying to explain herself face to face. For three weeks it ate at her, until she couldn’t stand it any longer.
She’d called the Evans house, and Charlotte picked up the phone.
When she asked if Max was at home, she wasn’t really surprised at the answer.
“No, no, Senorita,” she said. “Él es nunca de casa ya que usted se marchó. No sé donde él es sólo puedo darle su número móvil.”
He is never home since you left. I don't know where he is but I can give you his mobile number.
“¿Y Senor Evans?” Liz asked.
“No, él no está aquí tampoco,” Charlotte said.
No, he isn't here either.
“ ¿Puedo tener el número de Max por favor?” Liz asked.
May I have Max’s number please?
“Si. Si,” Charlotte said.
Charlotte gave Liz Max’s cell phone number, and after thanking her, Liz had hung up.
She hadn’t called him right away, arguing with herself about whether to contact him or not. It was quite possible he didn’t want to talk to her at all. He’d left the house and hadn’t returned at all before she left.
She admitted to herself that she was afraid to call. She was afraid of how he’d react to hearing her voice. After all, she’d run away from him.
She knew she was wrong, and she owed him an explanation. She owed him much more than that. But how did she explain what she was feeling when she didn’t even know herself? How could she explain it without making things worse than they already were?
Finally, she picked up her phone and dialed the number, her heart thundering with expectation mixed with trepidation.
When he picked up the phone, her heart felt as if it had jumped into her throat, hearing the sound of his voice.
“Evans.”
He only said one word, his last name, but for an instant, that one word made her forget why she called. She forgot what she wanted to say to him. She forgot everything but the silky tone of his voice and the things it did to her.
A shiver ricocheted up her spine as she opened her mouth, willing something to come out.
“Hello?” he said, his voice taking on an impatient edge.
“Uh…hi Max,” she managed to say, cursing her shaky voice. “It’s Liz.”
There was a long silence on the other end of the line, but she knew he was still there, because she heard the faint rush of traffic, and the hum of his Mercedes.
“What do you want, Liz?” he asked in a neutral voice.
“I…the reason I’m calling is…,” she stammered.
“Did something happen?” he asked.
“No. I’m fine,” she said. “We’re all fine.”
Another uncomfortable pause stretched over the line.
“Liz…” he finally prompted, almost impatient.
“Max, I’m sorry,” she blurted out. “I’m sorry that I just left like that. I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you first. I was just…I didn’t know how to handle it all. It was a lot to deal with.”
Again, another silence.
“Max, what I did wasn’t right. I still don’t know how I feel about all of it, but…”
“It doesn’t matter,” he said in a clipped tone.
“It matters to me,” she said softly. “Max, you have to understand-“
“I understand completely,” he said. “Things…our feelings just got out of hand. It never should have happened. If I had known the truth before the night Carlo came for your mother, it never would have. Unfortunately I was my father’s son and wound up doing the same thing to him that he’d done to my mother. I made him afraid to tell me the truth.”
She didn’t know what to say.
“You and I….it never would have worked. I don’t know what either one of us could have been thinking. There are just too many bad ties between our families. And we’re too different. It would have wound up a disaster. I think we both know that,” he said.
She closed her eyes, stifling back a sob. Three weeks ago, she'd had been so certain of the very thing he'd just said, and when she left, she had just assumed that her heart would come around, that the feelings would fade. But here she sat, still conflicted, angry at the situation and the connections she hadn't known existed, stunned by a secret she wouldn't have imagined in her wildest dreams, and balking at the idea that it would represent more danger for her own family.
But intermingled with those emotions was the powerful love that had grown in her heart for Max. She had expected them to be smothered by every numerous reason her common sense had come up with to run and never look back. After all, there was only one reason for her to be with Max, and she wasn't sure if it was enough. She hadn't thought her expectation was unreasonable. After all, they'd only known each other for a matter of weeks, and they'd spent most of that time at odds with each other. They'd only shared two kisses. So why did she feel as if she being ripped apart by her opposing mind and heart?
Max's own words to her only solidified the argument her common sense was waging against her heart. Even he realized the feelings they had for each other were a mistake. He had obviously come to his senses before she, which is why he hadn't contacted her.
“Yeah,” she said finally. “I guess you’re right.”
“I have to go,” he said. “Take care of Nancy, and yourself Liz.”
Was this it? Was this the last time she would ever speak to him again? A shiver of panic iced her veins in an instant.
"Max," she blurted out frantically.
"Yeah," he said, sounding distracted.
Another uncomfortable silence hummed across the line as she desperately searched for the right words and failed to find them.
"Thank you," she quietly. "Thank you for everything you did for us."
"You're welcome," he said in a dull voice. "Goodbye Liz."
As she listened to the click of his phone disconnecting, her eyes fell closed miserably.
She couldn't help but to compare it to the sound of Max's heart, closing the door between them.
She knew she should be relieved, and she had convinced herself that she was. If only she could silence the painful twisting in her heart.
******
Liz sighed, wondering how much longer the afternoon was going to drag on.
She walked into the back to look for anything that might need to be put on the shelves, solely to give her mind something mundane to do, something to take it off of her preoccupation with the Evans family.
Her eyes scanned the metal shelves looking for something, some item that she hadn't seen on the racks up front.
She thought watching the shop would be a welcome distraction, but the lack of customers left her with nothing but time to dwell on the mess her life had become.
She should be happy. She was finally free, finally safe. She could now walk down the street without fear of danger. Her life was her own. So why did she suddenly feel as if what she'd wanted was not really what she thought at all?
She had to stop thinking like this, obsessing over something that surely would have been a big mistake.
The ringing of the bell over the entrance caught her attention.
"I'll be right with you," she called, sighing in irritation when she could find nothing to tag or rearrange.
"Can I help...you..." she said, her voice trailing off, her steps faltering as her eyes fell on the customer who had entered.
"Alex," she said in confusion.
"Hi Liz," he said warmly, with a grin.
"What...what are you doing here?" she stammered.
"Sweating like a pig," he said ruefully with a snort. "I didn't realize it was going to be this hot."
"It's unusual for this time of the year," she commented inanely.
"Figures," he said wryly, pulling a folded handkerchief out of his pocket and wiping his brow.
"Let me get you something to drink," she said.
As she went to the freezer case she tried to collect herself, her mind racing. To say she was stunned to see Isabel's husband of all people would be an understatement.
She pulled a soda out of the case, and opened it for him, panic starting to tense her body.
He accepted it, and took a grateful swig from the bottle.
"Thanks," he breathed with relief.
“Alex, it's not that I'm not glad to see you, but...what are you doing here?"
"Is something wrong? Did Phillip send you?” she asked, fear edging into her voice.
He shook his head.
“No one knows I’m here. I was in LA for a convention, and I decided to take a chance that if I drove out here, you might be here," he said.
"But how did you know where…Phillip knew, but…" she asked, shaking her head.
“Marrying into a family whose business is investigation and security, you tend to pick up a few things,” he shrugged.
"How have you been?" he asked, his piercing blue eyes locking on hers. She felt uncomfortable with the scrutiny and lowered her eyes.
"Great," she said. "We've settled in nicely with Amy and Maria, and my mom's doing really well."
"Mm-hmm," he said, prompting her to elaborate.
"There's nothing else to tell," she said with a shrug.
"Ok, and how are you handling the whole Max being not-of-this earth thing?" he asked point blank.
Of course. She should have known. They must have sent him to feel her out.
"Is that why you’re here?" she asked. "To find out if I'm going to tell anyone? Alex, I told Phillip and Max that their secret is safe..."
"That's not why I'm here," Alex interjected. "I told you, no one knows I came to see you."
She looked at him in confusion.
"Look, for the longest time, I've been the only...human that knows their secret. And I was completely ok with that, because I love Isabel. But I remember how I felt when I first found out. I was blown away by it for a little bit, and I thought that if you wanted to talk about it, you know, I wouldn't mind. I mean, it'd sort of be nice to be able to talk about it with someone who's in the same boat," he said.
"So if you want to ask me anything, if there's anything you want to know..." he trailed off.
"How did you do it?" Liz asked suddenly, and a surprised grin appeared on Alex's face.
"Well that didn't take long," he chuckled, as Liz's cheeks burned pink.
"How did I do what?" he asked.
"How did you just...accept what Isabel was?" Liz asked.
Alex was quiet for a moment, his face growing serious.
"I loved her before I knew, and I guess it didn’t change much for me, other than she can do some things that I can’t," he shrugged.
How Liz wished it could have been that easy for her.
"She’s still the same person," he said with a loving smile. "You know, Max is too. Whatever you love or even hate about him hasn’t changed because you found out that his cells are a little bit different than yours, has it?"
"No," Liz said after a pause.
"Isabel never really thought of anyplace else as home. This is all she knows. She said to me that she thought that Max was afraid to think of it like that, because it hurt too much to know that he would always have to hide, would always have to look over his shoulder expecting the worst. And he’s seen the worst Liz," Alex said soberly.
"I know," she said, lowering her eyes. She could only imagine what Max must have been feeling having experienced what he did at such a young age.
"The thing is, I know that the whole situation is messy. I can’t imagine how you must feel knowing what happened to you and your mom was because of Diane," Alex said. "But this hasn’t been easy for Max either. The way I see it is, you two have more in common than you think. Max didn’t have many choices either. Like you, he didn’t ask to be born and he didn’t ask to be terrorized by Pierce. Like you, he didn’t ask to have to live in fear of being captured or tortured or killed because of who he was."
"Like you, he was afraid to get too close to anyone," Alex said. "See the thing is, it’s over for you now. Pierce is dead. Carlo is dead. You can do whatever you want with your life now. No one is going to come after you again."
"But Max and Isabel…they can’t ever let their guard down. They’ll never know for sure that the government won’t come looking for them. Max told Isabel that it was over, but I know as well as he does that it’s never going to be over, not as long as the Special Unit still exists. And by all accounts it still does. We don't know how big it is or how long it will be around, but its there," he said quietly.
"You’ve just gotta ask yourself one question, the same one I asked myself when I found out about Isabel. And the question is, do you still love him? Even knowing what you know?" he asked.
She realized that she never truly was afraid of Max, of what he was. She was afraid of what he represented, of hiding, of the lingering danger being with him would bring into her life. When she first realized that Pierce was dead, she thought that they were both free. But Max would never truly be free of those that wished to conquer, to destroy what they could not understand.
But God help her, she did. She loved him.
"Yes," she whispered, looking up to meet his eyes.
And as she did, she realized how badly she'd messed everything up. Suddenly, she saw things as Max would have seen them. She saw that he had risked everything to save her life, and had risked his own safety to tell her his deepest secret, opened himself and his heart to her...and she had run.
“God, I’ve been so stupid Alex! I’ve been so selfish! Such a coward,” she said miserably digging her hands in to her hair resting her elbows against the counter. “What have I done? How do I fix this?”
Alex leaned against the counter next to her.
"The only thing I can tell you is to follow your heart Liz. That's what I did," he said in a low voice.
"I have to talk to him," Liz said, lifting her head. "I have to explain."
Alex shook his head.
"I don’t what will happen if you do," Alex said truthfully. "I don't know how Max will react. He sort of shut himself off from everyone after you left."
"So you think I'm too late," she said in a dull voice.
"Liz, I don't have the answers for you. I can't tell you that it will end well if you do. All I do know is that I would regret it if it were Isabel and I didn't at least try," he said, pushing away from the counter.
"It was something Isabel said that made me decide to come out here. She said that since that shooting on the beach, she hadn’t seen Max show any real emotion…until you," Alex said. "And yes, the situation is complicated. But nothing worth anything isn't."
Liz started at the similarity between Alex's words and the words of Juan, their tour guide from Mesilla.
"Love is a rare thing, Liz. And in the end it doesn't matter whether a few cells are different between you, as long as what's in your hearts is the same," he said.
His eyes met hers, and in them she saw the happiness he had with Isabel. There was no fear, no regret, only the happiness and contentment that came with finding his soul-mate.
"I've got to run," he said regretfully. "I've got a thing to get to in LA."
"Alex, thank you," she said, embracing him impulsively.
"You'll figure it out," he said. "The heart always finds its way."
"Whatever you decide to do, just take care of yourself," he said.
With a jaunty salute with his fingers, he was gone.
For a long moment, Liz stood in the middle of the store, riddled with indecision.
And suddenly, she knew what she had to do.
She picked up the phone and dialed Max's cell phone.
It rang continuously, and went to voicemail. She didn't want to say what she had to say through a message, and she hung up.
Frustrated, she called the Evans house.
Once again, she was greeted by Charlotte and she asked for Max.
"¡Hola! Charlotte. Este es Liz. ¿Podía yo por favor hable a Max? Es muy importante."
"Ah Senorita Liz! Siento pero Max no está aquí."
Liz then asked how she might reach him.
"¿Sabe usted cómo puedo alcanzarlo?"
Charlotte sounded sympathetic.
"Ah nina, siento pero él está en Los Ángeles, de negocios. Él supervisa una ceremonia de premios grande. La Emmy's."
Liz thanked her and hung up the phone, reeling from this latest information.
He was in LA? At the Emmy's? Of course! Phillip had mentioned something about it weeks ago. Suddenly Alex's business in California made perfect sense.
Grabbing her bag, she locked the store and jumped into her car. It was only a few hours drive. She could make it if she left shortly.
She drove at almost breakneck speed back to the house, bursting in the door to find Maria standing in the kitchen.
"Liz, what's wrong?" she asked, alarmed.
"Nothing," Liz said, moving quickly to her room to retrieve a jacket and some cash.
"I'm going to LA," Liz said on her way back to the door. "I may not be back tonight."
"LA?" Maria said, her mouth agape. "What are you going to do in LA?"
"I'll explain later! I'll call you," Liz called as she closed the door behind her.
Maria stood in the middle of the kitchen, shaking her head.
Kara - I've no problem sharing the photos I have if you want them. I can email them to you if you like.
The lighting in that theater wasn't that great and my camera's old, so I don't know that someone hasn't gotten better photos already, but you're more than welcome to them. I think I have 10-12 different shots from the Q&A that I could send you. The shot in my avi is the only one of the "arms", LOL.
Just PM me and let me know where to mail them if you want them.
The lighting in that theater wasn't that great and my camera's old, so I don't know that someone hasn't gotten better photos already, but you're more than welcome to them. I think I have 10-12 different shots from the Q&A that I could send you. The shot in my avi is the only one of the "arms", LOL.
Just PM me and let me know where to mail them if you want them.
34
Well,
We're getting close to the end of this tale. There are only 6 parts left, and I will be posting multiple parts for at least one upcoming update, so....
Anyway, on with the show.
Part 34
Liz maneuvered the car onto I-5, merging into the fast-moving traffic as her cell phone rang.
She glanced at it, seeing it was Maria, and she let it ring. She just couldn’t deal with explaining the whole thing to her right now.
The phone rang five times and was silent for all of three seconds before it started ringing again. She didn’t need to look at it this time to know Maria was ringing her back.
She shut the phone off, dropping it back on the seat.
She glanced at the clock on the dash. It read 3:30.
With any luck, it would only take her an hour to get to the Hollywood Boulevard and the Kodak Theater.
She didn’t know how she was going to find Max when she got there, or what she was going to say to him when she found him.
She’d treated him horribly as a result of her own panic, and she wasn’t sure how she could begin to explain that, or to make up for it. She didn’t know if Max would ever forgive her for the way she’d run. But she had to try.
*****
Max stood with a watchful trained eye in a small raised surveillance booth near the entrance to the theater, scanning the crowds surrounding the red carpet and the sidewalk across the street.
So far, there hadn’t been any trouble, but the night hadn’t even begun yet. This event was especially important to his firm, and his company’s continued success each year in keeping the attendees safe had brought in many new events over the years.
With the increase in terrorism in recent years, none of his team was surprised to see their boss at the event, overseeing everything. But their reasoning would have been completely wrong.
The truth was he wanted…no he needed to get out of New Mexico for a few days. From the moment Liz had left, he’d not had a decent night’s sleep or a moments rest from his own mind. He fluctuated wildly between being angry, hurt, disappointed and missing the sound of her voice, depending on his mood.
When she’d called, he hadn’t really been prepared for it. Then again, he probably would never have been ready, regardless.
Hearing her voice had once again set his heart thundering.
But it hadn’t really been hard for him to say what he said to her. His hurt had fueled his will to say what needed to be said.
And it had needed to be said.
The cruel reality of Liz’s departure had woken him up. He had allowed his heart to delude his head into thinking that once he had her back and she was safe, that maybe there could be a chance for them. Phillip had only furthered that notion.
But her reaction when he divulged what he was had the effect of ice cold water being thrown over his head.
Though there was a part of him that still wanted to throw caution to the wind, a part of him that wanted to ask her to pretend that none of it had been said, he couldn’t.
He thought this event would be a welcome distraction, but even it had not pulled his thoughts completely away from it.
If Michael had been here, he would have known right away, and would have ripped him a new one. Work was work, and nothing should be interfering with it. That had been drilled into their heads from the moment they started working for the firm. It wasn’t just their livelihood at stake, it was their very lives. The skills they acquired made them sharp, alert and informed.
But Michael wasn’t here. An hour before, Max had gotten a call from the office about a lock-up in the main database, and he had sent Michael back to the hotel to log in to the mainframe to see if he could repair it. They couldn’t afford the sensitive data to be compromised.
Max pushed his sunglasses a little higher up on his nose, his face unreadable. His eyes narrowed behind the dark lenses, watching a man move stealthily through the onlookers, his head turning shiftily as he moved around the people struggling to catch a glimpse of the television stars that had started to arrive.
He pressed a button on his shortwave, speaking into his headset in a low voice.
“413, are you still in position?” he asked letting go of the button.
“Copy, yeah I haven’t moved,” the man said.
“Good,” Max said. “I need you to check out a guy moving through the crowd on the right side of the theater. He’s wearing a black V-neck shirt, dark hair, medium build, about 5-11. He’s carrying a dark green backpack.”
“Got it, Sir,” the man answered. “I’ll get back to you if I see a problem.”
“Thanks Karl,” Max said, dropping the radio back into his suit pocket.
He acknowledged the actors and actresses who knew him by name through security he’d arranged for their private parties as they made their way into the theater, but he kept a vigilant eye on the surrounding area.
His radio beeped, and he took it out again.
“Sir, we have a little bit of a situation here,” Karl said over the radio.
“What is it?” Max asked.
“Sir, it seems that there’s someone here who knows…Hey! Where do you think you’re going! Move away from the barricade!”
Max’s head snapped up, pulling his sunglasses off, his eyes already looking toward the quadrant where Karl was stationed. A scuffle had broken out and he saw his men rushing to aid Karl in getting the situation under control.
Max jumped down from the booth and made his way quickly across the carpet, toward the disturbance.
The small mob of his men that surrounded the suspect didn’t allow him to get a glimpse. He swore at himself under his breath. He hadn’t even seen the suspect before Karl had said something, and now it seemed as if it was quickly escalating.
“Let me go!” an angry voice raged, and his steps faltered, recognizing it.
He saw first a flash of silky chocolate hair, and then it was gone.
“What’s going on here?” he asked in a commanding voice, and his men parted, revealing a very flushed and angry Liz Parker, eyes flashing threateningly.
Her eyes locked on his and she froze, stilling her struggle. Karl had his hand locked around her forearm in an iron grip.
“How about calling your gorillas off, Max?” she grated, glaring at Karl.
“She was asking for you,” Karl said lamely, and Max’s jaw tightened. “What should we do with her?”
“You can let her go. I’ll deal with it,” Max said, his anger carefully held in check.
What was she doing here?
Karl had barely loosened his fingers before Liz wrenched her arm away from him.
But she was free only an instant, before Max's fingers replaced Karl's.
"Come with me," he said tightly, his grip telling her in no uncertain terms that she didn't have a choice in the matter.
"Give me five minutes," Max called to Karl over her shoulder, as he pulled her back to the booth.
"Five minutes? That's all I get?" Liz asked in a dry attempt at humor.
He would have laughed at how it reminded him of the way she'd acted when she'd first arrived with Phillip, just as he was acting the same, if he could get past the fact that her mere presence was pummeling his already battered heart.
Max didn't answer her, propelling her up to the booth.
"Max," she said finally, pulling her arm from him, moving to stand in front of him.
He kept his eyes trained on the crowd, unable to look at her. It would be too easy to fall into her eyes, to lose himself in them. That was something he sorely couldn't afford. Seeing her only drove home the reality that she was now free, and that he most likely would never be. Telling her the truth was the hardest thing he'd ever done, and knowing that she'd run from it only reinforced the pain his family had caused her and her mother, and though his heart had been broken, now he knew that it had been for the best. He didn't know why she came all of this way, but he wasn't sure he could bear to hear the reason for it.
"What are you doing here, Liz?" he asked impatiently.
"I need to talk to you," she said.
"I'm working," he said, watching one of his men giving the "all clear" signal from the barrier, and nodding his acknowledgement.
"I can see that," she said.
His patience snapped.
"I don’t have time to talk. Do you have any idea how important tonight is?" he asked.
"More important than us?" she asked in a quiet voice.
"There is no ‘us’," he answered bluntly.
"Max, I came here to tell you that I was wrong. I was so wrong," she said, resting her hand on his arm.
"So you said on the phone. I heard you. I get it," he said.
"I made a mistake," she said, her eyes pleading with him to understand. "And I'm so sorry for that. I'm so sorry I let you think that I was afraid of you. It wasn't that at all. I was never afraid of you. I was afraid of what it might mean for me, for the both of us. I've been living in fear for as long as I can remember and the thought that..."
"Don't do this Liz," he said in warning.
"Max, I was caught up in my own situation, and I realize I was selfish. I ran instead of coming to you, to try to explain the way I was feeling. But I thought if I did, I would only make things worse. I was so mixed up that I didn't realize that you would know exactly how I feel, because you and I...in so many ways we're the same. We've lived with the fear that something could happen to the people we love most at any moment when we least expect it. We both know what it was like to live in the shadow of David's evil. We both know what it's like to be afraid to get close to people because something could happen to them," she said.
"Exactly, which is why we never would have worked," he said in a cold voice. "My mother had a lot to do with why you've been through what you have. And I can't apologize for it, because it wouldn't change anything. What you're trying to tell me isn't going to change anything."
"I don't want you to apologize for it," she said in a soft voice, shaking her head. “God Max, I don’t think what happened is anyone’s fault. I-“
“Do you think I don’t know what you were thinking Liz?” he retorted. “And before you ask, I didn’t need to be a mind reader to know.”
“I wasn’t-” she started, and he interrupted her, fueled by the hurt and the anger he’d been feeling for the past six months.
“Liz, what happened only proves that there’s too much damage done between all of us to ever hope to repair it,” he said darkly.
"I want another chance, Max. I know you didn't trust me before, but you know everything now, and I-"
"Neither one of us trusts each other," he broke in.
"And how could we possibly? There have been so many lies, secrets..." he said, his voice bitter, shaking his head.
"I trust you Max," she said, her eyes shimmering with tears.
"I trust you with my life. How could I not? I'd be dead if it weren't for you. The only reason I'm alive is because you risked everything to save me, because you cared enough for me to put yourself in danger. If David had won, if he'd captured you, I know what would have happened to you. Don't think I don't know what you would have sacrificed for me," she said.
The magnitude of her words was not lost on him, twisting in his heart like a knife.
"I know that I hurt you when I left," she said. "And I know that you have no reason to trust me after that. And I can't take it back, as much as I wish to God I could. All I have to offer you is the truth. And the truth is that I haven't had a moment where I haven't thought about you, not a moment when I didn't wish that things were different."
"But they're not, Liz," he said flatly, turning away from her. "Nothing's changed."
"Max, I love you, and I know you feel something for me. Doesn’t that mean anything?" she said.
He didn't bother to deny it. There would have been no point. There had been too many deceptions between them. It was true. He did still love her, despite her running from him. But loving her didn't take away the feelings of betrayal, didn't take away the fact that when she'd run, it had only reinforced his feeling that his kind would be viewed as monsters.
"It doesn't matter," he said angrily. "You were right; maybe in another lifetime. Maybe if we were different people. But I can’t change what I am. And I can’t stand here talking to you any longer. I have work to do.”
"So that’s it then. You’ve just written me off with that judgmental arrogance you’re known for," she retorted. “Does everything have to be so black and white, Max?”
His patience snapped.
“You don’t get it, do you? I don’t even want to be near you, ok? Why else do you think I left the house the day you left? I know what you were thinking that day, Liz. I know because I heard you talking to my father in the library,” he said.
”Shall I quote you?” he asked, his voice laced with sarcasm.
“Let’s see now, what was it? ‘Everything I am, every miserable thing that's happened to me is tied into your family, not to mention that your family is not even from this planet. How could you do this to me?’ Does that sound about right?" he asked.
She looked stricken.
“Oh Max,” she whispered, taking a step forward. “I didn’t know you’d heard that.”
"Max, you have to understand, I felt like everything was coming at me at once. But I know that what happened wasn't anyone's fault but David's. I know that none of you would purposely hurt anyone. It was David that hurt all of us. He was crazy, and it was just bad luck on all of our parts that he set his sights on your family and my mother. You think that somehow this was your mother's fault, but it wasn't. You have to know that. God, how do you think I feel knowing that monster was my father? My father was the man who almost killed you!"
He felt a pang of guilt at the sight of the tears in her eyes, but his own hurt overpowered it.
“As I said, there’s just too many odds stacked against us. It never would have worked,” he said, in a cold voice.
You should go," he said, putting his sunglasses on once again, effectively blocking his eyes from her gaze. He turned away from her toward the crowd once again, signaling that the conversation was over.
There was a quiet pause, and he was almost sure she’d left, though he dared not turn around.
“You can push me away, Max, but it isn’t going to change the way I feel about you. Pardon the pun, but I’m human, and people make mistakes. I’m sorry that I didn’t live up to your standards, but I won’t apologize for trying to make it right. I’m not sure that anyone can live up to your expectations. If you don’t want to ever see me again, then that’s fine. And maybe you’re right,” she said, her voice trembling. “This wouldn’t have worked, not if people have to be perfect for you. I’m not, Max. I’m not infallible. I know I hurt you, badly. But I guess we’re even, because you just broke my heart.”
Her voice cracked at the last word she uttered.
His eyes fell shut and he swallowed hard, hating what he’d just done. He knew he’d just acted like a son of a bitch. As hurt as he’d been by her running away, she hadn’t been cruel. She’d never once been cruel to him, even when he’d been a bastard toward her.
He hated her.
He loved her.
He was a mess. He’d known that this was the right thing to do from the moment she’d called him weeks ago. So why was he feeling like such a shit now?
Because he still cared for her.
He wasn’t used to this, dealing with feelings, dealing with matters of the heart. As usual, he’d handled it all the wrong way. But was there any other way to do it?
“Liz,” he said in a hoarse voice, turning around.
She was gone.
Part 35
Liz fled the crowds needing to be away from it, away from Max. She’d just made a monumental fool of herself.
Swiping angrily at the tears streaming down her face, she knew she’d probably deserved what he’d said. She wasn’t sure she’d react much differently if it were the other way around and she’d overheard what she’d said to Phillip that day. She’d said those things in anger and confusion, and now more than ever she wished she could take them back.
But she couldn’t, no more than she could go back and change any of it, right from the beginning. She cursed David once again for what he’d done to all of them.
Her car was parked in a lot on Highland, and she reached it within minutes.
Lowering her head to avoid looking at the attendant, she handed him her ticket and stood impatiently waiting for him to bring the car out of the lot.
She wanted to get as far away from here as possible. She needed the sanctuary of the desert, where she felt safe with Maria and Amy; with her mother.
The attendant pulled the car out, and she gave him the ticket and a gratuity and slumped into the front seat, leaning her head against the steering wheel, gripping it with white-knuckled intensity.
“Keep it together Parker,” she mumbled viciously, lifting her head, knowing she still had at least an hour drive back out to the desert.
*****
Swearing softly, she shook her head in dismay at the traffic that seemed to stretch out before her to the horizon. Making it worse were the rare storm clouds that seemed to be rolling in.
She supposed it was only fitting, considering what had happened with Max, reflecting her mood. Still if the coming storm was half as bad as the clouds threatened, it would only hinder her trip home further.
With a sigh, she pulled her cell phone out of the console compartment, turning it on. She shook her head seeing six messages had been left.
She had expected them all to be from Maria, and five of them were, her friend chiding her over leaving without an explanation.
”Liz, where the hell are you? I know you’re there and not picking up. You owe me an explanation, girl. Call me.”
“Liz, come on! Pick up the phone! What’s going on? You’re scaring me. Call me.”
“I’m guessing you turned your phone off. Nice. I’m sitting here worried sick, and you’ve gone MIA. Real nice. Call me back when you get this.”
“Ok, now I’m getting pissed. Liz, where the hell are you? I’m seriously thinking of revoking your best friend status. Call me.”
And the final message.
“Does this have to do with Max? Because he’s the only reason I can think of that you’d go running off like that. If it is Max….hon, I don’t know what to say, just…I hope whatever reason you’re going out there works out for you. I’m here.”
The last message was from Amy.
“Liz, sweetie, I just wanted to call to let you know that your mom and I are going to spend the night down here in Laguna. I just didn’t want you to worry, she’s fine, and she seems to really enjoy being at the beach. We’ll be home sometime tomorrow afternoon. Love you.”
Liz hung up the phone and dropped it back on the passenger seat with a sigh. So it would just be her and Maria tonight, and was probably for the best, as she was going to have to do a little groveling after her disappearing act, and if she was lucky, she might be able to get some time alone to lick her wounds before her mother returned in the morning.
She wasn’t sure what she’d been hoping when she went to see Max. Truthfully, she hadn’t thought much past just seeing him again and explaining herself.
What had she been expecting? For him to wrap his arms around her, kiss her passionately and tell her that all was forgiven?
That was a pipe dream and she knew it. The truth was that the connection she and Max had was tentative at best, and based on attraction. Adding the secrets and lies to the mix had set them up for disaster.
Max had trust issues under normal circumstances. It was obvious that hearing what she’d said to Phillip had only slammed the walls he’d built back down around his heart.
She struggled to quell the tears stinging her eyes, knowing how much hearing that must have hurt him. And the worst part about it all was it was a reflexive reaction, the first thing she’d jumped on because it was easier to use them as an excuse for her own fear of the future, of any deviation from the freedom she’d worked her whole life to gain for her and her mother. David’s demise had meant they were finally free and she thought that this meant that Max and his family would be free too. But what Max had revealed to her turned her perception on its end. It had become more than just David and it didn’t matter whether David was gone. The Special Unit was something independent of David and nothing guaranteed that it would disappear just because David was dead.
Still, Max hadn’t even considered the danger to himself when he’d come for her. He hadn’t sat back, hadn’t let fate play its hand. And he hadn’t run away from her when he’d found out who she was. He had more courage than she, for she had taken the cowardly way out. It had taken the talk with Alex to make her realize that being safe didn’t matter anywhere near as much as her feelings for Max, and oddly enough, the attachment to his family.
Despite her fondness for Phillip, she’d convinced herself that if she ever had to leave it wouldn’t be too hard because she did not love him. But the sad truth of it was she did. In some strange way he had become the father she never had. He was the man that David should have been.
And Isabel had gone out of her way to make her feel part of the family after their initial introduction had gone badly. Liz had found that she honestly meant it when she’d said that she hoped they could be friends.
She hadn’t known Alex all that long, but he’d moved way up on her list of people she should know better after coming out to the desert to talk to her. She and he had a lot in common in more ways than one.
When she left South America with Phillip, she’d never dreamed that things would turn out this way, that she would fall in love, would lose her heart to someone like Max.
Her hands tightened on the wheel, a deep ache settling in her chest. Falling on love had never happened to her before, but she’d been through worse. She’d get through this too.
She just wished someone would tell her heart. She was barely holding it together. She wanted nothing more than to get home and crawl into bed. She’d been through countless tortures, but this…the finality of Max’s words was almost debilitating when her mind replayed them.
She glanced up as the first fat raindrop splashed against the windshield, sighing in dismay.
She stifled a sob and said a silent prayer that the traffic would start moving.
******
By the time she reached the Deluca residence, Liz’s emotions were hanging by a thread. She wondered miserably if anything else was going to go wrong.
Halfway back, she realized she needed to get gas in the car, so she’d pulled off the freeway to fuel up. As she’d turned into the station, the car shifted violently to one side and she heard an explosive popping noise.
She’d stopped the car at the pump, not surprised to find that she’d had a flat tire. When she looked over to see what she’d run over, she swore furiously. Someone had either dropped or left a small three-pronged gardening tool on the pavement at the entrance.
Leaning into the car, she took some of the cash out of the glove box threw her phone into the box and shut the compartment door. She ran for the small convenience store attached to the station. Even though it was merely feet from her car, she was soaked by the deluge by the time she walked through the door.
Shivering as the cold air-conditioned air hit her wet skin she’d asked the attendant if someone could repair it, only to find out that the mechanic had left for the day. She'd pleaded with him to find someone to help her, and finally he relented and called the mechanic.
She’d run back out to the car, knowing she didn’t have any other choice than to wait for the mechanic to get there. She’d sat there for over an hour and a half, getting more and more irritated by the moment.
By the time he’d returned, her patience had reached its boiling point. Or so she thought. When he’d pulled the car into the bay, and then left it there to have a cup of coffee with the attendant while she stood in the bay, her teeth were clenched so tightly together, she thought they might crack. She didn’t know whether to scream in frustration or cry.
Finally, the mechanic returned to the bay, and she went into the store to wait.
Fifteen minutes later her tire was fixed. She paid the attendant from the money in her pocket and grudgingly gave the mechanic some extra money for coming back after hours. She regretted that fifteen minutes later when she had gone miles down the freeway and reached over opening the glove compartment to find that the rest of her cash was gone. He'd courteously left her cell phone in its place.
Se debated turning around for only an instant before dismissing the notion. He road conditions were horrendous, and the need to be home was greater than the need to recover the money she lost.
******
Seeing the small house come into sight, she wanted to cry in relief. The rain hadn’t let up at all and the roads were starting to get flooded.
The drive was already covered in water, running off into the drought-hardened sand, yet a strange car sat in the driveway. She wondered who it belonged to, and for a moment, she was alarmed. But she chided herself. David was dead. No one was after then anymore.
Still, her sense of caution won out, and she parked the car on the side of the road and turned off the headlights. Warm light glowed softly through the living room window adjacent to the front door on the porch.
Not even bothering to put her jacket on as she was already soaked, she got out of the car and shut the door, intending to make a run for the front door.
She made it two steps and her foot caught on something under the water and she went down flat on her face.
She stifled a cry of frustrated rage, angry tears running down her face. She hoisted herself up on scratched hands and glanced down at her torn jeans.
She shook her head in disgust and ran for the door. She stole up the cement porch and walked across it, glancing at the window as she did.
Her steps faltered as her eyes took in the scene in the living room.
She saw a flash of skin, a strong, muscled back and unruly dark hair and she squinted, not sure that her eyes weren’t deceiving her.
They weren’t.
Her mouth fell open in disbelief as she caught a glimpse of the man who was holding Maria in a passionate embrace.
She’d just stumbled upon an intimate moment between Maria and…Michael Guerin
Reeling, feeling utterly betrayed that her friend hadn’t said a word when it was obvious that the two of them had been seeing each other, she backed away from the window.
Maria must have called him when she’d said she wouldn’t be home.
She whimpered miserably.
She turned and sank to the porch steps, no longer caring that she was getting soaked by the sheeting rain, no longer caring that her battle with her tears was lost.
She felt completely and utterly alone.
Low keening sobs fell from her lips and her head dropped to her forearms, her shoulders shaking with all of the pain she’d been holding back. Pain over her life as it had once been, pain over the loss of Max, pain because in that moment, even knowing that she was wallowing in self-pity, she felt as if everyone had betrayed and abandoned her.
Why hadn’t Maria told her?
She already knew the answer. It was because of Max. She didn’t want to make Liz feel badly.
A small pang of resentment ran through her heart and she immediately squashed it. That just wasn’t fair. Maria hadn’t run from Michael. Michael hadn’t overheard Maria say horrible, selfish things. Maria had accepted Michael and the others for what they were before they’d even left the Evans’ house.
Once again, Liz wished she could take it all back, wished she could start all over with Max from the point when he’d told her his secret.
Yet she couldn’t, and judging by Max’s reaction to her apology, the damage she’d done was irreparable.
She sat there for a moment, and then drew on her resolve.
“Get it together Parker,” she grated, a long familiar mantra she’d recited many times while under Carlo’s thumb.
But that was easier said than done. For now, the ache was not a physical one, but the ache of loss, of words said in the heat of the moment that couldn’t be taken back. She’d lost Max and sooner or later she was going to have to face that and deal with it.
So why did she just want to curl up into a ball and disappear? Why couldn’t she stop the unfamiliar tears that she’d shed more in the past few weeks than she had since she was a child?
She couldn’t walk in and confront Maria now. It would be uncomfortable for everyone involved. She would wait it out in the car until Michael left, if he left, and then she would confront her.
Wiping at her eyes she raised her head slowly and stilled, her breath trapped in her throat.
He stood in the driveway his chest rising and falling with his erratic breathing, the rain running off of his hair onto his face in streaming rivulets, dripping off his nose, his cheeks, sliding over his lips.
He was still in his suit, now soaked and sticking to his body, his tie now gone. His shoes were barely visible beneath the mini-river that rushed over the drive.
She stared at him wide-eyed. She’d never seen him like this. His appearance had always been controlled. But this…
His eyes glittered with a dark hunger that left her breathless.
She stood slowly, her heart thundering in her chest, afraid to utter a word, afraid that it was a dream, that if she spoke it would surely break the spell that had surely caused the apparition before her.
His voice was hoarse, almost gritty.
“Liz...”
TBC...
We're getting close to the end of this tale. There are only 6 parts left, and I will be posting multiple parts for at least one upcoming update, so....
Anyway, on with the show.
Part 34
Liz maneuvered the car onto I-5, merging into the fast-moving traffic as her cell phone rang.
She glanced at it, seeing it was Maria, and she let it ring. She just couldn’t deal with explaining the whole thing to her right now.
The phone rang five times and was silent for all of three seconds before it started ringing again. She didn’t need to look at it this time to know Maria was ringing her back.
She shut the phone off, dropping it back on the seat.
She glanced at the clock on the dash. It read 3:30.
With any luck, it would only take her an hour to get to the Hollywood Boulevard and the Kodak Theater.
She didn’t know how she was going to find Max when she got there, or what she was going to say to him when she found him.
She’d treated him horribly as a result of her own panic, and she wasn’t sure how she could begin to explain that, or to make up for it. She didn’t know if Max would ever forgive her for the way she’d run. But she had to try.
*****
Max stood with a watchful trained eye in a small raised surveillance booth near the entrance to the theater, scanning the crowds surrounding the red carpet and the sidewalk across the street.
So far, there hadn’t been any trouble, but the night hadn’t even begun yet. This event was especially important to his firm, and his company’s continued success each year in keeping the attendees safe had brought in many new events over the years.
With the increase in terrorism in recent years, none of his team was surprised to see their boss at the event, overseeing everything. But their reasoning would have been completely wrong.
The truth was he wanted…no he needed to get out of New Mexico for a few days. From the moment Liz had left, he’d not had a decent night’s sleep or a moments rest from his own mind. He fluctuated wildly between being angry, hurt, disappointed and missing the sound of her voice, depending on his mood.
When she’d called, he hadn’t really been prepared for it. Then again, he probably would never have been ready, regardless.
Hearing her voice had once again set his heart thundering.
But it hadn’t really been hard for him to say what he said to her. His hurt had fueled his will to say what needed to be said.
And it had needed to be said.
The cruel reality of Liz’s departure had woken him up. He had allowed his heart to delude his head into thinking that once he had her back and she was safe, that maybe there could be a chance for them. Phillip had only furthered that notion.
But her reaction when he divulged what he was had the effect of ice cold water being thrown over his head.
Though there was a part of him that still wanted to throw caution to the wind, a part of him that wanted to ask her to pretend that none of it had been said, he couldn’t.
He thought this event would be a welcome distraction, but even it had not pulled his thoughts completely away from it.
If Michael had been here, he would have known right away, and would have ripped him a new one. Work was work, and nothing should be interfering with it. That had been drilled into their heads from the moment they started working for the firm. It wasn’t just their livelihood at stake, it was their very lives. The skills they acquired made them sharp, alert and informed.
But Michael wasn’t here. An hour before, Max had gotten a call from the office about a lock-up in the main database, and he had sent Michael back to the hotel to log in to the mainframe to see if he could repair it. They couldn’t afford the sensitive data to be compromised.
Max pushed his sunglasses a little higher up on his nose, his face unreadable. His eyes narrowed behind the dark lenses, watching a man move stealthily through the onlookers, his head turning shiftily as he moved around the people struggling to catch a glimpse of the television stars that had started to arrive.
He pressed a button on his shortwave, speaking into his headset in a low voice.
“413, are you still in position?” he asked letting go of the button.
“Copy, yeah I haven’t moved,” the man said.
“Good,” Max said. “I need you to check out a guy moving through the crowd on the right side of the theater. He’s wearing a black V-neck shirt, dark hair, medium build, about 5-11. He’s carrying a dark green backpack.”
“Got it, Sir,” the man answered. “I’ll get back to you if I see a problem.”
“Thanks Karl,” Max said, dropping the radio back into his suit pocket.
He acknowledged the actors and actresses who knew him by name through security he’d arranged for their private parties as they made their way into the theater, but he kept a vigilant eye on the surrounding area.
His radio beeped, and he took it out again.
“Sir, we have a little bit of a situation here,” Karl said over the radio.
“What is it?” Max asked.
“Sir, it seems that there’s someone here who knows…Hey! Where do you think you’re going! Move away from the barricade!”
Max’s head snapped up, pulling his sunglasses off, his eyes already looking toward the quadrant where Karl was stationed. A scuffle had broken out and he saw his men rushing to aid Karl in getting the situation under control.
Max jumped down from the booth and made his way quickly across the carpet, toward the disturbance.
The small mob of his men that surrounded the suspect didn’t allow him to get a glimpse. He swore at himself under his breath. He hadn’t even seen the suspect before Karl had said something, and now it seemed as if it was quickly escalating.
“Let me go!” an angry voice raged, and his steps faltered, recognizing it.
He saw first a flash of silky chocolate hair, and then it was gone.
“What’s going on here?” he asked in a commanding voice, and his men parted, revealing a very flushed and angry Liz Parker, eyes flashing threateningly.
Her eyes locked on his and she froze, stilling her struggle. Karl had his hand locked around her forearm in an iron grip.
“How about calling your gorillas off, Max?” she grated, glaring at Karl.
“She was asking for you,” Karl said lamely, and Max’s jaw tightened. “What should we do with her?”
“You can let her go. I’ll deal with it,” Max said, his anger carefully held in check.
What was she doing here?
Karl had barely loosened his fingers before Liz wrenched her arm away from him.
But she was free only an instant, before Max's fingers replaced Karl's.
"Come with me," he said tightly, his grip telling her in no uncertain terms that she didn't have a choice in the matter.
"Give me five minutes," Max called to Karl over her shoulder, as he pulled her back to the booth.
"Five minutes? That's all I get?" Liz asked in a dry attempt at humor.
He would have laughed at how it reminded him of the way she'd acted when she'd first arrived with Phillip, just as he was acting the same, if he could get past the fact that her mere presence was pummeling his already battered heart.
Max didn't answer her, propelling her up to the booth.
"Max," she said finally, pulling her arm from him, moving to stand in front of him.
He kept his eyes trained on the crowd, unable to look at her. It would be too easy to fall into her eyes, to lose himself in them. That was something he sorely couldn't afford. Seeing her only drove home the reality that she was now free, and that he most likely would never be. Telling her the truth was the hardest thing he'd ever done, and knowing that she'd run from it only reinforced the pain his family had caused her and her mother, and though his heart had been broken, now he knew that it had been for the best. He didn't know why she came all of this way, but he wasn't sure he could bear to hear the reason for it.
"What are you doing here, Liz?" he asked impatiently.
"I need to talk to you," she said.
"I'm working," he said, watching one of his men giving the "all clear" signal from the barrier, and nodding his acknowledgement.
"I can see that," she said.
His patience snapped.
"I don’t have time to talk. Do you have any idea how important tonight is?" he asked.
"More important than us?" she asked in a quiet voice.
"There is no ‘us’," he answered bluntly.
"Max, I came here to tell you that I was wrong. I was so wrong," she said, resting her hand on his arm.
"So you said on the phone. I heard you. I get it," he said.
"I made a mistake," she said, her eyes pleading with him to understand. "And I'm so sorry for that. I'm so sorry I let you think that I was afraid of you. It wasn't that at all. I was never afraid of you. I was afraid of what it might mean for me, for the both of us. I've been living in fear for as long as I can remember and the thought that..."
"Don't do this Liz," he said in warning.
"Max, I was caught up in my own situation, and I realize I was selfish. I ran instead of coming to you, to try to explain the way I was feeling. But I thought if I did, I would only make things worse. I was so mixed up that I didn't realize that you would know exactly how I feel, because you and I...in so many ways we're the same. We've lived with the fear that something could happen to the people we love most at any moment when we least expect it. We both know what it was like to live in the shadow of David's evil. We both know what it's like to be afraid to get close to people because something could happen to them," she said.
"Exactly, which is why we never would have worked," he said in a cold voice. "My mother had a lot to do with why you've been through what you have. And I can't apologize for it, because it wouldn't change anything. What you're trying to tell me isn't going to change anything."
"I don't want you to apologize for it," she said in a soft voice, shaking her head. “God Max, I don’t think what happened is anyone’s fault. I-“
“Do you think I don’t know what you were thinking Liz?” he retorted. “And before you ask, I didn’t need to be a mind reader to know.”
“I wasn’t-” she started, and he interrupted her, fueled by the hurt and the anger he’d been feeling for the past six months.
“Liz, what happened only proves that there’s too much damage done between all of us to ever hope to repair it,” he said darkly.
"I want another chance, Max. I know you didn't trust me before, but you know everything now, and I-"
"Neither one of us trusts each other," he broke in.
"And how could we possibly? There have been so many lies, secrets..." he said, his voice bitter, shaking his head.
"I trust you Max," she said, her eyes shimmering with tears.
"I trust you with my life. How could I not? I'd be dead if it weren't for you. The only reason I'm alive is because you risked everything to save me, because you cared enough for me to put yourself in danger. If David had won, if he'd captured you, I know what would have happened to you. Don't think I don't know what you would have sacrificed for me," she said.
The magnitude of her words was not lost on him, twisting in his heart like a knife.
"I know that I hurt you when I left," she said. "And I know that you have no reason to trust me after that. And I can't take it back, as much as I wish to God I could. All I have to offer you is the truth. And the truth is that I haven't had a moment where I haven't thought about you, not a moment when I didn't wish that things were different."
"But they're not, Liz," he said flatly, turning away from her. "Nothing's changed."
"Max, I love you, and I know you feel something for me. Doesn’t that mean anything?" she said.
He didn't bother to deny it. There would have been no point. There had been too many deceptions between them. It was true. He did still love her, despite her running from him. But loving her didn't take away the feelings of betrayal, didn't take away the fact that when she'd run, it had only reinforced his feeling that his kind would be viewed as monsters.
"It doesn't matter," he said angrily. "You were right; maybe in another lifetime. Maybe if we were different people. But I can’t change what I am. And I can’t stand here talking to you any longer. I have work to do.”
"So that’s it then. You’ve just written me off with that judgmental arrogance you’re known for," she retorted. “Does everything have to be so black and white, Max?”
His patience snapped.
“You don’t get it, do you? I don’t even want to be near you, ok? Why else do you think I left the house the day you left? I know what you were thinking that day, Liz. I know because I heard you talking to my father in the library,” he said.
”Shall I quote you?” he asked, his voice laced with sarcasm.
“Let’s see now, what was it? ‘Everything I am, every miserable thing that's happened to me is tied into your family, not to mention that your family is not even from this planet. How could you do this to me?’ Does that sound about right?" he asked.
She looked stricken.
“Oh Max,” she whispered, taking a step forward. “I didn’t know you’d heard that.”
"Max, you have to understand, I felt like everything was coming at me at once. But I know that what happened wasn't anyone's fault but David's. I know that none of you would purposely hurt anyone. It was David that hurt all of us. He was crazy, and it was just bad luck on all of our parts that he set his sights on your family and my mother. You think that somehow this was your mother's fault, but it wasn't. You have to know that. God, how do you think I feel knowing that monster was my father? My father was the man who almost killed you!"
He felt a pang of guilt at the sight of the tears in her eyes, but his own hurt overpowered it.
“As I said, there’s just too many odds stacked against us. It never would have worked,” he said, in a cold voice.
You should go," he said, putting his sunglasses on once again, effectively blocking his eyes from her gaze. He turned away from her toward the crowd once again, signaling that the conversation was over.
There was a quiet pause, and he was almost sure she’d left, though he dared not turn around.
“You can push me away, Max, but it isn’t going to change the way I feel about you. Pardon the pun, but I’m human, and people make mistakes. I’m sorry that I didn’t live up to your standards, but I won’t apologize for trying to make it right. I’m not sure that anyone can live up to your expectations. If you don’t want to ever see me again, then that’s fine. And maybe you’re right,” she said, her voice trembling. “This wouldn’t have worked, not if people have to be perfect for you. I’m not, Max. I’m not infallible. I know I hurt you, badly. But I guess we’re even, because you just broke my heart.”
Her voice cracked at the last word she uttered.
His eyes fell shut and he swallowed hard, hating what he’d just done. He knew he’d just acted like a son of a bitch. As hurt as he’d been by her running away, she hadn’t been cruel. She’d never once been cruel to him, even when he’d been a bastard toward her.
He hated her.
He loved her.
He was a mess. He’d known that this was the right thing to do from the moment she’d called him weeks ago. So why was he feeling like such a shit now?
Because he still cared for her.
He wasn’t used to this, dealing with feelings, dealing with matters of the heart. As usual, he’d handled it all the wrong way. But was there any other way to do it?
“Liz,” he said in a hoarse voice, turning around.
She was gone.
Part 35
Liz fled the crowds needing to be away from it, away from Max. She’d just made a monumental fool of herself.
Swiping angrily at the tears streaming down her face, she knew she’d probably deserved what he’d said. She wasn’t sure she’d react much differently if it were the other way around and she’d overheard what she’d said to Phillip that day. She’d said those things in anger and confusion, and now more than ever she wished she could take them back.
But she couldn’t, no more than she could go back and change any of it, right from the beginning. She cursed David once again for what he’d done to all of them.
Her car was parked in a lot on Highland, and she reached it within minutes.
Lowering her head to avoid looking at the attendant, she handed him her ticket and stood impatiently waiting for him to bring the car out of the lot.
She wanted to get as far away from here as possible. She needed the sanctuary of the desert, where she felt safe with Maria and Amy; with her mother.
The attendant pulled the car out, and she gave him the ticket and a gratuity and slumped into the front seat, leaning her head against the steering wheel, gripping it with white-knuckled intensity.
“Keep it together Parker,” she mumbled viciously, lifting her head, knowing she still had at least an hour drive back out to the desert.
*****
Swearing softly, she shook her head in dismay at the traffic that seemed to stretch out before her to the horizon. Making it worse were the rare storm clouds that seemed to be rolling in.
She supposed it was only fitting, considering what had happened with Max, reflecting her mood. Still if the coming storm was half as bad as the clouds threatened, it would only hinder her trip home further.
With a sigh, she pulled her cell phone out of the console compartment, turning it on. She shook her head seeing six messages had been left.
She had expected them all to be from Maria, and five of them were, her friend chiding her over leaving without an explanation.
”Liz, where the hell are you? I know you’re there and not picking up. You owe me an explanation, girl. Call me.”
“Liz, come on! Pick up the phone! What’s going on? You’re scaring me. Call me.”
“I’m guessing you turned your phone off. Nice. I’m sitting here worried sick, and you’ve gone MIA. Real nice. Call me back when you get this.”
“Ok, now I’m getting pissed. Liz, where the hell are you? I’m seriously thinking of revoking your best friend status. Call me.”
And the final message.
“Does this have to do with Max? Because he’s the only reason I can think of that you’d go running off like that. If it is Max….hon, I don’t know what to say, just…I hope whatever reason you’re going out there works out for you. I’m here.”
The last message was from Amy.
“Liz, sweetie, I just wanted to call to let you know that your mom and I are going to spend the night down here in Laguna. I just didn’t want you to worry, she’s fine, and she seems to really enjoy being at the beach. We’ll be home sometime tomorrow afternoon. Love you.”
Liz hung up the phone and dropped it back on the passenger seat with a sigh. So it would just be her and Maria tonight, and was probably for the best, as she was going to have to do a little groveling after her disappearing act, and if she was lucky, she might be able to get some time alone to lick her wounds before her mother returned in the morning.
She wasn’t sure what she’d been hoping when she went to see Max. Truthfully, she hadn’t thought much past just seeing him again and explaining herself.
What had she been expecting? For him to wrap his arms around her, kiss her passionately and tell her that all was forgiven?
That was a pipe dream and she knew it. The truth was that the connection she and Max had was tentative at best, and based on attraction. Adding the secrets and lies to the mix had set them up for disaster.
Max had trust issues under normal circumstances. It was obvious that hearing what she’d said to Phillip had only slammed the walls he’d built back down around his heart.
She struggled to quell the tears stinging her eyes, knowing how much hearing that must have hurt him. And the worst part about it all was it was a reflexive reaction, the first thing she’d jumped on because it was easier to use them as an excuse for her own fear of the future, of any deviation from the freedom she’d worked her whole life to gain for her and her mother. David’s demise had meant they were finally free and she thought that this meant that Max and his family would be free too. But what Max had revealed to her turned her perception on its end. It had become more than just David and it didn’t matter whether David was gone. The Special Unit was something independent of David and nothing guaranteed that it would disappear just because David was dead.
Still, Max hadn’t even considered the danger to himself when he’d come for her. He hadn’t sat back, hadn’t let fate play its hand. And he hadn’t run away from her when he’d found out who she was. He had more courage than she, for she had taken the cowardly way out. It had taken the talk with Alex to make her realize that being safe didn’t matter anywhere near as much as her feelings for Max, and oddly enough, the attachment to his family.
Despite her fondness for Phillip, she’d convinced herself that if she ever had to leave it wouldn’t be too hard because she did not love him. But the sad truth of it was she did. In some strange way he had become the father she never had. He was the man that David should have been.
And Isabel had gone out of her way to make her feel part of the family after their initial introduction had gone badly. Liz had found that she honestly meant it when she’d said that she hoped they could be friends.
She hadn’t known Alex all that long, but he’d moved way up on her list of people she should know better after coming out to the desert to talk to her. She and he had a lot in common in more ways than one.
When she left South America with Phillip, she’d never dreamed that things would turn out this way, that she would fall in love, would lose her heart to someone like Max.
Her hands tightened on the wheel, a deep ache settling in her chest. Falling on love had never happened to her before, but she’d been through worse. She’d get through this too.
She just wished someone would tell her heart. She was barely holding it together. She wanted nothing more than to get home and crawl into bed. She’d been through countless tortures, but this…the finality of Max’s words was almost debilitating when her mind replayed them.
She glanced up as the first fat raindrop splashed against the windshield, sighing in dismay.
She stifled a sob and said a silent prayer that the traffic would start moving.
******
By the time she reached the Deluca residence, Liz’s emotions were hanging by a thread. She wondered miserably if anything else was going to go wrong.
Halfway back, she realized she needed to get gas in the car, so she’d pulled off the freeway to fuel up. As she’d turned into the station, the car shifted violently to one side and she heard an explosive popping noise.
She’d stopped the car at the pump, not surprised to find that she’d had a flat tire. When she looked over to see what she’d run over, she swore furiously. Someone had either dropped or left a small three-pronged gardening tool on the pavement at the entrance.
Leaning into the car, she took some of the cash out of the glove box threw her phone into the box and shut the compartment door. She ran for the small convenience store attached to the station. Even though it was merely feet from her car, she was soaked by the deluge by the time she walked through the door.
Shivering as the cold air-conditioned air hit her wet skin she’d asked the attendant if someone could repair it, only to find out that the mechanic had left for the day. She'd pleaded with him to find someone to help her, and finally he relented and called the mechanic.
She’d run back out to the car, knowing she didn’t have any other choice than to wait for the mechanic to get there. She’d sat there for over an hour and a half, getting more and more irritated by the moment.
By the time he’d returned, her patience had reached its boiling point. Or so she thought. When he’d pulled the car into the bay, and then left it there to have a cup of coffee with the attendant while she stood in the bay, her teeth were clenched so tightly together, she thought they might crack. She didn’t know whether to scream in frustration or cry.
Finally, the mechanic returned to the bay, and she went into the store to wait.
Fifteen minutes later her tire was fixed. She paid the attendant from the money in her pocket and grudgingly gave the mechanic some extra money for coming back after hours. She regretted that fifteen minutes later when she had gone miles down the freeway and reached over opening the glove compartment to find that the rest of her cash was gone. He'd courteously left her cell phone in its place.
Se debated turning around for only an instant before dismissing the notion. He road conditions were horrendous, and the need to be home was greater than the need to recover the money she lost.
******
Seeing the small house come into sight, she wanted to cry in relief. The rain hadn’t let up at all and the roads were starting to get flooded.
The drive was already covered in water, running off into the drought-hardened sand, yet a strange car sat in the driveway. She wondered who it belonged to, and for a moment, she was alarmed. But she chided herself. David was dead. No one was after then anymore.
Still, her sense of caution won out, and she parked the car on the side of the road and turned off the headlights. Warm light glowed softly through the living room window adjacent to the front door on the porch.
Not even bothering to put her jacket on as she was already soaked, she got out of the car and shut the door, intending to make a run for the front door.
She made it two steps and her foot caught on something under the water and she went down flat on her face.
She stifled a cry of frustrated rage, angry tears running down her face. She hoisted herself up on scratched hands and glanced down at her torn jeans.
She shook her head in disgust and ran for the door. She stole up the cement porch and walked across it, glancing at the window as she did.
Her steps faltered as her eyes took in the scene in the living room.
She saw a flash of skin, a strong, muscled back and unruly dark hair and she squinted, not sure that her eyes weren’t deceiving her.
They weren’t.
Her mouth fell open in disbelief as she caught a glimpse of the man who was holding Maria in a passionate embrace.
She’d just stumbled upon an intimate moment between Maria and…Michael Guerin
Reeling, feeling utterly betrayed that her friend hadn’t said a word when it was obvious that the two of them had been seeing each other, she backed away from the window.
Maria must have called him when she’d said she wouldn’t be home.
She whimpered miserably.
She turned and sank to the porch steps, no longer caring that she was getting soaked by the sheeting rain, no longer caring that her battle with her tears was lost.
She felt completely and utterly alone.
Low keening sobs fell from her lips and her head dropped to her forearms, her shoulders shaking with all of the pain she’d been holding back. Pain over her life as it had once been, pain over the loss of Max, pain because in that moment, even knowing that she was wallowing in self-pity, she felt as if everyone had betrayed and abandoned her.
Why hadn’t Maria told her?
She already knew the answer. It was because of Max. She didn’t want to make Liz feel badly.
A small pang of resentment ran through her heart and she immediately squashed it. That just wasn’t fair. Maria hadn’t run from Michael. Michael hadn’t overheard Maria say horrible, selfish things. Maria had accepted Michael and the others for what they were before they’d even left the Evans’ house.
Once again, Liz wished she could take it all back, wished she could start all over with Max from the point when he’d told her his secret.
Yet she couldn’t, and judging by Max’s reaction to her apology, the damage she’d done was irreparable.
She sat there for a moment, and then drew on her resolve.
“Get it together Parker,” she grated, a long familiar mantra she’d recited many times while under Carlo’s thumb.
But that was easier said than done. For now, the ache was not a physical one, but the ache of loss, of words said in the heat of the moment that couldn’t be taken back. She’d lost Max and sooner or later she was going to have to face that and deal with it.
So why did she just want to curl up into a ball and disappear? Why couldn’t she stop the unfamiliar tears that she’d shed more in the past few weeks than she had since she was a child?
She couldn’t walk in and confront Maria now. It would be uncomfortable for everyone involved. She would wait it out in the car until Michael left, if he left, and then she would confront her.
Wiping at her eyes she raised her head slowly and stilled, her breath trapped in her throat.
He stood in the driveway his chest rising and falling with his erratic breathing, the rain running off of his hair onto his face in streaming rivulets, dripping off his nose, his cheeks, sliding over his lips.
He was still in his suit, now soaked and sticking to his body, his tie now gone. His shoes were barely visible beneath the mini-river that rushed over the drive.
She stared at him wide-eyed. She’d never seen him like this. His appearance had always been controlled. But this…
His eyes glittered with a dark hunger that left her breathless.
She stood slowly, her heart thundering in her chest, afraid to utter a word, afraid that it was a dream, that if she spoke it would surely break the spell that had surely caused the apparition before her.
His voice was hoarse, almost gritty.
“Liz...”
TBC...
36
Just a quick thank you to the lurkers who have come out of hiding, and for everyone who has taken the time to leave me some feedback....
I am not going to keep you all in suspense, so I am going to post the end in its entirety, three parts plus an epilogue on Wednesday.
I've got to post and run. I'm exhausted....
Part 36
Max’s heart thundered in his chest as he stood only steps away from the only woman who had ever penetrated the cold walls surrounding his heart.
A myriad of emotions played across her face as she rose from the steps, her skin and glistening with rain.
She was so beautiful that it almost hurt to look at her.
*****
He’d stood in the booth, searching the crowd for any sign of her long, dark tresses, but she’d disappeared.
Again.
His jaw clenched tightly, his eyes slowly falling shut, finally processing everything he’d been too angry to really listen to.
This was what he’d wanted. So why did he suddenly feel as if he’d shredded his heart into a million bloody pieces?
He’d been a huge bastard to her, and she hadn’t deserved that.
Hearing what she had to say, he’d closed his heart off to her words, because they ignited hope in his heart, and that hope hurt.
But he could no longer block out the implications of what she’d said.
Liz didn’t blame him or his family for what had happened to Nancy, or to her. She never really had.
And though he’d been deeply hurt when she’d run, he realized that he understood it now. She was right, they were different in only one way, but in so many others, they were the same. She’d been raised on fear, much like he had been and finding your freedom finally only to have to make a choice to enter a life looking over her shoulder once again had to be terrifying.
She’d been afraid just as he was now, afraid to give his heart, to step into the unknown, to make himself vulnerable once more.
He’d told himself that it was safer to let her go, to let them go. For he knew now that losing her somewhere down the line would be devastating. It was devastating now and they hadn’t even acted on their feelings aside from a few stolen kisses.
Everything he knew screamed to leave things as they stood, that he was setting himself up for disaster if he went after her.
But then his mother’s words during their final conversation came back to him.
“Max, there is only one thing I want you to promise me. Do what makes you happy. Don’t waste precious time."
"Making sure all of you are safe makes me happy."
""Life is short and precious, Max. Don't waste it. Keeping us safe did nothing to stop this."
"It's who I am now, Mom. I don't know how to be anyone else."
"I know. That was our mistake. So many mistakes.”
“Just...promise me that if it ever becomes too much, you'll let it go. This isn't all there is.”
"Promise me.”
"I promise.”
He looked around at the men who worked under him carrying out the business that his father built, a business that he now ran, and he realized it was all a lie.
Everything about his life was one big lie. This was what had been most important to him, before he’d met Liz. This was what he’d nurtured, for his family’s protection. It had been successful in part because of his fierce determination. This night had been planned for months, for the success at this event would have opened other doors for Evans International. But suddenly he didn’t care. Suddenly it seemed insignificant because it wasn’t real.
His love for his family and the love had grown in his heart for the brave human girl were the only real things he had.
He’d been stuck in a rut, afraid to really participate in the world, afraid to open his heart to someone. It was much easier to concentrate his energies on the business, because the business was constant, through it he was never rejected, never made to feel as if he were some sort of monstrosity.
And so it was that he realized he was facing one of the most important decisions of his life, one that put his heart in great danger of being broken. Not that it hadn’t been before, but Liz’s running away had given him a taste of what that felt like, and it was devastating.
He knew that if he took that road this time with no secrets between them, that he couldn’t settle for anything less than loving each other completely. And though he needed that, he was afraid to open himself to her completely, to let her see who he really was.
That was the risk he would have to take if he went after her now. He knew where she was living. He’d known since the day she’d left, when Phillip had told him to go after her.
But he hadn’t. He’d been mired in the deep hurt he’d been feeling.
But now he knew his choice had been made.
He took a deep breath and pulled his phone from his pocket dialing Michael, intending to ask him to cover for him. He swore softly when he heard the recorded voice telling him that the cellular customer wasn’t available.
This wasn’t like Michael at all.
With an impatient sigh and taking a leap of faith, he contacted Karl on the headset.
“Karl, something important has come up and I have to leave. I’d like you to oversee the rest of the evening,” he said.
There was a few seconds of stunned silence before Karl answered. Under normal circumstances, Max oversaw all of the major events, such as this one. To say that Karl was stunned would have been an understatement, Max knew.
“Of course,” Karl said quickly. “I won’t let you down, Mr. Evans.”
“I trust you,” he said, relaying instructions before he hung up the phone. Oddly, it was liberating, putting the responsibility in someone else’s hands for once. He was confident that Karl could handle it.
An urgency overtook him, a need to find Liz before he lost his nerve, and he set off for his car.
******
His emotions fluctuated between terror and the need to be near her at any cost the whole drive out to Palmdale. He’d gotten there only to find that she hadn’t returned. But he hadn’t expected to spot Michael’s car parked in the driveway when he’d arrived in the pouring rain.
It occurred to him that a month ago he would have been angry, but now…he supposed he sympathized.
He didn’t approach the house, instead parking his car up the road a bit intending to wait for Liz to return.
It was already dark when she returned and by that time his confidence had surged and then waned repeatedly, until he felt as if he would go insane if she didn’t show up.
She parked at the street and he’d started to open the car door when he saw her fall. He stood quickly, but she’d already risen and ran toward the house.
He called out to her but the rain muffled his cry. for long moments, he stood there, battling with himself whether to approach her.
And then his heart won out.
Unmindful of the rain he started toward the house, his heart pounding furiously with each step he took.
Would she turn him away after the way he'd acted earlier?
He began to jog up the driveway, his shoes splashing in the water running across the driveway, seeing her slump down on the porch steps.
He slowed as he got closer, his heart feeling as if it would explode looking at her, so beautiful even soaking wet.
And then she looked up, her beautiful eyes so desolate that it made his skin prickle.
Had he done this? Had he put that look in her eyes?
Her name fell from his lips before he’d even thought about it, and he could heard the desperate need he was experiencing in its tone. Was that his voice? Max Evans, the man who prided himself on his control?
But he wasn’t in control, and he hadn’t been from the moment he’d first laid eyes on her. She’d stolen his heart before he’d even been aware of it.
She rose from the steps slowly, her eyes never leaving his, her lips trembling as her teeth chattered slightly. Her face was streaked with dirt and the knees of her jeans were torn. Her hair was plastered to her face and her eyes were red-rimmed.
And she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
A wary expression painted her face, and then resignation.
“If you’re looking for Michael, I don’t think you want to go in there just yet,” she said in a trembling voice. “They’re…indisposed.”
"I’m not looking for Michael,” he said, shaking his head.
“Then why are you here, Max?” she asked in a low voice, lowering her head, her eyes breaking contact with his.
******
Liz stared at the water pooling at her feet waiting for him to answer. She was sure he’d come for Michael and she knew if he had, there would be a scene. She tried to circumvent it by warning him of what was going on inside the house, but even she knew that if this was the reason that he’d come out to the house it wouldn’t have stopped him.
She didn't even have time to raise her head before her body was pulled up against his roughly. His skin felt warm beneath his rain soaked clothes, a feverish heat that seemed to leech through her own soaked clothing.
She raised her head to meet his eyes burning into hers with an intensity she'd never seen in them before, his eyes roaming over her face hungrily. In his gaze she could see the inner struggle that was waged between his mind and heart, the very same battle she had struggled with herself over the past weeks.
His eyes burned into hers and he raised his hand sliding it across her shoulder and under her hair to cradle the back of her neck. His warm fingers seared her through her rain-chilled skin.
She felt his heart thundering against her chest, his free arm around her back pinning her to his length.
A rush of desire shot through her body and she gasped in its wake.
He paused only for an instant before his lips crashed against hers. Her low moan was muffled as his mouth covered hers, and her senses immediately went into overload.
And then all she knew was his touch, his scent, the way he tasted.
His teeth latched onto her lower lip, tugging it hungrily. His trembling hands slid to her face, fingers sliding through her hair at her temples, his palms warming her cheeks. She shivered violently at the new contact of his skin against hers.
His tongue demanded entrance to her mouth, passing over her lips, sliding along her teeth.
She heard a deep moan rumbling in his chest, desperate and demanding as it rose to his throat and vibrated against her lips and she opened herself to him fully.
Liz pressed against Max's heated form as their kiss deepened further. Her limbs trembled on the verge of giving out as his mouth devouring hers, burning her with the heat of his exploration.
Their breathing synchronized, as if they had become one, the taste of the rain mingling on each of their tongues.
She poured all of the pent-up loneliness, fear and love that she had for him into the kiss, hoping he understood that she knew what she had given up when she ran from him.
She met each stroke of his tongue with one of her own, her hands at his waist, pulling him closer, needing him closer.
But with a strangled cry he pulled back, stumbling a few steps away from her, his chest rising and falling erratically as he struggled to regain his composure.
"I shouldn't have done that," he said in a hoarse voice.
"Max?" she said raggedly, confused at his abrupt distance.
He ran a shaky hand over his face, and took a shuddering breath.
She raised her head to look into his eyes once more, feeling a lump forming in her throat at the conflict she saw in them.
“I don’t know what I’m doing here. I…I’m not good at…I don’t know how to do this…” he said, shifting his weight from one foot to another.
"Do what Max? Why are you here?" she asked, her voice trembling.
“When you left New Mexico, I…God it hurt, Liz. I don’t make myself vulnerable to people. I never did….until you. I don't even know how to explain what that felt like. And I never want to feel that again,” he said.
He took another step back.
“Max, I know that I hurt you,” she said in a trembling voice, tears filling her eyes. “I don’t know how to make you believe how much I wish I could take it back…”
He shook his head.
“No,” he said fiercely. “That’s not what I mean.”
He ran his fingers through his hair.
“I’m doing this all wrong,” he muttered, looking up at the sky as the rain splashed against his face.
“What I meant to say is that I want another chance for us. But I want it all. I can’t do this halfway, not again. I can’t…not if you’re afraid of me, of what I am, of what the future might hold,” he said, his voice breaking.
"I don't know why I feel the way that I do, and God help me there have been many times when I didn't want to. But I do," he said.
“I love you,” he said simply, his hands falling to his sides, head lowered, shoulders slumping.
He had once again left himself completely vulnerable to her, and she was going to make sure that this time, he didn't regret it.
She stared at him for a long moment before she spoke.
"Max, you are the most infuriating, controlling, arrogant man I've ever met."
He looked at her, shock evident in his eyes. She met his stare with an unwavering one of her own.
"In the beginning that scared me. I was terrified that you would find out who I really was....the person I’d had to keep hidden from everyone. But the thing is, you did find out...and you didn't hate me for who I am; who I reallyam. All this time, all of the things I was afraid of, none of it really had anything to do with me being afraid of you, of what you are. What you are saved my life. What kind of person would that make me if I didn't see the irony in that? What you are is a miracle, and it’s the only reason I'm alive and free," she said.
“You were a better person than I was. I didn’t handle any of this well,” she said, shaking her head. “But the truth is...it really didn’t change anything, not how I feel about you.”
“Alex was the one who made me realize that,” she said.
“Alex?” Max exclaimed, shocked.
“He came out here to see me today, to talk. He said some things to me that really made a lot of sense. He asked me if I still loved you, even knowing what I know now. I thought I’d messed things up so badly between us,” she said, in a trembling voice.
“I can’t believe he came to see you,” Max said, incredulous.
“He came out here for you, Max. It wasn’t for me,” she said. “He cares about you. He cares about all of you.”
“Why?” he asked in a guilty whisper. “After everything I put both him and Isabel through...”
“You’re her family, Max. He loves Isabel, and Isabel loves you,” she said simply. “I don’t know what went on with you and Alex, but Isabel told me that you didn’t want her to marry him. I can take a good guess as to why. But I guess he loves Isabel enough to let whatever you did remain in the past. He doesn’t care what you are. And I think he knew that deep down, I really didn’t either. Do you know what he said to me? He said ‘Love is a rare thing, Liz, and in the end it doesn't matter whether a few cells are different between you, as long as what's in your hearts is the same’."
“And he’s right, Max. It doesn’t change how I feel about you, not one bit,” she vehemently.
“You’ve only seen a small part of what makes me different,” he said. “There are...other things about me, things I can do that I’m not proud of. Liz, that very same energy I used to heal you can also kill.”
“Max, I’m the last person that would be morally offended by something I know that you would only use in self-defense. I’ve done things I’m not proud of. I killed Frank. But I didn’t have a choice. I know that you wouldn’t use that unless you were left with no other choice either. It doesn’t frighten me. What frightens me is that it wouldn’t be enough if those people came after you, if they found you.”
“My biggest fear has always been losing the people I care about. I don’t know if I’d survive loving you and losing you, Max,” she said quietly.
Her heart began to pound as he took a step forward.
“Liz, I don’t know what’s going to happen, and I can’t promise you that something might not happen. I won’t, because I wouldn’t be doing you or myself any favors by doing that. There have been too many well-meaning lies told already,” he said softly, reaching out to caress her rain-soaked cheek. “But if you’ll have me, you won’t be sorry.”
“I promise...” he said, his voice cracking. “I will protect you with all that I have and all that I am...”
Her lower lip quivered, betraying the rush of emotion that flooded her heart. That he would speak those words meant more to her than anything.
“Oh Max,” she said, her face crumpling as she fell into his embrace, feeling the warmth of his arms encircling her, one hand resting at the base of her neck pulling her head under his chin, the other wrapped around her waist. He pressed his lips to her wet hair before resting his cheek there.
And for the first time, Liz felt like she’d finally come home.
His chest rose and fell with a deep sigh, his heart beating strongly against her cheek.
“I love you,” she said, blinking back tears, wrapping her arms even tighter around his waist. “I want it all too, Max. I can’t lie to you. I’ll probably always worry about what might happen because of who you are, but I love you too much to let you go.”
Max pulled away to look into her eyes, his fingers of his right hand burying themselves in her hair, gently pulling her closer.
“I couldn’t let you go either,” he said. “When I turned around this afternoon and you were gone, I...realized what was important, finally. I made a promise to my mother a long time ago, to be happy. I haven’t been for a long time, since before the beach. But you, you challenge me, you make me feel things that I never thought I could feel and I don’t want to let them go, even if it’s terrifying.”
“Then I guess we’ll just have to be scared together,” Liz whispered.
He nodded, his eyes falling from her eyes to her lips hungrily. Her eyes fell to half mast in anticipation, her heart pounding as he lowered his lips nearer to hers. He paused a mere breath away, fingers feathering across her cheek, his thumb tracing her lower lip.
It didn’t matter that they were soaked to the skin. It didn’t matter that a small river was merrily dancing over their feet. Nothing else mattered but this moment, a moment that Liz had thought could never be real. Max had made it real. He had changed her world, stolen her heart and healed her broken body.
Her hands slid up to frame his jaw. When she’d first laid eyes on Max, she’d thought she’d made the biggest mistake in her life agreeing to go along with Phillip’s plan, but it had turned out to be the best thing that had ever happened to her.
That this achingly gorgeous, strong-willed, brave man could love her was a miracle in itself. Everything about him, from his ethereal golden eyes, his squared jaw, to his soft lips that were just as powerful in a scowl as they were when he flashed one of his rare smiles or were kissing her own, stoking the fire in her heart and her body. The solid strength of his body pressed against hers elicited sensations within her that she’d never experienced before, a need that only increased every second she was near him.
Even the mere touch of his fingertips, seemingly innocent against her cheek, was exquisite torture.
“You are so beautiful,” he whispered.
Her face reddened a bit and her hands slid from his cheeks as she lowered her head, shaking her head.
“No...I’m not,” she said, embarrassed.
His pulled her chin up with his fingertips, forcing her to look into his eyes.
“Right now, you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” he said, tilting his head caress her lips in a searing kiss.
Her fingers curled into the cotton of his rain-soaked shirt, tightly gripping the material as if it were her lifeline, for she felt it was the only thing holding her in reality. His tongue slid inside of her mouth, hot and silky, sliding against hers caressing it before exploring her mouth tentatively.
When she met his advance with one of her own, a muffled groan rose in his throat, sending a shiver of excitement down her spine. She’d thought that merely kissing Max was intoxicating, but soon she knew that it wouldn’t be enough.
She yearned to feel his skin against hers, without the barrier of wet clothes between them. The mere play of his muscles beneath her fingers as she rested them on his biceps was maddening. What would it be like if she and Max made love?
She found herself immediately embarrassed at the path her thoughts had taken. When had she become so wanton? She had no other experience to compare this to. She hadn’t had time or the courage to think of any other man like this. Her fantasies had been faceless, nameless men, hazy ideals, but her body fairly burned for very the real man who stood before her now.
He pulled away from her to trail rain-drenched kisses across her cheek to her neck, catching her skin lightly with his teeth, causing her to gasp at the sensation it caused low in her stomach.
His harsh breath burst against her neck, intertwining tiny kisses with gentle nips soothed by his tongue.
Her head fell back, giving him further access to her wet skin, a small whimper escaping her lips, her hands sliding up to his shoulders, gripping them, knowing it was the only thing holding her upright. If she let go, she was sure that she would simply melt into the water pooling at her feet.
She felt his shoulders tense, and took a small step back, his hand cupping her neck, breathing raggedly.
“Max, what’s wrong?” she asked, suddenly feeling frightened at the vulnerable look in his eyes.
He shook his head, and it was a few long seconds before he could answer.
“I felt it,” he said, in his voice trembling slightly. “I didn’t think...I know you said it, but I felt you...how you feel about me,” he said.
“You connected with me?” she asked. “You can see how I feel about you?”
He nodded.
“I saw it....or rather I felt it,” he answered, his eyes filled with wonder. “I felt what you were feeling the night I kissed you on the terrace. I felt how you tried to fight the way you were feeling about me since then, just like I was trying to fight mine for you. If only we had known everything then...”
“If we did, then David would probably still be alive,” she said bitterly. “And I would still be hiding.”
His hand reached behind her and smoothed her hair at the base of her neck.
“How can you do that? .You know, see me?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” he said with a sigh. “My mother always told me that when two mates bond, it happens, but that hadn’t happened between us when I first connected with you.”
His fingers trailed through her wet hair, bringing it forward over her shoulders before skimming across her collarbone before tracing a path down her throat, coming to rest on a warm metal object around her neck hidden under her shirt.
His fingers hook on the chain, and he pulled it from her shirt, his brow pulling into a frown before his eyes widened in recognition.
“This is my mother’s,” he said, his eyes snapping up to meet hers.
Liz looked down, covering his fingers which cradled the broken pendant.
“My mother gave it to me when I turned ten,” she said softly. “She told me that it was good luck, that I should wear it always.”
Max reached under the collar of his shirt and pulled out the missing half of the pendant.
“I took it when my mother died,” he said. “My father had worn the half you’re wearing, but I hadn’t seen it in ages. My mother never took this off, until the day she died. I didn’t realize she had until after...”
He swallowed against the mump forming in his throat.
“Anyway, I kept it. I never take it off,” he said.
“Neither do I,” Liz said with a small smile.
“Maybe this is why I got the flash from you. If this pendant is anything like the orb, maybe it stores memories, feelings...” he said, distracted. "It's almost like she knew..."
The chattering of Liz’s teeth snapped his attention back to her.
“You’re cold,” he said, pulling her close, before turning his gaze toward the house.
“I guess going into the house is out of the question,” he said wryly.
“Not unless you want to be permanently scarred seeing your cousin and Maria...uh,” she grimaced, looking for the right words and but Max spared her.
“That would be a “no”,” Max said in distaste.
“Come on,” he said, taking her hand. “We’ve got to find someplace dry. We can’t stand out here all night.”
He gently pulled on her hand, but she resisted for a moment.
"Max," she said, and he stopped, turning to look at her.
"Where are we going to go?" she asked curiously.
And he asked the question he'd asked her twice before, only this time it took on a whole new meaning.
"Do you trust me?" he asked, with an impish grin.
She looked into his eyes and returned it with a curious smile, cocking her head.
"Do you really need to ask that question?" she teased, and he laughed, and that sound was music to her ears.
"Let's go," he said, pulling her behind him, jogging through the water toward his car.
TBC....
Hehe. I finally used that quote from the beginning of the story.
I am not going to keep you all in suspense, so I am going to post the end in its entirety, three parts plus an epilogue on Wednesday.
I've got to post and run. I'm exhausted....
Part 36
Max’s heart thundered in his chest as he stood only steps away from the only woman who had ever penetrated the cold walls surrounding his heart.
A myriad of emotions played across her face as she rose from the steps, her skin and glistening with rain.
She was so beautiful that it almost hurt to look at her.
*****
He’d stood in the booth, searching the crowd for any sign of her long, dark tresses, but she’d disappeared.
Again.
His jaw clenched tightly, his eyes slowly falling shut, finally processing everything he’d been too angry to really listen to.
This was what he’d wanted. So why did he suddenly feel as if he’d shredded his heart into a million bloody pieces?
He’d been a huge bastard to her, and she hadn’t deserved that.
Hearing what she had to say, he’d closed his heart off to her words, because they ignited hope in his heart, and that hope hurt.
But he could no longer block out the implications of what she’d said.
Liz didn’t blame him or his family for what had happened to Nancy, or to her. She never really had.
And though he’d been deeply hurt when she’d run, he realized that he understood it now. She was right, they were different in only one way, but in so many others, they were the same. She’d been raised on fear, much like he had been and finding your freedom finally only to have to make a choice to enter a life looking over her shoulder once again had to be terrifying.
She’d been afraid just as he was now, afraid to give his heart, to step into the unknown, to make himself vulnerable once more.
He’d told himself that it was safer to let her go, to let them go. For he knew now that losing her somewhere down the line would be devastating. It was devastating now and they hadn’t even acted on their feelings aside from a few stolen kisses.
Everything he knew screamed to leave things as they stood, that he was setting himself up for disaster if he went after her.
But then his mother’s words during their final conversation came back to him.
“Max, there is only one thing I want you to promise me. Do what makes you happy. Don’t waste precious time."
"Making sure all of you are safe makes me happy."
""Life is short and precious, Max. Don't waste it. Keeping us safe did nothing to stop this."
"It's who I am now, Mom. I don't know how to be anyone else."
"I know. That was our mistake. So many mistakes.”
“Just...promise me that if it ever becomes too much, you'll let it go. This isn't all there is.”
"Promise me.”
"I promise.”
He looked around at the men who worked under him carrying out the business that his father built, a business that he now ran, and he realized it was all a lie.
Everything about his life was one big lie. This was what had been most important to him, before he’d met Liz. This was what he’d nurtured, for his family’s protection. It had been successful in part because of his fierce determination. This night had been planned for months, for the success at this event would have opened other doors for Evans International. But suddenly he didn’t care. Suddenly it seemed insignificant because it wasn’t real.
His love for his family and the love had grown in his heart for the brave human girl were the only real things he had.
He’d been stuck in a rut, afraid to really participate in the world, afraid to open his heart to someone. It was much easier to concentrate his energies on the business, because the business was constant, through it he was never rejected, never made to feel as if he were some sort of monstrosity.
And so it was that he realized he was facing one of the most important decisions of his life, one that put his heart in great danger of being broken. Not that it hadn’t been before, but Liz’s running away had given him a taste of what that felt like, and it was devastating.
He knew that if he took that road this time with no secrets between them, that he couldn’t settle for anything less than loving each other completely. And though he needed that, he was afraid to open himself to her completely, to let her see who he really was.
That was the risk he would have to take if he went after her now. He knew where she was living. He’d known since the day she’d left, when Phillip had told him to go after her.
But he hadn’t. He’d been mired in the deep hurt he’d been feeling.
But now he knew his choice had been made.
He took a deep breath and pulled his phone from his pocket dialing Michael, intending to ask him to cover for him. He swore softly when he heard the recorded voice telling him that the cellular customer wasn’t available.
This wasn’t like Michael at all.
With an impatient sigh and taking a leap of faith, he contacted Karl on the headset.
“Karl, something important has come up and I have to leave. I’d like you to oversee the rest of the evening,” he said.
There was a few seconds of stunned silence before Karl answered. Under normal circumstances, Max oversaw all of the major events, such as this one. To say that Karl was stunned would have been an understatement, Max knew.
“Of course,” Karl said quickly. “I won’t let you down, Mr. Evans.”
“I trust you,” he said, relaying instructions before he hung up the phone. Oddly, it was liberating, putting the responsibility in someone else’s hands for once. He was confident that Karl could handle it.
An urgency overtook him, a need to find Liz before he lost his nerve, and he set off for his car.
******
His emotions fluctuated between terror and the need to be near her at any cost the whole drive out to Palmdale. He’d gotten there only to find that she hadn’t returned. But he hadn’t expected to spot Michael’s car parked in the driveway when he’d arrived in the pouring rain.
It occurred to him that a month ago he would have been angry, but now…he supposed he sympathized.
He didn’t approach the house, instead parking his car up the road a bit intending to wait for Liz to return.
It was already dark when she returned and by that time his confidence had surged and then waned repeatedly, until he felt as if he would go insane if she didn’t show up.
She parked at the street and he’d started to open the car door when he saw her fall. He stood quickly, but she’d already risen and ran toward the house.
He called out to her but the rain muffled his cry. for long moments, he stood there, battling with himself whether to approach her.
And then his heart won out.
Unmindful of the rain he started toward the house, his heart pounding furiously with each step he took.
Would she turn him away after the way he'd acted earlier?
He began to jog up the driveway, his shoes splashing in the water running across the driveway, seeing her slump down on the porch steps.
He slowed as he got closer, his heart feeling as if it would explode looking at her, so beautiful even soaking wet.
And then she looked up, her beautiful eyes so desolate that it made his skin prickle.
Had he done this? Had he put that look in her eyes?
Her name fell from his lips before he’d even thought about it, and he could heard the desperate need he was experiencing in its tone. Was that his voice? Max Evans, the man who prided himself on his control?
But he wasn’t in control, and he hadn’t been from the moment he’d first laid eyes on her. She’d stolen his heart before he’d even been aware of it.
She rose from the steps slowly, her eyes never leaving his, her lips trembling as her teeth chattered slightly. Her face was streaked with dirt and the knees of her jeans were torn. Her hair was plastered to her face and her eyes were red-rimmed.
And she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
A wary expression painted her face, and then resignation.
“If you’re looking for Michael, I don’t think you want to go in there just yet,” she said in a trembling voice. “They’re…indisposed.”
"I’m not looking for Michael,” he said, shaking his head.
“Then why are you here, Max?” she asked in a low voice, lowering her head, her eyes breaking contact with his.
******
Liz stared at the water pooling at her feet waiting for him to answer. She was sure he’d come for Michael and she knew if he had, there would be a scene. She tried to circumvent it by warning him of what was going on inside the house, but even she knew that if this was the reason that he’d come out to the house it wouldn’t have stopped him.
She didn't even have time to raise her head before her body was pulled up against his roughly. His skin felt warm beneath his rain soaked clothes, a feverish heat that seemed to leech through her own soaked clothing.
She raised her head to meet his eyes burning into hers with an intensity she'd never seen in them before, his eyes roaming over her face hungrily. In his gaze she could see the inner struggle that was waged between his mind and heart, the very same battle she had struggled with herself over the past weeks.
His eyes burned into hers and he raised his hand sliding it across her shoulder and under her hair to cradle the back of her neck. His warm fingers seared her through her rain-chilled skin.
She felt his heart thundering against her chest, his free arm around her back pinning her to his length.
A rush of desire shot through her body and she gasped in its wake.
He paused only for an instant before his lips crashed against hers. Her low moan was muffled as his mouth covered hers, and her senses immediately went into overload.
And then all she knew was his touch, his scent, the way he tasted.
His teeth latched onto her lower lip, tugging it hungrily. His trembling hands slid to her face, fingers sliding through her hair at her temples, his palms warming her cheeks. She shivered violently at the new contact of his skin against hers.
His tongue demanded entrance to her mouth, passing over her lips, sliding along her teeth.
She heard a deep moan rumbling in his chest, desperate and demanding as it rose to his throat and vibrated against her lips and she opened herself to him fully.
Liz pressed against Max's heated form as their kiss deepened further. Her limbs trembled on the verge of giving out as his mouth devouring hers, burning her with the heat of his exploration.
Their breathing synchronized, as if they had become one, the taste of the rain mingling on each of their tongues.
She poured all of the pent-up loneliness, fear and love that she had for him into the kiss, hoping he understood that she knew what she had given up when she ran from him.
She met each stroke of his tongue with one of her own, her hands at his waist, pulling him closer, needing him closer.
But with a strangled cry he pulled back, stumbling a few steps away from her, his chest rising and falling erratically as he struggled to regain his composure.
"I shouldn't have done that," he said in a hoarse voice.
"Max?" she said raggedly, confused at his abrupt distance.
He ran a shaky hand over his face, and took a shuddering breath.
She raised her head to look into his eyes once more, feeling a lump forming in her throat at the conflict she saw in them.
“I don’t know what I’m doing here. I…I’m not good at…I don’t know how to do this…” he said, shifting his weight from one foot to another.
"Do what Max? Why are you here?" she asked, her voice trembling.
“When you left New Mexico, I…God it hurt, Liz. I don’t make myself vulnerable to people. I never did….until you. I don't even know how to explain what that felt like. And I never want to feel that again,” he said.
He took another step back.
“Max, I know that I hurt you,” she said in a trembling voice, tears filling her eyes. “I don’t know how to make you believe how much I wish I could take it back…”
He shook his head.
“No,” he said fiercely. “That’s not what I mean.”
He ran his fingers through his hair.
“I’m doing this all wrong,” he muttered, looking up at the sky as the rain splashed against his face.
“What I meant to say is that I want another chance for us. But I want it all. I can’t do this halfway, not again. I can’t…not if you’re afraid of me, of what I am, of what the future might hold,” he said, his voice breaking.
"I don't know why I feel the way that I do, and God help me there have been many times when I didn't want to. But I do," he said.
“I love you,” he said simply, his hands falling to his sides, head lowered, shoulders slumping.
He had once again left himself completely vulnerable to her, and she was going to make sure that this time, he didn't regret it.
She stared at him for a long moment before she spoke.
"Max, you are the most infuriating, controlling, arrogant man I've ever met."
He looked at her, shock evident in his eyes. She met his stare with an unwavering one of her own.
"In the beginning that scared me. I was terrified that you would find out who I really was....the person I’d had to keep hidden from everyone. But the thing is, you did find out...and you didn't hate me for who I am; who I reallyam. All this time, all of the things I was afraid of, none of it really had anything to do with me being afraid of you, of what you are. What you are saved my life. What kind of person would that make me if I didn't see the irony in that? What you are is a miracle, and it’s the only reason I'm alive and free," she said.
“You were a better person than I was. I didn’t handle any of this well,” she said, shaking her head. “But the truth is...it really didn’t change anything, not how I feel about you.”
“Alex was the one who made me realize that,” she said.
“Alex?” Max exclaimed, shocked.
“He came out here to see me today, to talk. He said some things to me that really made a lot of sense. He asked me if I still loved you, even knowing what I know now. I thought I’d messed things up so badly between us,” she said, in a trembling voice.
“I can’t believe he came to see you,” Max said, incredulous.
“He came out here for you, Max. It wasn’t for me,” she said. “He cares about you. He cares about all of you.”
“Why?” he asked in a guilty whisper. “After everything I put both him and Isabel through...”
“You’re her family, Max. He loves Isabel, and Isabel loves you,” she said simply. “I don’t know what went on with you and Alex, but Isabel told me that you didn’t want her to marry him. I can take a good guess as to why. But I guess he loves Isabel enough to let whatever you did remain in the past. He doesn’t care what you are. And I think he knew that deep down, I really didn’t either. Do you know what he said to me? He said ‘Love is a rare thing, Liz, and in the end it doesn't matter whether a few cells are different between you, as long as what's in your hearts is the same’."
“And he’s right, Max. It doesn’t change how I feel about you, not one bit,” she vehemently.
“You’ve only seen a small part of what makes me different,” he said. “There are...other things about me, things I can do that I’m not proud of. Liz, that very same energy I used to heal you can also kill.”
“Max, I’m the last person that would be morally offended by something I know that you would only use in self-defense. I’ve done things I’m not proud of. I killed Frank. But I didn’t have a choice. I know that you wouldn’t use that unless you were left with no other choice either. It doesn’t frighten me. What frightens me is that it wouldn’t be enough if those people came after you, if they found you.”
“My biggest fear has always been losing the people I care about. I don’t know if I’d survive loving you and losing you, Max,” she said quietly.
Her heart began to pound as he took a step forward.
“Liz, I don’t know what’s going to happen, and I can’t promise you that something might not happen. I won’t, because I wouldn’t be doing you or myself any favors by doing that. There have been too many well-meaning lies told already,” he said softly, reaching out to caress her rain-soaked cheek. “But if you’ll have me, you won’t be sorry.”
“I promise...” he said, his voice cracking. “I will protect you with all that I have and all that I am...”
Her lower lip quivered, betraying the rush of emotion that flooded her heart. That he would speak those words meant more to her than anything.
“Oh Max,” she said, her face crumpling as she fell into his embrace, feeling the warmth of his arms encircling her, one hand resting at the base of her neck pulling her head under his chin, the other wrapped around her waist. He pressed his lips to her wet hair before resting his cheek there.
And for the first time, Liz felt like she’d finally come home.
His chest rose and fell with a deep sigh, his heart beating strongly against her cheek.
“I love you,” she said, blinking back tears, wrapping her arms even tighter around his waist. “I want it all too, Max. I can’t lie to you. I’ll probably always worry about what might happen because of who you are, but I love you too much to let you go.”
Max pulled away to look into her eyes, his fingers of his right hand burying themselves in her hair, gently pulling her closer.
“I couldn’t let you go either,” he said. “When I turned around this afternoon and you were gone, I...realized what was important, finally. I made a promise to my mother a long time ago, to be happy. I haven’t been for a long time, since before the beach. But you, you challenge me, you make me feel things that I never thought I could feel and I don’t want to let them go, even if it’s terrifying.”
“Then I guess we’ll just have to be scared together,” Liz whispered.
He nodded, his eyes falling from her eyes to her lips hungrily. Her eyes fell to half mast in anticipation, her heart pounding as he lowered his lips nearer to hers. He paused a mere breath away, fingers feathering across her cheek, his thumb tracing her lower lip.
It didn’t matter that they were soaked to the skin. It didn’t matter that a small river was merrily dancing over their feet. Nothing else mattered but this moment, a moment that Liz had thought could never be real. Max had made it real. He had changed her world, stolen her heart and healed her broken body.
Her hands slid up to frame his jaw. When she’d first laid eyes on Max, she’d thought she’d made the biggest mistake in her life agreeing to go along with Phillip’s plan, but it had turned out to be the best thing that had ever happened to her.
That this achingly gorgeous, strong-willed, brave man could love her was a miracle in itself. Everything about him, from his ethereal golden eyes, his squared jaw, to his soft lips that were just as powerful in a scowl as they were when he flashed one of his rare smiles or were kissing her own, stoking the fire in her heart and her body. The solid strength of his body pressed against hers elicited sensations within her that she’d never experienced before, a need that only increased every second she was near him.
Even the mere touch of his fingertips, seemingly innocent against her cheek, was exquisite torture.
“You are so beautiful,” he whispered.
Her face reddened a bit and her hands slid from his cheeks as she lowered her head, shaking her head.
“No...I’m not,” she said, embarrassed.
His pulled her chin up with his fingertips, forcing her to look into his eyes.
“Right now, you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” he said, tilting his head caress her lips in a searing kiss.
Her fingers curled into the cotton of his rain-soaked shirt, tightly gripping the material as if it were her lifeline, for she felt it was the only thing holding her in reality. His tongue slid inside of her mouth, hot and silky, sliding against hers caressing it before exploring her mouth tentatively.
When she met his advance with one of her own, a muffled groan rose in his throat, sending a shiver of excitement down her spine. She’d thought that merely kissing Max was intoxicating, but soon she knew that it wouldn’t be enough.
She yearned to feel his skin against hers, without the barrier of wet clothes between them. The mere play of his muscles beneath her fingers as she rested them on his biceps was maddening. What would it be like if she and Max made love?
She found herself immediately embarrassed at the path her thoughts had taken. When had she become so wanton? She had no other experience to compare this to. She hadn’t had time or the courage to think of any other man like this. Her fantasies had been faceless, nameless men, hazy ideals, but her body fairly burned for very the real man who stood before her now.
He pulled away from her to trail rain-drenched kisses across her cheek to her neck, catching her skin lightly with his teeth, causing her to gasp at the sensation it caused low in her stomach.
His harsh breath burst against her neck, intertwining tiny kisses with gentle nips soothed by his tongue.
Her head fell back, giving him further access to her wet skin, a small whimper escaping her lips, her hands sliding up to his shoulders, gripping them, knowing it was the only thing holding her upright. If she let go, she was sure that she would simply melt into the water pooling at her feet.
She felt his shoulders tense, and took a small step back, his hand cupping her neck, breathing raggedly.
“Max, what’s wrong?” she asked, suddenly feeling frightened at the vulnerable look in his eyes.
He shook his head, and it was a few long seconds before he could answer.
“I felt it,” he said, in his voice trembling slightly. “I didn’t think...I know you said it, but I felt you...how you feel about me,” he said.
“You connected with me?” she asked. “You can see how I feel about you?”
He nodded.
“I saw it....or rather I felt it,” he answered, his eyes filled with wonder. “I felt what you were feeling the night I kissed you on the terrace. I felt how you tried to fight the way you were feeling about me since then, just like I was trying to fight mine for you. If only we had known everything then...”
“If we did, then David would probably still be alive,” she said bitterly. “And I would still be hiding.”
His hand reached behind her and smoothed her hair at the base of her neck.
“How can you do that? .You know, see me?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” he said with a sigh. “My mother always told me that when two mates bond, it happens, but that hadn’t happened between us when I first connected with you.”
His fingers trailed through her wet hair, bringing it forward over her shoulders before skimming across her collarbone before tracing a path down her throat, coming to rest on a warm metal object around her neck hidden under her shirt.
His fingers hook on the chain, and he pulled it from her shirt, his brow pulling into a frown before his eyes widened in recognition.
“This is my mother’s,” he said, his eyes snapping up to meet hers.
Liz looked down, covering his fingers which cradled the broken pendant.
“My mother gave it to me when I turned ten,” she said softly. “She told me that it was good luck, that I should wear it always.”
Max reached under the collar of his shirt and pulled out the missing half of the pendant.
“I took it when my mother died,” he said. “My father had worn the half you’re wearing, but I hadn’t seen it in ages. My mother never took this off, until the day she died. I didn’t realize she had until after...”
He swallowed against the mump forming in his throat.
“Anyway, I kept it. I never take it off,” he said.
“Neither do I,” Liz said with a small smile.
“Maybe this is why I got the flash from you. If this pendant is anything like the orb, maybe it stores memories, feelings...” he said, distracted. "It's almost like she knew..."
The chattering of Liz’s teeth snapped his attention back to her.
“You’re cold,” he said, pulling her close, before turning his gaze toward the house.
“I guess going into the house is out of the question,” he said wryly.
“Not unless you want to be permanently scarred seeing your cousin and Maria...uh,” she grimaced, looking for the right words and but Max spared her.
“That would be a “no”,” Max said in distaste.
“Come on,” he said, taking her hand. “We’ve got to find someplace dry. We can’t stand out here all night.”
He gently pulled on her hand, but she resisted for a moment.
"Max," she said, and he stopped, turning to look at her.
"Where are we going to go?" she asked curiously.
And he asked the question he'd asked her twice before, only this time it took on a whole new meaning.
"Do you trust me?" he asked, with an impish grin.
She looked into his eyes and returned it with a curious smile, cocking her head.
"Do you really need to ask that question?" she teased, and he laughed, and that sound was music to her ears.
"Let's go," he said, pulling her behind him, jogging through the water toward his car.
TBC....
Hehe. I finally used that quote from the beginning of the story.
To use a line I used on another board:
<sniff> I can't believe it's over.
The story's finished and Max and Liz have left the building. Please pick up all trash and deposit in the appropriate receptacles. Nobody likes a litter-bug.
Seriously, I just wanted to thank all of you for reading this and for your wonderful comments. As I think I had said, this was my "fun" story, the one that was completely different from anything I'd ever written before and the one that I worked on when I hit the big walls with my other stories. I really enjoyed writing this one immensely and never expected the response it received. So thank you, thank you, thank you.
I am posting this a little early because I don't know if I will get to it at work tomorrow.
And yep, I am still toiling away at Flagellation and have almost completed the next part of Genesis. I have a basic outline for the ending of To Hell and Back written, but I haven't had time to touch it. I also started to write a complete AU/no aliens called "Draft" (this is my next "fun" story), but I don't dare start to post that until I catch up with all of the other ones.
Now here's the sort of bad news. I am not going to have a lot of time in the upcoming weeks to write, because I am moving. That's not to say I won't be writing, but I just can't make any promises as to the frequency of updates. I will do my best to update as much as I can during that time. I am not going to disappear, I promise you, and I am going to finish my ongoing stories that are posted. I promised you guys and I promised myself.
Anyway, on that note.....here is the conclusion, posted in four parts.
Part 37
He felt her eyes on him, studying him, appraising, though he didn’t turn his head to look at her.
It had only taken a moment to decide where to go.
As Max drove back toward Los Angeles, Liz asked him a question he wasn’t expecting.
“Tell me about your mother Max,” she prompted.
He glanced at her, his eyebrows raised.
“What do you want to know?” he asked in a hesitant voice.
He glanced over to see her head lowered, studying her fingers clasped in her lap.
“I don’t know anything about her except that you all loved her dearly. I just feel like I want to know a little more about her. This necklace tied our families together in so many ways, and I feel like I know nothing about her,” she said.
At first, he was reluctant to talk about Diane, not only because he hadn’t spoken about her in so long, but because of what she represented to Liz and her mother. But Liz deserved to know a little about her.
So he told her about his childhood, before the shooting, how his mother would tell them stories of Antar, described as if in a fairy tale. Max and Isabel had always been enthralled when she spoke of it, her tone wistful.
He’d told her of the time his mother had spent with them, playing in the gardens, taking them to historical places, reading to them at night.
He spoke of the quiet strength she had always lent to the family and the space in his heart that ached when she died. And if his heart ached, he could only imagine what Phillip must have felt, for they were bonded not only in marriage, but to each other’s souls, as was the way of Antarians.
It felt good to talk about her, the memories he had of her now more pleasant than painful with the passing of time.
He hadn’t realized he was rambling, until he saw the turn-off for the 405.
He’d turned his head to glance at Liz, half-expecting to see distaste or resentment in her eyes, but instead found her watching him with a tiny smile.
“Sorry,” he mumbled. “That was probably more than you wanted to know.”
She shook her head and took his hand entwining it with hers, kissing the back of it.
“Max, right up until I left, I knew nothing about you and your family. I want to know all about you,” she said. “I knew you loved her very much, but so much of it makes sense now. I can’t imagine what you must have been feeling when your father told you that he and I were together.”
“I just didn’t understand it,” he said with a small shrug. “Dad wasn’t right after she died. Not for a long time. He was secretive, reclusive I guess. When he said he was retiring from the company...that really blew me away. He traveled for a long time, and we didn’t see him much, and then he called and said he was bringing you home. We didn’t know what to think.”
“Your father never betrayed the bond he had with your mother, Max. Not once. We were both pretty up front about emotional attachments when your father offered to marry me. He was honest. He told me that his wife had been everything to him, that there would never be another that could hold his heart,” she said.
Max felt an uncustomary rush of tenderness toward his father. He had kept his final promise to his mother, and in the process he had inadvertently given Max something he never thought he would experience, the love of the beautiful woman sitting beside him.
He squeezed her hand.
“If I hadn’t been so angry with him, I would have seen that right away,” he admitted. “But it didn’t take me long to figure out that something else was going on.”
“Were we that transparent?” Liz asked, a little sheepish, and he smiled.
“Maybe it was more that I didn’t want to believe that it was true, and not just because of my mother,” he said. “I won’t lie to you. Knowing that you were sleeping in separate rooms went a long way toward convincing me that something else was going on. I would never have admitted it, but it bothered me, thinking that you were...”
“But we weren’t,” she said softly, and he nodded.
She burrowed further into the passenger seat and leaned her head back against the headrest.
“Are you angry with Michael?” she asked. “Because of Maria?”
He sighed, shrugging.
“Are you angry with Maria?” he asked.
“No, now that I’ve had time to think about it. I think what happened between you and I was a big reason for them not telling us,” she said.
“How long do you think it’s been going on?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I knew she really liked him before Carlo showed up,” she said.
“And I sort of deduced that he liked her when I heard him tell her things on that tape that he never told anyone else before,” Max added.
“Maria probably knew she was being taped,” he added wryly.
“She did,” Liz said, confirming it with a guilty grin.
Max shook his head.
“You all were always three steps ahead of us, weren’t you?” Max said, shaking his head in mock exasperation.
“We had to be,” Liz said.
“Promise me something,” Max said, taking his eyes off the road to glance at her.
“What?” she asked.
“Promise me that you and Maria will never, ever conspire with my father again,” he said dryly. “There I was thinking that I was thinking that I was onto you. I should have remembered my father was the master.”
Liz chuckled.
“Well, you were onto me, just not with the right suspicions,” she said.
“I played right into it,” he said, fighting a smile.
“Phillip said you would be difficult, but I had no idea what I was getting in to. I wasn’t expecting, well....you,” she said. “You know how you told me that you saw something of yourself in me? Well I saw it in you, too. And I felt horrible for lying. There was nothing I wanted more than to be honest with you. But it wasn’t just my life at stake. It was my mother’s too.”
“When I was near you, I didn’t know which way was up. I didn’t know how you would react to me from one minute to the next. And it didn’t help that I was so attracted to you either,” she mumbled.
“I tried to tell myself that you were the enemy. But somewhere deep down, I knew you weren’t. On some level, even though I didn’t know your secret, I knew that something had happened to you, something horrible. Because I saw that protectiveness in your eyes and it’s the same feeling I have for my mother,” she said.
She was quiet for a moment.
“Did you hate me, Max?” she asked in a low voice.
His lips curled into a smile.
“No,” he said. “I never hated you. I felt threatened by you, but I never hated you. In fact, you drove me to distraction.”
“Same here,” Liz said with a sigh.
“We’re quite the pair, aren’t we?” he said, shaking his head.
“You’ve got that right,” Liz answered dryly.
Max stroked her fingers lightly, so caught up on the softness of her skin that he almost missed his exit.
He crossed the lane onto the off ramp with a muffled curse.
When Max turned the car onto Burton Way, when she pulled her hand gently from his, looking out the window, suddenly quiet.
He didn’t understand the sudden change in her demeanor.
“Where are we Max?” she asked.
“Beverly Hills.”
Max pulled into the sweeping driveway of the Raffles L'ermitage.
There was a flurry of activity with guests coming and going to the post-Emmy parties.
Max pulled the car behind three limousines waiting to drop their passengers off.
“The show must have ended,” he commented, glancing at Liz, frowning when he saw the uncomfortable expression she wore.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, concerned.
He cringed inwardly as it suddenly occurred to him that she might be thinking the worst of him.
“Does this make you uncomfortable?” he asked. “This was the first place I thought of to go. I’ve been staying here all week, and-“
Her eyes widened as she realized what he meant.
“No, Max. I want to be here with you. I’m just....I’m not exactly dressed for a place like this,” she said, fingering her crinkled blouse, and glancing down at her ripped jeans.
“Neither am I,” he said dismissively. “This suit is trashed.”
“Max, look at me,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t belong here.”
Where was this coming from?
“You don’t belong,” he chuckled. “If you don’t belong, then where the hell do I belong? I’m half alien for God’s sake.”
His smile faded when he saw the true distress on her face. The first limousine moved off, and he pulled up further in the queue.
“Liz, I’m a guest here. No one is going to say anything,” he said, trying to ease her obvious discomfort.
“Do you want me to fix it?” he asked, motioning to her jeans.
“No!” she said quickly, looking out the windshield.
His sense of disappointment was immediate; his first thought that she would be frightened of him using his abilities. Was she, despite everything she had said?
His gaze followed hers and noticed that the valet was motioning him forward.
“I’m sorry. I should have thought of it before. Do you want to go somewhere else?” he asked. “We can go anywhere you’d like.”
She shook her head.
“No,” she said in a low voice, shaking her head.
He pulled the car forward and the man opened the door to let him out. Opening the rear passenger door, he grabbed his dry but rumpled jacket.
He quickly stopped the man when he started around the car, walking around himself to let Liz out of the car.
He held his hand out to her and she took it reluctantly, keeping her head lowered.
He was confounded. She’d obviously been through hell while in South America and had bravely faced all of it, yet the prospect of walking into a posh hotel underdressed seemed to be a daunting prospect.
It was yet another contradiction he’d discovered about her.
He draped his jacket over her shoulders before taking her hand again. She looked up at him gratefully.
Together they walked into the lobby, which was filled with celebrities and other Hollywood glitterati dressed in their finest.
He reached into his pocket and gave her the room key.
“Why don’t you go upstairs? I have something to take care of at the desk and then I’ll be right up,” he said, squeezing her hand.
She nodded.
He watched as she walked off to the elevator, before turning toward the concierge desk with a purposeful stride.
<sniff> I can't believe it's over.
The story's finished and Max and Liz have left the building. Please pick up all trash and deposit in the appropriate receptacles. Nobody likes a litter-bug.
Seriously, I just wanted to thank all of you for reading this and for your wonderful comments. As I think I had said, this was my "fun" story, the one that was completely different from anything I'd ever written before and the one that I worked on when I hit the big walls with my other stories. I really enjoyed writing this one immensely and never expected the response it received. So thank you, thank you, thank you.
I am posting this a little early because I don't know if I will get to it at work tomorrow.
And yep, I am still toiling away at Flagellation and have almost completed the next part of Genesis. I have a basic outline for the ending of To Hell and Back written, but I haven't had time to touch it. I also started to write a complete AU/no aliens called "Draft" (this is my next "fun" story), but I don't dare start to post that until I catch up with all of the other ones.
Now here's the sort of bad news. I am not going to have a lot of time in the upcoming weeks to write, because I am moving. That's not to say I won't be writing, but I just can't make any promises as to the frequency of updates. I will do my best to update as much as I can during that time. I am not going to disappear, I promise you, and I am going to finish my ongoing stories that are posted. I promised you guys and I promised myself.
Anyway, on that note.....here is the conclusion, posted in four parts.
Part 37
He felt her eyes on him, studying him, appraising, though he didn’t turn his head to look at her.
It had only taken a moment to decide where to go.
As Max drove back toward Los Angeles, Liz asked him a question he wasn’t expecting.
“Tell me about your mother Max,” she prompted.
He glanced at her, his eyebrows raised.
“What do you want to know?” he asked in a hesitant voice.
He glanced over to see her head lowered, studying her fingers clasped in her lap.
“I don’t know anything about her except that you all loved her dearly. I just feel like I want to know a little more about her. This necklace tied our families together in so many ways, and I feel like I know nothing about her,” she said.
At first, he was reluctant to talk about Diane, not only because he hadn’t spoken about her in so long, but because of what she represented to Liz and her mother. But Liz deserved to know a little about her.
So he told her about his childhood, before the shooting, how his mother would tell them stories of Antar, described as if in a fairy tale. Max and Isabel had always been enthralled when she spoke of it, her tone wistful.
He’d told her of the time his mother had spent with them, playing in the gardens, taking them to historical places, reading to them at night.
He spoke of the quiet strength she had always lent to the family and the space in his heart that ached when she died. And if his heart ached, he could only imagine what Phillip must have felt, for they were bonded not only in marriage, but to each other’s souls, as was the way of Antarians.
It felt good to talk about her, the memories he had of her now more pleasant than painful with the passing of time.
He hadn’t realized he was rambling, until he saw the turn-off for the 405.
He’d turned his head to glance at Liz, half-expecting to see distaste or resentment in her eyes, but instead found her watching him with a tiny smile.
“Sorry,” he mumbled. “That was probably more than you wanted to know.”
She shook her head and took his hand entwining it with hers, kissing the back of it.
“Max, right up until I left, I knew nothing about you and your family. I want to know all about you,” she said. “I knew you loved her very much, but so much of it makes sense now. I can’t imagine what you must have been feeling when your father told you that he and I were together.”
“I just didn’t understand it,” he said with a small shrug. “Dad wasn’t right after she died. Not for a long time. He was secretive, reclusive I guess. When he said he was retiring from the company...that really blew me away. He traveled for a long time, and we didn’t see him much, and then he called and said he was bringing you home. We didn’t know what to think.”
“Your father never betrayed the bond he had with your mother, Max. Not once. We were both pretty up front about emotional attachments when your father offered to marry me. He was honest. He told me that his wife had been everything to him, that there would never be another that could hold his heart,” she said.
Max felt an uncustomary rush of tenderness toward his father. He had kept his final promise to his mother, and in the process he had inadvertently given Max something he never thought he would experience, the love of the beautiful woman sitting beside him.
He squeezed her hand.
“If I hadn’t been so angry with him, I would have seen that right away,” he admitted. “But it didn’t take me long to figure out that something else was going on.”
“Were we that transparent?” Liz asked, a little sheepish, and he smiled.
“Maybe it was more that I didn’t want to believe that it was true, and not just because of my mother,” he said. “I won’t lie to you. Knowing that you were sleeping in separate rooms went a long way toward convincing me that something else was going on. I would never have admitted it, but it bothered me, thinking that you were...”
“But we weren’t,” she said softly, and he nodded.
She burrowed further into the passenger seat and leaned her head back against the headrest.
“Are you angry with Michael?” she asked. “Because of Maria?”
He sighed, shrugging.
“Are you angry with Maria?” he asked.
“No, now that I’ve had time to think about it. I think what happened between you and I was a big reason for them not telling us,” she said.
“How long do you think it’s been going on?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I knew she really liked him before Carlo showed up,” she said.
“And I sort of deduced that he liked her when I heard him tell her things on that tape that he never told anyone else before,” Max added.
“Maria probably knew she was being taped,” he added wryly.
“She did,” Liz said, confirming it with a guilty grin.
Max shook his head.
“You all were always three steps ahead of us, weren’t you?” Max said, shaking his head in mock exasperation.
“We had to be,” Liz said.
“Promise me something,” Max said, taking his eyes off the road to glance at her.
“What?” she asked.
“Promise me that you and Maria will never, ever conspire with my father again,” he said dryly. “There I was thinking that I was thinking that I was onto you. I should have remembered my father was the master.”
Liz chuckled.
“Well, you were onto me, just not with the right suspicions,” she said.
“I played right into it,” he said, fighting a smile.
“Phillip said you would be difficult, but I had no idea what I was getting in to. I wasn’t expecting, well....you,” she said. “You know how you told me that you saw something of yourself in me? Well I saw it in you, too. And I felt horrible for lying. There was nothing I wanted more than to be honest with you. But it wasn’t just my life at stake. It was my mother’s too.”
“When I was near you, I didn’t know which way was up. I didn’t know how you would react to me from one minute to the next. And it didn’t help that I was so attracted to you either,” she mumbled.
“I tried to tell myself that you were the enemy. But somewhere deep down, I knew you weren’t. On some level, even though I didn’t know your secret, I knew that something had happened to you, something horrible. Because I saw that protectiveness in your eyes and it’s the same feeling I have for my mother,” she said.
She was quiet for a moment.
“Did you hate me, Max?” she asked in a low voice.
His lips curled into a smile.
“No,” he said. “I never hated you. I felt threatened by you, but I never hated you. In fact, you drove me to distraction.”
“Same here,” Liz said with a sigh.
“We’re quite the pair, aren’t we?” he said, shaking his head.
“You’ve got that right,” Liz answered dryly.
Max stroked her fingers lightly, so caught up on the softness of her skin that he almost missed his exit.
He crossed the lane onto the off ramp with a muffled curse.
When Max turned the car onto Burton Way, when she pulled her hand gently from his, looking out the window, suddenly quiet.
He didn’t understand the sudden change in her demeanor.
“Where are we Max?” she asked.
“Beverly Hills.”
Max pulled into the sweeping driveway of the Raffles L'ermitage.
There was a flurry of activity with guests coming and going to the post-Emmy parties.
Max pulled the car behind three limousines waiting to drop their passengers off.
“The show must have ended,” he commented, glancing at Liz, frowning when he saw the uncomfortable expression she wore.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, concerned.
He cringed inwardly as it suddenly occurred to him that she might be thinking the worst of him.
“Does this make you uncomfortable?” he asked. “This was the first place I thought of to go. I’ve been staying here all week, and-“
Her eyes widened as she realized what he meant.
“No, Max. I want to be here with you. I’m just....I’m not exactly dressed for a place like this,” she said, fingering her crinkled blouse, and glancing down at her ripped jeans.
“Neither am I,” he said dismissively. “This suit is trashed.”
“Max, look at me,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t belong here.”
Where was this coming from?
“You don’t belong,” he chuckled. “If you don’t belong, then where the hell do I belong? I’m half alien for God’s sake.”
His smile faded when he saw the true distress on her face. The first limousine moved off, and he pulled up further in the queue.
“Liz, I’m a guest here. No one is going to say anything,” he said, trying to ease her obvious discomfort.
“Do you want me to fix it?” he asked, motioning to her jeans.
“No!” she said quickly, looking out the windshield.
His sense of disappointment was immediate; his first thought that she would be frightened of him using his abilities. Was she, despite everything she had said?
His gaze followed hers and noticed that the valet was motioning him forward.
“I’m sorry. I should have thought of it before. Do you want to go somewhere else?” he asked. “We can go anywhere you’d like.”
She shook her head.
“No,” she said in a low voice, shaking her head.
He pulled the car forward and the man opened the door to let him out. Opening the rear passenger door, he grabbed his dry but rumpled jacket.
He quickly stopped the man when he started around the car, walking around himself to let Liz out of the car.
He held his hand out to her and she took it reluctantly, keeping her head lowered.
He was confounded. She’d obviously been through hell while in South America and had bravely faced all of it, yet the prospect of walking into a posh hotel underdressed seemed to be a daunting prospect.
It was yet another contradiction he’d discovered about her.
He draped his jacket over her shoulders before taking her hand again. She looked up at him gratefully.
Together they walked into the lobby, which was filled with celebrities and other Hollywood glitterati dressed in their finest.
He reached into his pocket and gave her the room key.
“Why don’t you go upstairs? I have something to take care of at the desk and then I’ll be right up,” he said, squeezing her hand.
She nodded.
He watched as she walked off to the elevator, before turning toward the concierge desk with a purposeful stride.
Part 38
Max knocked on the door softly, and there was barely a pause before Liz was there, standing in the doorway.
“Is everything ok?” she asked softly, and Max saw the uncertainty swimming in her eyes.
“Everything’s fine,” he said, taking her hand as she stepped back into the room, closing the door behind him.
“I just wanted to check on the show,” he said. “Apparently everything went without a hitch.”
“And all without your supervision?” she teased lightly. “I can’t believe it.”
He smiled.
“Are you saying that I’m controlling?” he asked, pleased to see her smile.
“Never,” she said, shaking her head with a smile.
“I can’t believe this place,” she said, shaking her head. “Max, this room is amazing.”
He looked around, for the first time noticing the accoutrements he’d not really paid attention to. He supposed it was luxurious, but he’d only been in the room to sleep, and had grown so accustomed to staying in places like this that he’d not really paid it much mind.
He shrugged.
“You like it?” he asked.
“What’s not to like?” she asked.
He couldn’t stop looking at her. Her hair had dried disheveled and wavy from the rain. Her cheeks were tinged a wondrous shade of pink, and her eyes sparkled the color of dark suede. His heart began to race at the mere sight of her.
So entranced, he completely forgot what they were talking about, until her smile faded a bit and she crossed her arms over each other, lowering her head under his scrutiny.
A knock at the door interrupted them.
“Excuse me,” he said, turning to the door.
He greeted the bellman at the door, surprised at the hotel’s efficiency. The man stood in the hall with a garment bag.
“Sir,” the man nodded. “Your purchase?”
Max thanked the man, giving him a handsome tip before taking the bag and shutting the door.
“For you,” he said, holding the bag out to her.
“What is this?” she asked warily, taking the bag without taking her eyes from his.
“Something for you to wear, since you were uncomfortable,” he shrugged.
“Max, you didn’t have to,” she started to protest, horrified, and he silenced her with a shake of his head.
“Don’t thank me yet. You don’t even know if you’re going to like it,” he warned.
“I’m sure I’ll love it,” she said, laying the bag over the desk chair and unzipping it.
Her breath left her lungs in a low sigh as she discovered a beautiful black cocktail dress and a pair of black high-heeled shoes.
“This is beautiful Max, but you didn’t have to. How did you manage this?” she asked.
He shrugged.
“I called in a favor downstairs,” he said, dismissing it. “I didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable here. Do you like it?”
“I love it.”
She kept her eyes lowered, a nervous gesture that didn’t go unnoticed.
“What would you like to do? Are you hungry?” he asked. “We could go out for a late dinner.”
She chewed on her lower lip in a nervous gesture, and he stepped forward.
“Or, we could eat here,” he said, motioning to the table in the living area of the suite.
“Isn’t it going to just prolong the inevitable?” Liz asked, looking up at him. The vulnerability in her eyes caused him to swallow hard.
“The inevitable?” he repeated, his voice surprisingly steady in direct contrast to the emotions that were now raging inside of him.
Her assertive words belied the uncertainty he could see written all over her face.
“Liz, are you afraid?” he asked, the words out of his mouth before he even thought about it.
Her eyes lowered toward the floor, her mouth opening slightly as if she were going to say something but stopped herself.
He took a step forward and reached out to stroke her hair from her face.
“Look at me,” he commanded softly.
She raised her head, her eyes shimmering with tears. He brushed his thumb over her lower lip.
“Max, it’s not that I’m afraid of you,” she started in a rush.
He put his finger to her lips, silencing her, his heart pounding furiously.
“You’re afraid of what you’ve never felt before. And me being what I am...” he trailed off. “I understand.”
Her eyes softened and she shook her head slowly.
“No Max. It’s not what you’re thinking,” Liz said. “It’s not like that at all. Yes, I’m a little scared. I’ve...never been touched the way you’ve...touched me, the way you’ve kissed me. I’ve never felt this way about anyone. But I’m afraid that it won’t be enough for you. You can feel me...what I feel. And I...I can’t...” she said in hesitation.
And suddenly he understood what she was trying to say.
“Can I try something?” he asked quietly, his hand cupping her jaw.
He searched her eyes, looking for any trace of hesitation and found none. She nodded her head slowly.
"I don't know if this will work," he said. "I've never done anything like this before. But maybe the necklaces...."
She leaned her cheek into his palm, telling him without a word that she trusted him.
He took a deep, shuddering breath and pushed his own instinctive fear to the wayside. It was a habit, an ingrained reaction he'd carried with him since he was a small boy.
"Just look at me," he said quietly, lacing his fingers with hers, bringing her hand up to rest against his pounding heart.
“Concentrate on me. Let everything else go,” he said, meeting her eyes, feeling her body relax under his touch.
He thought it would be hard to let down his guard, to let the mental walls he’d constructed fall to let her in. He hadn’t even been sure it would work. But all it took was focusing on the feelings his heart held for her, an ache that was bittersweet and beautiful and hungry, all at the same time.
And then it was as if she were inside of him. Her wonder curled through his body, a warm glow intertwined with the love she felt for him.
It would have been so easy to remain as he was, to bask in that warmth, for he had never believed that someone could feel that way about him.
But he knew that it was important that she saw him, the real him, too. He knew she needed to understand, to see what had made him what he was.
Delving deep within his memories, he conjured up the painful memories he had buried so deeply within his heart.
He remembered the knowledge from the beginning when he was a child, that he was different, that they were different, and the fear he saw in his parents’ eyes that never really went away. Fear of humans. Fear of those that would destroy that which they did not understand.
Once again he felt the ache of Portia’s betrayal that night on the beach. She had never really loved them, as she had professed. She wanted to destroy them. He knew Liz felt his mind, the mind of a young boy, trying to grasp the betrayal, an innocence lost in more ways than one that night, first by the duplicity of their nanny, and then after he was shot by one of the human agents, David Pierce.
She felt his pain as if it were her own, and he felt it mingled with his.
He was never the same after that night, and neither was his family. That night had set a lifetime of hiding in motion. That night had set the course of his life, one in which he feared for his family, and mistrusted people, humans, for their ignorance, for their savageness, for the acceptance he knew he would never get from them, despite the fact that part of him was the same as them.
So much of what his mother had said the day she died made sense now. For she had seen something in humanity that he could not, would not. She had seen his isolation and she had been sad for it, for she knew that his perception was tainted; that the traumatic events of his boyhood had wounded him. She knew that he would not believe that some humans had the capacity to accept; that some offered their help without a thought to their own safety.
He buried that hurt deep down, never to revisit it again until Liz walked into his life. She made him think about things, question the black and white beliefs he'd carried with him for most of his life.
He revealed to her the secret he'd told no one, of the healing of Kyle Valenti's wife, a healing he made despite his belief that if Kyle knew, he too would think him a monster.
He let Liz feel his suspicion when she arrived, for he knew that she had to know all of it. She let him feel his fear of her motives. He let her feel his attraction to her, the attraction that he did not want to admit. He let her feel his discovery of the very same guardedness in her eyes that mirrored his own.
He thought about the night his father left for New York, leaving the two of them alone in the house and how he felt like he had no control over anything, the least of all his feelings.
He let her feel the slow burn of desire that kindled in the bit of his stomach as his eyes raked over her beautiful form standing in the doorway that night.
The alcohol had magnified his emotions that night, but the truth of it was that he’d lost control long before he ever took a sip of that brandy.
He let her feel the exquisite torture of sitting at the table with her, watching her from across the table, knowing that he shouldn’t, no he couldn’t feel the way that he was feeling toward her, and the anger at himself because he knew the internal argument he waged with himself didn’t lessen his need for her one iota.
The mere brush of her fingers against his forehead set his nerves on fire when she touched him that night.
Through his memories, he experienced that fierce protectiveness toward her once again, when she’d reacted so violently to him when he came after her, and because he did, so did she.
He let her feel the effect she had on his body and his heart, remembering how the tears in her eyes and the wet trail they created down her cheeks had rendered him helpless. His first thought had been to calm her, but that quickly changed into something else.
He had to touch her skin, had to touch the velvet of her cheek, had to know what the silken strands of her hair felt like trapped between his fingers. He had felt powerless, both in easing her fear and in stopping himself from kissing her. He’d had to kiss her. And when he did, he’d been lost.
The warm press of her body against his had been electric and his entire body responded to it, his mind forgetting every reason that it was a mistake.
The terrifying flash he’d received from her had been a shock, and touching upon that memory, he knew that Liz now knew that he had felt her fear and hopelessness coming upon Lucinda and her baby as if he were standing right there with her.
She experienced his confusion and conflicting emotions from that night when she fled to her room.
He opened his heart to her, and let her see the feelings he hadn't admitted to until it was almost too late. He let her see the frustration he felt at her refusal to confide in him. He needed her to know what his intentions had been, for it had been his actions that had driven her away the night that Nancy had been taken.
And finally he laid himself bare before her, showing her the suffocating guilt he felt when he had found out the truth in the orb, when he finally admitted the depth of his feelings toward her.
He let her see the stark fear he experienced in trying to find her, not knowing where she was or where Pierce had taken her. He let her feel the fervent prayers, prayers he said silently for the first time in his life; that he would find her, that it wouldn’t be too late.
And when he’d found her, nothing mattered but getting her out, keeping her safe.
When she’d been shot by Pierce there had been no question in his mind, no second guessing. He would heal her so that she would live, because he loved her.
He felt the familiar swelling in his chest when she said she loved him back, only to have that feeling ripped away when he revealed what he really was, and what his family meant to hers.
When she’d left with Maria and Nancy, it only confirmed his fear that she was afraid of him, afraid of what he was.
Those weeks she was gone, nothing felt important to him. Nothing felt right. He worked to keep his mind from being idle, for when it was, his thoughts immediately turned to her and the deep ache that resided in his heart because she was gone, because he believed that she was repulsed by him and resented the ties their families had to each other.
It had taken every ounce of will to let her walk away in LA. And the moment she had, he knew it had been a mistake, that his life would never be the same, that she had forever changed his heart and his perceptions, and without her, he, his life, would be nothing.
He let see all of this in a matter of seconds, a series of memories, emotions, snapshots of his life, mere moments, but life-altering for him.
When the connection broke, the first thing he could focus on was her eyes and the tears that welled in them.
His senses were on overload. The warm press of her hand against his chest, the blood racing in his veins and his staggered breath were all he could grab on to.
She caught the plumpness of her lower lip between her teeth blinking against the tears she had no chance in stopping.
“Oh Max,” she said, sliding her arms around his waist, pressing her cheek against his heart. “I didn’t know. Not really...”
“It worked?” he asked softly.
“Yes,” she whispered, pulling away from him, hands rising to cup his jaw as she lifted her chin, brushing her lips against his before taking them in a forceful rush of emotion.
It felt so natural for his fingers to cup her waist, pulling her closer, until her hips rested against his, unashamed of the way his body responded to hers.
Her lips were wet satin against his, her taste sweet and intoxicating. Thunder seemed to rush in his ears, but it was the sound of his own blood racing through his body, his heart responding in a rapid beat to the havoc she was playing on his senses.
Everything was she, touch taste, sound, sight, smell.
His fingers clenched, gripping her shirt as her tongue met his, the sensual melding of her mouths became everything, yet still not enough.
One desire fed another, the kiss, the press of their bodies against one another, soft curves melting against hard muscle.
Her hands were curled at the back of his neck, her forearms resting on his shoulders. He felt the trembling of her body, the lush press of her breasts against his chest, the rise and fall of her ribs as she struggled to draw a breath.
He had never needed anyone like this, physically or otherwise, but he knew that if Liz were to walk away from him now, his heart wouldn’t survive it.
He broke their kiss, trying to gain control of his erratic breathing.
“Liz, you are more than enough,” he whispered, moisture welling in his eyes. “You’re perfect.”
She moved closer to him once again, resting her head against his chest.
“I didn’t think anyone would ever feel that way about me,” Liz said, closing her eyes. “But I felt what you feel, Max. You have no idea how much that means to me.”
“Liz-“
She shook her head against his neck.
“Max, until you, no man has ever touched me with kindness, not in that way. Your father is a lot older than me and he was so kind to me, but the men I’ve known before your father found me, they....”
“What are you saying Liz?” Max asked, suddenly worried and horrified at the same time. “Did they, did they do something to you...did they...”
“No,” she said quickly. “No Max. It’s not like that. Not that they didn’t try it. It’s just that....no one ever cared about me. I’ve been hit and beaten and I got so used to it, because it was all I knew for such a long time.”
She looked up her tear-filled eyes meeting his.
“But no one’s ever touched me with love. The things you’ve said to me, the way you touch me, the way I feel safe when you’re here...I can’t even tell you what that means to me. Seeing how you feel about me just about broke my heart, because I made myself believe that no one could care about me, that no one would ever care about me. I had to,” she said, her eyes searching his, looking for understanding. “But I saw myself in you, Max. You and I....we’re so much alike, more than I ever realized.”
He nodded, a lump forming in his throat.
“Thank you,” she said in a trembling voice, caressing his cheek. “Thank you for showing me...you.”
His eyes locked on hers and he lowered his head, brushing his lips against hers before locking her lower lip between them, before nipping at it, until she gasped and opened her mouth allowing him to further the seduction he had began with his mouth.
He couldn’t get enough of the taste of her, her breathy sighs driving him on, her tongue mating with his in a sensual dance, each tentatively exploring the other.
His fingers spanned her waist, keeping her close, needing her still closer.
He had never felt anything like this before, never allowing himself to entertain the thought of loving someone enough to open his heart, risking everything he feared.
Her fingers clutched the muscles that spanned his back, kneading, pleading, insistent.
He felt the heat of her skin through the denim that brushed against his rock hard erection straining against the material of his pants, hearing her gasp his name as their lower bodies made contact.
Her face was flushed, her eyes heavy-lidded, her lips swollen.
“Love me, Max,” she whispered, tears filling her eyes. “I want you to love me.”
He stilled, knowing what she meant, for he wanted that too. He wanted to make love to her, to know the solace of lying in her arms, the feel of her skin against his. He wanted her so badly, he could barely breathe.
As he looked at her, hearing her words, he felt something wholly unknown to him unfurl within his heart calling out for Liz, for completion, primitive and powerful, something he knew was not human. The beginnings of a bond, a bond that would be complete when their bodies and hearts were joined as one.
Primal waves of desire rolled through his body, touching every nerve, making him want to bury himself within her, were mixed with a wholly alien need to know her, to connect with her, to bond their hearts together forever, she his soul mate and he hers.
He had chosen before he was even aware of it, and now that awareness coupled with the knowledge that she loved him, that she wanted him despite what he was, made that need almost unbearable.
Instinct told him that it would change him forever, that what they would feel if he dared to act on his need would pale the emotions they were experiencing now, for both of them.
He imagined that for most people, making love for the first time was usually fraught with nervousness, a momentous act, but it held so many more implications for them, because of what she’d been through, because of what he was. While he was sure that it would be safe, as Alex and Isabel had been married for two years, and not once had he heard of any problems or strangeness, it still held some very heavy implications. What he was and the bond he knew he could not stop if they made love would last the remainder of their lives.
No, this was much more of an emotional risk for the both of them, two people who had learned at an early age that trust was not to be given lightly.
He cupped her face in his hands, trying to reclaim a sense of control over his body.
“There can’t be any more secrets between us,” he said. “Liz, are you sure this is what you want? Because if we...if this happens, I will be bonded to you and you to me. You’ll never have to wonder again how I feel about you.”
Her face lit with a tiny smile.
“You say that as if it’s bad thing,” she said.
“No, not for me,” he said, lowering his eyes. “Liz, this....what’s between us, what it could be...it’s something that I didn’t even dare to dream about. I convinced myself that I couldn’t ever have anything like this. I was furious with Isabel because I thought she acted irrationally. Now, I see why she took the risk. I love you and I do, I want what they have. But I don’t think you understand what I’m saying. If we are bonded, it isn’t just going to go away...not for me. Because of what I am, my heart will always be bound to yours, and I’m fairly certain yours to mine,” he said quietly, looking up to meet her eyes.
“I don’t think my heart could take another beating. If you’re not absolutely sure...”
She covered his lips with a finger.
“Shh...”
She stepped back from him never taking her eyes from his, reaching for the first button of her shirt, unbuttoning it. His eyes widened slightly.
“I am sure, Max. I’m in love with you.”
She paused and then unbuttoned the second button, revealing more creamy skin and a glimpse of white lace. Max felt his heart pounding in his chest, the incessant ache of his erection growing unbearably.
“I’ve been in love with you, and I was miserable without you. I want to be yours.”
Her fingers unbuttoned the third button, falling open slightly, revealing the full curve of her breast beneath its confines. His hands clenched at his side, his jaw working, trying to maintain his composure, but it was becoming very difficult.
“I think my heart knew that long before my head did,” she said ruefully.
“If you can love me as I am, if you’ll have me like this, scars and all...”
The fourth button fell open, revealing the silky expanse of her abdomen, and a quiet groan fell from his lips as he looked upon it.
“Then yes, I want you. I want you...so much.”
He felt unsteady on his feet as she stepped closer once more. But he did not move. He knew it was important that she make the overture.
With a deep breath she raised both of her hands, placing them on his waist, running them up to his chest, once more meeting his eyes.
“You’re beautiful Max,” she whispered. “I thought so from the first moment I saw you, and it scared me. And now I’ve seen you. You’ve been damaged, like me. Damaged, but still here. You said to me that you wanted it all. I want that too. After the gift you just gave me, I wouldn’t settle for anything less. Not anymore.”
His heart swelled until he thought it might burst. Before she came into his life, never, not once would he have thought that he needed anyone. But he did. He needed her.
The tips of his fingers tracing the contour of her neck to her collarbone.
His hands caressed the smooth skin at her waist to the small of her back, spanning her ribs, under the swell of her breast.
His pupils dilated as he felt her shiver.
His eye fell to his hands, his fingers brushing the top swell of her lace covered breasts.
"Your skin is so soft," he whispered.
Her eyes were closed, her hands on his hips were tentative, slow, sliding low along the curve of his rear, then upward to pull the shirt from the waistband of his pants.
He reached up his fingers grasping her shirt, pulling it off of her shoulders sliding it down her arms, the pads of his fingers stroking her skin with slow reverence.
He stiffened, his eyes taking in an angry crescent-shaped scar running across her side. She felt the change in him, opening her eyes and following his gaze, and her lips tightened.
"What did they do to you?" he asked, his voice hoarse, tinged with anger.
She turned her head away, seeming almost ashamed, as if she'd forgotten it.
"Felipe and I were in the jungle. We were running one of Carlo's packages," she said, her voice trembling.
"The Federales were tipped off. It wasn't the first time and it wouldn't be the last. They chased us and I remember I thought for sure we were done for. I knew Felipe thought so too, though he didn't say so. We reached a farm on the outskirts of the jungle and I told Felipe to take the package and hide. He fought with me, but I made him leave. He got to cover right before they showed up. The farmer was shoeing one of his horses, and the Federales threatened to kiss his family while he watched if he didn't disappear. So he did. They...dragged me over to the pit. They wanted information on Carlo, a piece of his operation.. I wouldn't tell them anything, so they held me down...and they used the farrier's iron...." she trailed off.
"Felipe hadn't listened to me after all. He had gone into the barn and got one of the guns, and he shot the two Federales. He's probably the only reason I lived through the day," she said, her eyes growing wet.
Common sense told him that she was all right, that she had survived all of that, but it didn't make it any easier to bear. He was also sure that this wasn't the only story her body had to tell, some tales not as bad and some probably worse. He knew he was going to see all of it soon enough if they were bonded, and he wasn’t sure he was prepared for it.
"How can you be the person you are after all of that?" he asked, his index finger tracing her cheek. "How did you bear it?"
She stood straighter, resolute.
"I did because I had to. It’s in the past," she said. "That person is not who I am now. Max, I was different then. I was cold, a machine. I had to be. If your father hadn't found me, if he hadn't told me what he knew about me...knowing he knew, knowing that there might be a way out of all of it, it gave me hope. When I had none, I was merciless to the people that stood in the way of my mother's safety. I did what I had to."
Max nodded, swallowing his heartbreak for what she'd been through. She saw herself back then as a monster. He saw her bravery and her compassion. He'd seen it with Lucinda and Felipe. She was not half as cold-hearted as she had believed herself to be.
"But all of that brought me here, to this moment...to you," she said softly.
"You're never going to go through anything like that again," he said fiercely. "I promise you. As long as there's a breath in my body."
She smiled at him.
"I know."
Shyly, she raised her hands to his shirt.
His heart thundered, knowing that there was nothing left between them to hold them back.
Her hair brushed against his forearm as he covered her hands with his for an instant, and she began to unbutton his shirt slowly.
Her hands slid under the cotton caressing the bare skin of his chest.
He shivered at the sensations her touch elicited in his body.
His need for her was almost violent in its intensity.
Her delicate fingers passed over the ridges of his abdomen, causing it to contract convulsively.
His hand shook as it rose, his palm resting on her breast and she sighed, leaning into his touch.
His other hand rose, hooking under the strap of her bra, allowing it to fall from her shoulder.
He jerked when he felt her tentative fingers at the button on his pants and then the slow slide of the zipper against his erection.
She stopped, momentarily diverted by his lips crashing against hers.
His pants lay half-opened, hanging around his hips, and his shirt dropped to the floor..
She wasn't still long, fingers tracing the thin line of hair that disappeared beneath the elastic of his boxers, her touch setting a fire along his nerve endings.
He groaned against her lips, his eyes closed in exquisite agony.
He stilled her hands with his, wanting these moments to last, and pulled away from her.
He traced the laced outline of her breast watching her chest rise and fall unsteadily. His eyes met hers, asking her permission without words and saw her assent in their dusky brown depths, and continued to follow the trail of lace to her back, gently unhooking her bra letting it fall from her shoulders, dropping to the floor.
His eyes raked her bare skin, her perfect breasts revealed to him for the first time, already aroused and he hadn't even touched her yet.
He dragged in a deep breath, feeling himself grow harder, aching to touch her. Her desire blended with vulnerability creating an intoxicating new aspect to her features, one he had not seen before. For despite her forwardness earlier, this was as new to her as it was to him. Her life had left her no choice but to move forward, to do what needed to be done despite her fears, but this moment between them and what was to come was something she'd never had to face. Her body had been beaten and she had been through the unimaginable. Everything she had done, that she had no choice but to do, had never required this...laying her body and her heart bare to someone else...to him.
This one act...these moments she was giving him, meant more to him than he ever could have imagined.
He pulled her closer, her cheek sliding against his throat, her nose brushing his jaw.
He grasped her shoulder, turning his head to gently biting the sensitive skin at the base of her neck.
She gasped and shuddered, driving his need to have her up one more notch. It was almost unbearable, the need to be one with her.
"Max," she groaned, “I need...I need...”
She needed affirmation of what was between them. He could see it in her eyes, echoing the very same feelings he felt washing over him.
And it was this that was his undoing.
Once more he sought her lips, tasting them erotically before delving into the sweetness of her mouth.
Lifting her, her sweet taste in his mouth, he carried her to the bed, setting her down carefully, his mouth only parting with hers when he slid his hands along her thighs to stand before her.
She lay back on the bed, her eyes never leaving his.
He nudged his shoes off of his feet, and then his socks.
His unsteady hands unbuttoned her jeans, his fingers brushing against the sensitive skin of her abdomen and hips as she lifted her hips.
He pulled them down, exposing more of her creamy skin, and prayed for the will to make this last.
She winced as the rough material brushed her knees, and he noticed the deep scrapes she'd gotten from falling at the Deluca house.
Pulling her shoes off, he then pushed her jeans off, throwing them on the floor, leaving only her panties the last barrier.
Placing one knee on the bed, his hand clasped her ankle tenderly, sliding up her calf drawing her leg up until his hand cradled the crook of her knee. His arousal was almost painful, but he ignored it.
He traced the line of the gash with his other hand, seeing it was a fairly deep cut.
He met her eyes, his finger stilling, placing his palm over her skinned knee. He didn't notice his fingers glowing, nor the warmth they gave off, so lost in the wonder that radiated from her eyes.
And when he took his hand away, the wound was gone.
He lifted her other leg, repeating what he’d done initially, and when it was done, he leaned over to tenderly kiss her knee.
He lifted his head when her fingers slid under his chin.
Max knocked on the door softly, and there was barely a pause before Liz was there, standing in the doorway.
“Is everything ok?” she asked softly, and Max saw the uncertainty swimming in her eyes.
“Everything’s fine,” he said, taking her hand as she stepped back into the room, closing the door behind him.
“I just wanted to check on the show,” he said. “Apparently everything went without a hitch.”
“And all without your supervision?” she teased lightly. “I can’t believe it.”
He smiled.
“Are you saying that I’m controlling?” he asked, pleased to see her smile.
“Never,” she said, shaking her head with a smile.
“I can’t believe this place,” she said, shaking her head. “Max, this room is amazing.”
He looked around, for the first time noticing the accoutrements he’d not really paid attention to. He supposed it was luxurious, but he’d only been in the room to sleep, and had grown so accustomed to staying in places like this that he’d not really paid it much mind.
He shrugged.
“You like it?” he asked.
“What’s not to like?” she asked.
He couldn’t stop looking at her. Her hair had dried disheveled and wavy from the rain. Her cheeks were tinged a wondrous shade of pink, and her eyes sparkled the color of dark suede. His heart began to race at the mere sight of her.
So entranced, he completely forgot what they were talking about, until her smile faded a bit and she crossed her arms over each other, lowering her head under his scrutiny.
A knock at the door interrupted them.
“Excuse me,” he said, turning to the door.
He greeted the bellman at the door, surprised at the hotel’s efficiency. The man stood in the hall with a garment bag.
“Sir,” the man nodded. “Your purchase?”
Max thanked the man, giving him a handsome tip before taking the bag and shutting the door.
“For you,” he said, holding the bag out to her.
“What is this?” she asked warily, taking the bag without taking her eyes from his.
“Something for you to wear, since you were uncomfortable,” he shrugged.
“Max, you didn’t have to,” she started to protest, horrified, and he silenced her with a shake of his head.
“Don’t thank me yet. You don’t even know if you’re going to like it,” he warned.
“I’m sure I’ll love it,” she said, laying the bag over the desk chair and unzipping it.
Her breath left her lungs in a low sigh as she discovered a beautiful black cocktail dress and a pair of black high-heeled shoes.
“This is beautiful Max, but you didn’t have to. How did you manage this?” she asked.
He shrugged.
“I called in a favor downstairs,” he said, dismissing it. “I didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable here. Do you like it?”
“I love it.”
She kept her eyes lowered, a nervous gesture that didn’t go unnoticed.
“What would you like to do? Are you hungry?” he asked. “We could go out for a late dinner.”
She chewed on her lower lip in a nervous gesture, and he stepped forward.
“Or, we could eat here,” he said, motioning to the table in the living area of the suite.
“Isn’t it going to just prolong the inevitable?” Liz asked, looking up at him. The vulnerability in her eyes caused him to swallow hard.
“The inevitable?” he repeated, his voice surprisingly steady in direct contrast to the emotions that were now raging inside of him.
Her assertive words belied the uncertainty he could see written all over her face.
“Liz, are you afraid?” he asked, the words out of his mouth before he even thought about it.
Her eyes lowered toward the floor, her mouth opening slightly as if she were going to say something but stopped herself.
He took a step forward and reached out to stroke her hair from her face.
“Look at me,” he commanded softly.
She raised her head, her eyes shimmering with tears. He brushed his thumb over her lower lip.
“Max, it’s not that I’m afraid of you,” she started in a rush.
He put his finger to her lips, silencing her, his heart pounding furiously.
“You’re afraid of what you’ve never felt before. And me being what I am...” he trailed off. “I understand.”
Her eyes softened and she shook her head slowly.
“No Max. It’s not what you’re thinking,” Liz said. “It’s not like that at all. Yes, I’m a little scared. I’ve...never been touched the way you’ve...touched me, the way you’ve kissed me. I’ve never felt this way about anyone. But I’m afraid that it won’t be enough for you. You can feel me...what I feel. And I...I can’t...” she said in hesitation.
And suddenly he understood what she was trying to say.
“Can I try something?” he asked quietly, his hand cupping her jaw.
He searched her eyes, looking for any trace of hesitation and found none. She nodded her head slowly.
"I don't know if this will work," he said. "I've never done anything like this before. But maybe the necklaces...."
She leaned her cheek into his palm, telling him without a word that she trusted him.
He took a deep, shuddering breath and pushed his own instinctive fear to the wayside. It was a habit, an ingrained reaction he'd carried with him since he was a small boy.
"Just look at me," he said quietly, lacing his fingers with hers, bringing her hand up to rest against his pounding heart.
“Concentrate on me. Let everything else go,” he said, meeting her eyes, feeling her body relax under his touch.
He thought it would be hard to let down his guard, to let the mental walls he’d constructed fall to let her in. He hadn’t even been sure it would work. But all it took was focusing on the feelings his heart held for her, an ache that was bittersweet and beautiful and hungry, all at the same time.
And then it was as if she were inside of him. Her wonder curled through his body, a warm glow intertwined with the love she felt for him.
It would have been so easy to remain as he was, to bask in that warmth, for he had never believed that someone could feel that way about him.
But he knew that it was important that she saw him, the real him, too. He knew she needed to understand, to see what had made him what he was.
Delving deep within his memories, he conjured up the painful memories he had buried so deeply within his heart.
He remembered the knowledge from the beginning when he was a child, that he was different, that they were different, and the fear he saw in his parents’ eyes that never really went away. Fear of humans. Fear of those that would destroy that which they did not understand.
Once again he felt the ache of Portia’s betrayal that night on the beach. She had never really loved them, as she had professed. She wanted to destroy them. He knew Liz felt his mind, the mind of a young boy, trying to grasp the betrayal, an innocence lost in more ways than one that night, first by the duplicity of their nanny, and then after he was shot by one of the human agents, David Pierce.
She felt his pain as if it were her own, and he felt it mingled with his.
He was never the same after that night, and neither was his family. That night had set a lifetime of hiding in motion. That night had set the course of his life, one in which he feared for his family, and mistrusted people, humans, for their ignorance, for their savageness, for the acceptance he knew he would never get from them, despite the fact that part of him was the same as them.
So much of what his mother had said the day she died made sense now. For she had seen something in humanity that he could not, would not. She had seen his isolation and she had been sad for it, for she knew that his perception was tainted; that the traumatic events of his boyhood had wounded him. She knew that he would not believe that some humans had the capacity to accept; that some offered their help without a thought to their own safety.
He buried that hurt deep down, never to revisit it again until Liz walked into his life. She made him think about things, question the black and white beliefs he'd carried with him for most of his life.
He revealed to her the secret he'd told no one, of the healing of Kyle Valenti's wife, a healing he made despite his belief that if Kyle knew, he too would think him a monster.
He let Liz feel his suspicion when she arrived, for he knew that she had to know all of it. She let him feel his fear of her motives. He let her feel his attraction to her, the attraction that he did not want to admit. He let her feel his discovery of the very same guardedness in her eyes that mirrored his own.
He thought about the night his father left for New York, leaving the two of them alone in the house and how he felt like he had no control over anything, the least of all his feelings.
He let her feel the slow burn of desire that kindled in the bit of his stomach as his eyes raked over her beautiful form standing in the doorway that night.
The alcohol had magnified his emotions that night, but the truth of it was that he’d lost control long before he ever took a sip of that brandy.
He let her feel the exquisite torture of sitting at the table with her, watching her from across the table, knowing that he shouldn’t, no he couldn’t feel the way that he was feeling toward her, and the anger at himself because he knew the internal argument he waged with himself didn’t lessen his need for her one iota.
The mere brush of her fingers against his forehead set his nerves on fire when she touched him that night.
Through his memories, he experienced that fierce protectiveness toward her once again, when she’d reacted so violently to him when he came after her, and because he did, so did she.
He let her feel the effect she had on his body and his heart, remembering how the tears in her eyes and the wet trail they created down her cheeks had rendered him helpless. His first thought had been to calm her, but that quickly changed into something else.
He had to touch her skin, had to touch the velvet of her cheek, had to know what the silken strands of her hair felt like trapped between his fingers. He had felt powerless, both in easing her fear and in stopping himself from kissing her. He’d had to kiss her. And when he did, he’d been lost.
The warm press of her body against his had been electric and his entire body responded to it, his mind forgetting every reason that it was a mistake.
The terrifying flash he’d received from her had been a shock, and touching upon that memory, he knew that Liz now knew that he had felt her fear and hopelessness coming upon Lucinda and her baby as if he were standing right there with her.
She experienced his confusion and conflicting emotions from that night when she fled to her room.
He opened his heart to her, and let her see the feelings he hadn't admitted to until it was almost too late. He let her see the frustration he felt at her refusal to confide in him. He needed her to know what his intentions had been, for it had been his actions that had driven her away the night that Nancy had been taken.
And finally he laid himself bare before her, showing her the suffocating guilt he felt when he had found out the truth in the orb, when he finally admitted the depth of his feelings toward her.
He let her see the stark fear he experienced in trying to find her, not knowing where she was or where Pierce had taken her. He let her feel the fervent prayers, prayers he said silently for the first time in his life; that he would find her, that it wouldn’t be too late.
And when he’d found her, nothing mattered but getting her out, keeping her safe.
When she’d been shot by Pierce there had been no question in his mind, no second guessing. He would heal her so that she would live, because he loved her.
He felt the familiar swelling in his chest when she said she loved him back, only to have that feeling ripped away when he revealed what he really was, and what his family meant to hers.
When she’d left with Maria and Nancy, it only confirmed his fear that she was afraid of him, afraid of what he was.
Those weeks she was gone, nothing felt important to him. Nothing felt right. He worked to keep his mind from being idle, for when it was, his thoughts immediately turned to her and the deep ache that resided in his heart because she was gone, because he believed that she was repulsed by him and resented the ties their families had to each other.
It had taken every ounce of will to let her walk away in LA. And the moment she had, he knew it had been a mistake, that his life would never be the same, that she had forever changed his heart and his perceptions, and without her, he, his life, would be nothing.
He let see all of this in a matter of seconds, a series of memories, emotions, snapshots of his life, mere moments, but life-altering for him.
When the connection broke, the first thing he could focus on was her eyes and the tears that welled in them.
His senses were on overload. The warm press of her hand against his chest, the blood racing in his veins and his staggered breath were all he could grab on to.
She caught the plumpness of her lower lip between her teeth blinking against the tears she had no chance in stopping.
“Oh Max,” she said, sliding her arms around his waist, pressing her cheek against his heart. “I didn’t know. Not really...”
“It worked?” he asked softly.
“Yes,” she whispered, pulling away from him, hands rising to cup his jaw as she lifted her chin, brushing her lips against his before taking them in a forceful rush of emotion.
It felt so natural for his fingers to cup her waist, pulling her closer, until her hips rested against his, unashamed of the way his body responded to hers.
Her lips were wet satin against his, her taste sweet and intoxicating. Thunder seemed to rush in his ears, but it was the sound of his own blood racing through his body, his heart responding in a rapid beat to the havoc she was playing on his senses.
Everything was she, touch taste, sound, sight, smell.
His fingers clenched, gripping her shirt as her tongue met his, the sensual melding of her mouths became everything, yet still not enough.
One desire fed another, the kiss, the press of their bodies against one another, soft curves melting against hard muscle.
Her hands were curled at the back of his neck, her forearms resting on his shoulders. He felt the trembling of her body, the lush press of her breasts against his chest, the rise and fall of her ribs as she struggled to draw a breath.
He had never needed anyone like this, physically or otherwise, but he knew that if Liz were to walk away from him now, his heart wouldn’t survive it.
He broke their kiss, trying to gain control of his erratic breathing.
“Liz, you are more than enough,” he whispered, moisture welling in his eyes. “You’re perfect.”
She moved closer to him once again, resting her head against his chest.
“I didn’t think anyone would ever feel that way about me,” Liz said, closing her eyes. “But I felt what you feel, Max. You have no idea how much that means to me.”
“Liz-“
She shook her head against his neck.
“Max, until you, no man has ever touched me with kindness, not in that way. Your father is a lot older than me and he was so kind to me, but the men I’ve known before your father found me, they....”
“What are you saying Liz?” Max asked, suddenly worried and horrified at the same time. “Did they, did they do something to you...did they...”
“No,” she said quickly. “No Max. It’s not like that. Not that they didn’t try it. It’s just that....no one ever cared about me. I’ve been hit and beaten and I got so used to it, because it was all I knew for such a long time.”
She looked up her tear-filled eyes meeting his.
“But no one’s ever touched me with love. The things you’ve said to me, the way you touch me, the way I feel safe when you’re here...I can’t even tell you what that means to me. Seeing how you feel about me just about broke my heart, because I made myself believe that no one could care about me, that no one would ever care about me. I had to,” she said, her eyes searching his, looking for understanding. “But I saw myself in you, Max. You and I....we’re so much alike, more than I ever realized.”
He nodded, a lump forming in his throat.
“Thank you,” she said in a trembling voice, caressing his cheek. “Thank you for showing me...you.”
His eyes locked on hers and he lowered his head, brushing his lips against hers before locking her lower lip between them, before nipping at it, until she gasped and opened her mouth allowing him to further the seduction he had began with his mouth.
He couldn’t get enough of the taste of her, her breathy sighs driving him on, her tongue mating with his in a sensual dance, each tentatively exploring the other.
His fingers spanned her waist, keeping her close, needing her still closer.
He had never felt anything like this before, never allowing himself to entertain the thought of loving someone enough to open his heart, risking everything he feared.
Her fingers clutched the muscles that spanned his back, kneading, pleading, insistent.
He felt the heat of her skin through the denim that brushed against his rock hard erection straining against the material of his pants, hearing her gasp his name as their lower bodies made contact.
Her face was flushed, her eyes heavy-lidded, her lips swollen.
“Love me, Max,” she whispered, tears filling her eyes. “I want you to love me.”
He stilled, knowing what she meant, for he wanted that too. He wanted to make love to her, to know the solace of lying in her arms, the feel of her skin against his. He wanted her so badly, he could barely breathe.
As he looked at her, hearing her words, he felt something wholly unknown to him unfurl within his heart calling out for Liz, for completion, primitive and powerful, something he knew was not human. The beginnings of a bond, a bond that would be complete when their bodies and hearts were joined as one.
Primal waves of desire rolled through his body, touching every nerve, making him want to bury himself within her, were mixed with a wholly alien need to know her, to connect with her, to bond their hearts together forever, she his soul mate and he hers.
He had chosen before he was even aware of it, and now that awareness coupled with the knowledge that she loved him, that she wanted him despite what he was, made that need almost unbearable.
Instinct told him that it would change him forever, that what they would feel if he dared to act on his need would pale the emotions they were experiencing now, for both of them.
He imagined that for most people, making love for the first time was usually fraught with nervousness, a momentous act, but it held so many more implications for them, because of what she’d been through, because of what he was. While he was sure that it would be safe, as Alex and Isabel had been married for two years, and not once had he heard of any problems or strangeness, it still held some very heavy implications. What he was and the bond he knew he could not stop if they made love would last the remainder of their lives.
No, this was much more of an emotional risk for the both of them, two people who had learned at an early age that trust was not to be given lightly.
He cupped her face in his hands, trying to reclaim a sense of control over his body.
“There can’t be any more secrets between us,” he said. “Liz, are you sure this is what you want? Because if we...if this happens, I will be bonded to you and you to me. You’ll never have to wonder again how I feel about you.”
Her face lit with a tiny smile.
“You say that as if it’s bad thing,” she said.
“No, not for me,” he said, lowering his eyes. “Liz, this....what’s between us, what it could be...it’s something that I didn’t even dare to dream about. I convinced myself that I couldn’t ever have anything like this. I was furious with Isabel because I thought she acted irrationally. Now, I see why she took the risk. I love you and I do, I want what they have. But I don’t think you understand what I’m saying. If we are bonded, it isn’t just going to go away...not for me. Because of what I am, my heart will always be bound to yours, and I’m fairly certain yours to mine,” he said quietly, looking up to meet her eyes.
“I don’t think my heart could take another beating. If you’re not absolutely sure...”
She covered his lips with a finger.
“Shh...”
She stepped back from him never taking her eyes from his, reaching for the first button of her shirt, unbuttoning it. His eyes widened slightly.
“I am sure, Max. I’m in love with you.”
She paused and then unbuttoned the second button, revealing more creamy skin and a glimpse of white lace. Max felt his heart pounding in his chest, the incessant ache of his erection growing unbearably.
“I’ve been in love with you, and I was miserable without you. I want to be yours.”
Her fingers unbuttoned the third button, falling open slightly, revealing the full curve of her breast beneath its confines. His hands clenched at his side, his jaw working, trying to maintain his composure, but it was becoming very difficult.
“I think my heart knew that long before my head did,” she said ruefully.
“If you can love me as I am, if you’ll have me like this, scars and all...”
The fourth button fell open, revealing the silky expanse of her abdomen, and a quiet groan fell from his lips as he looked upon it.
“Then yes, I want you. I want you...so much.”
He felt unsteady on his feet as she stepped closer once more. But he did not move. He knew it was important that she make the overture.
With a deep breath she raised both of her hands, placing them on his waist, running them up to his chest, once more meeting his eyes.
“You’re beautiful Max,” she whispered. “I thought so from the first moment I saw you, and it scared me. And now I’ve seen you. You’ve been damaged, like me. Damaged, but still here. You said to me that you wanted it all. I want that too. After the gift you just gave me, I wouldn’t settle for anything less. Not anymore.”
His heart swelled until he thought it might burst. Before she came into his life, never, not once would he have thought that he needed anyone. But he did. He needed her.
The tips of his fingers tracing the contour of her neck to her collarbone.
His hands caressed the smooth skin at her waist to the small of her back, spanning her ribs, under the swell of her breast.
His pupils dilated as he felt her shiver.
His eye fell to his hands, his fingers brushing the top swell of her lace covered breasts.
"Your skin is so soft," he whispered.
Her eyes were closed, her hands on his hips were tentative, slow, sliding low along the curve of his rear, then upward to pull the shirt from the waistband of his pants.
He reached up his fingers grasping her shirt, pulling it off of her shoulders sliding it down her arms, the pads of his fingers stroking her skin with slow reverence.
He stiffened, his eyes taking in an angry crescent-shaped scar running across her side. She felt the change in him, opening her eyes and following his gaze, and her lips tightened.
"What did they do to you?" he asked, his voice hoarse, tinged with anger.
She turned her head away, seeming almost ashamed, as if she'd forgotten it.
"Felipe and I were in the jungle. We were running one of Carlo's packages," she said, her voice trembling.
"The Federales were tipped off. It wasn't the first time and it wouldn't be the last. They chased us and I remember I thought for sure we were done for. I knew Felipe thought so too, though he didn't say so. We reached a farm on the outskirts of the jungle and I told Felipe to take the package and hide. He fought with me, but I made him leave. He got to cover right before they showed up. The farmer was shoeing one of his horses, and the Federales threatened to kiss his family while he watched if he didn't disappear. So he did. They...dragged me over to the pit. They wanted information on Carlo, a piece of his operation.. I wouldn't tell them anything, so they held me down...and they used the farrier's iron...." she trailed off.
"Felipe hadn't listened to me after all. He had gone into the barn and got one of the guns, and he shot the two Federales. He's probably the only reason I lived through the day," she said, her eyes growing wet.
Common sense told him that she was all right, that she had survived all of that, but it didn't make it any easier to bear. He was also sure that this wasn't the only story her body had to tell, some tales not as bad and some probably worse. He knew he was going to see all of it soon enough if they were bonded, and he wasn’t sure he was prepared for it.
"How can you be the person you are after all of that?" he asked, his index finger tracing her cheek. "How did you bear it?"
She stood straighter, resolute.
"I did because I had to. It’s in the past," she said. "That person is not who I am now. Max, I was different then. I was cold, a machine. I had to be. If your father hadn't found me, if he hadn't told me what he knew about me...knowing he knew, knowing that there might be a way out of all of it, it gave me hope. When I had none, I was merciless to the people that stood in the way of my mother's safety. I did what I had to."
Max nodded, swallowing his heartbreak for what she'd been through. She saw herself back then as a monster. He saw her bravery and her compassion. He'd seen it with Lucinda and Felipe. She was not half as cold-hearted as she had believed herself to be.
"But all of that brought me here, to this moment...to you," she said softly.
"You're never going to go through anything like that again," he said fiercely. "I promise you. As long as there's a breath in my body."
She smiled at him.
"I know."
Shyly, she raised her hands to his shirt.
His heart thundered, knowing that there was nothing left between them to hold them back.
Her hair brushed against his forearm as he covered her hands with his for an instant, and she began to unbutton his shirt slowly.
Her hands slid under the cotton caressing the bare skin of his chest.
He shivered at the sensations her touch elicited in his body.
His need for her was almost violent in its intensity.
Her delicate fingers passed over the ridges of his abdomen, causing it to contract convulsively.
His hand shook as it rose, his palm resting on her breast and she sighed, leaning into his touch.
His other hand rose, hooking under the strap of her bra, allowing it to fall from her shoulder.
He jerked when he felt her tentative fingers at the button on his pants and then the slow slide of the zipper against his erection.
She stopped, momentarily diverted by his lips crashing against hers.
His pants lay half-opened, hanging around his hips, and his shirt dropped to the floor..
She wasn't still long, fingers tracing the thin line of hair that disappeared beneath the elastic of his boxers, her touch setting a fire along his nerve endings.
He groaned against her lips, his eyes closed in exquisite agony.
He stilled her hands with his, wanting these moments to last, and pulled away from her.
He traced the laced outline of her breast watching her chest rise and fall unsteadily. His eyes met hers, asking her permission without words and saw her assent in their dusky brown depths, and continued to follow the trail of lace to her back, gently unhooking her bra letting it fall from her shoulders, dropping to the floor.
His eyes raked her bare skin, her perfect breasts revealed to him for the first time, already aroused and he hadn't even touched her yet.
He dragged in a deep breath, feeling himself grow harder, aching to touch her. Her desire blended with vulnerability creating an intoxicating new aspect to her features, one he had not seen before. For despite her forwardness earlier, this was as new to her as it was to him. Her life had left her no choice but to move forward, to do what needed to be done despite her fears, but this moment between them and what was to come was something she'd never had to face. Her body had been beaten and she had been through the unimaginable. Everything she had done, that she had no choice but to do, had never required this...laying her body and her heart bare to someone else...to him.
This one act...these moments she was giving him, meant more to him than he ever could have imagined.
He pulled her closer, her cheek sliding against his throat, her nose brushing his jaw.
He grasped her shoulder, turning his head to gently biting the sensitive skin at the base of her neck.
She gasped and shuddered, driving his need to have her up one more notch. It was almost unbearable, the need to be one with her.
"Max," she groaned, “I need...I need...”
She needed affirmation of what was between them. He could see it in her eyes, echoing the very same feelings he felt washing over him.
And it was this that was his undoing.
Once more he sought her lips, tasting them erotically before delving into the sweetness of her mouth.
Lifting her, her sweet taste in his mouth, he carried her to the bed, setting her down carefully, his mouth only parting with hers when he slid his hands along her thighs to stand before her.
She lay back on the bed, her eyes never leaving his.
He nudged his shoes off of his feet, and then his socks.
His unsteady hands unbuttoned her jeans, his fingers brushing against the sensitive skin of her abdomen and hips as she lifted her hips.
He pulled them down, exposing more of her creamy skin, and prayed for the will to make this last.
She winced as the rough material brushed her knees, and he noticed the deep scrapes she'd gotten from falling at the Deluca house.
Pulling her shoes off, he then pushed her jeans off, throwing them on the floor, leaving only her panties the last barrier.
Placing one knee on the bed, his hand clasped her ankle tenderly, sliding up her calf drawing her leg up until his hand cradled the crook of her knee. His arousal was almost painful, but he ignored it.
He traced the line of the gash with his other hand, seeing it was a fairly deep cut.
He met her eyes, his finger stilling, placing his palm over her skinned knee. He didn't notice his fingers glowing, nor the warmth they gave off, so lost in the wonder that radiated from her eyes.
And when he took his hand away, the wound was gone.
He lifted her other leg, repeating what he’d done initially, and when it was done, he leaned over to tenderly kiss her knee.
He lifted his head when her fingers slid under his chin.
Part 39
“Come here,” she whispered.
Her tears would have fell if she let them, for she felt them filling her eyes.
His gentle, reverent touch as he had healed her had healed the part of her deep down inside that was convinced that she could never be loved...that she wasn't worthy of it.
But now was not the time for tears.
She watched as he placed his other knee on the bed, crawling up her body, until he hovered above her, her hands resting on the clenched muscles of his arms.
When she looked into his eyes, she saw the hunger that was reflected in her own heart, the part of him that he had pushed so far down inside his heart, the most secret wish to be loved by someone for what he was.
She knew that she had the power to break him, the naked vulnerability shining in his face told her so.
But that power gave her no satisfaction, for she knew that he could just as easily break her, and knowing that she held his heart, just as he held hers, was not confining. In fact, she finally felt as if she had been set free from the prison of her own fears.
Slowly, deliberately, he craned his neck, lowering his head to receive her kiss.
She needed to touch him. She wanted to feel every part of him touching her. His devouring kiss was no longer enough.
Her fingers grew restless, gliding along his ribs, deliberate in their intentions.
His whole body tightened his need, both alien and human, coiling in the pit of his stomach, demanding release. His groan was muffled against her lips.
Her hands slid his pants and boxers over his hips, pushing them downward, bending her leg to catch the waist with her toes, nudging them further, her cotton-clad sex inadvertently brushing his erection and he stilled, trying to maintain his control.
The rigid flesh pressing against the damp cotton that sheathed her aching core was desire manifested, causing an ache in the pit of her stomach, a flare of pure erotic sensation burning into her soul.
Lowering himself to his elbows, he rained soft kisses on her neck, her collarbone, before moving to her breast. Propping his weight on one elbow, he traced a line across her sensitive nipple, causing her to squirm.
His hand gently kneaded her while his tongue brushed across it, tentatively, testing, her reaction a whimper. It was not enough. It would never be enough until she and he were one. He laved her sensitive peak with his tongue, the sensitive tip tightening under his ministrations.
She needed him closer. She needed to see him, to touch him, to have all of him.
Her leg wound around his, pulling their bodies closer, pushing her hips against his in a jerky movement, inexperienced, she knew, but she couldn't...no wouldn't stop the awkward movements of her body.
Frustrated, she pushed against him, pushing him back to the bed, rising to her knees, her eyes darkening as she got her first real glimpse of his body.
The sleek lines of his body were broken only by shadows that accentuated toned muscle. His skin was almost golden in the room's dimmed light, highlighted with the slight sheen of moisture an effect that she knew matched her own skin. The temperature in the room had seemed to rise a notch, but she was sure it was mostly the heat that their need was generating between them.
Her eyes raked the ridges on his abdomen, a small faded scar marring its perfection, the plateaus of his chest, the dark ovals dotting each side, to the silver chain, which held the broken blue and silver pendant she shared with him.
His chest rose and fell rapidly, but that was the only movement he made. He lay perfectly still, his eyes burning into hers, his expression telling her without words that he would wait for an eternity if he had to, that it would be she that would take this further from here.
His countenance was cautious, still uncertain that her fear would not once more manifest itself.
She loved him all the more for it.
She pulled her panties off of her hips slowly, until they reached her knees. She lowered herself to lie partially against his chest, kicking them off.
Her eyes darkened scraping her fingers down his chest, running them across his pelvic bone, to the dark patch of hair below to the rigid part of him that lay against his stomach, the part of him that would join their bodies together
She stilled, hesitating and then touched his silken length. Unconsciously, his hips undulated, needing more of her touch.
"Liz," he whispered, his voice almost a plea, the sound of it sending a jolt of desire through her body, literally aching for him.
Her eyes lifted and met his, so dark now with need, yet still he remained still. A fine film of sweat had broken over his forehead, the tendons in his neck straining slightly as he fought to maintain control over his body.
She knew exactly what he was feeling.
In an instant, her leg slid over his hip, and her swollen core slid over his hot length, causing them both to moan.
Her hand slid around his neck and he sat up, pulling her closer, skin sliding against skin, as their tongues met in a heated open-mouthed duel.
The moment her bare skin pressed against his, he shuddered. She drew a deep breath. She had never imagined the press of a warm body could be so amazing, that the slide of her softness against his muscled frame could be everything, yet only the beginning.
His hands dragged around her waist, fingers spread, resting against her lower back, near swell of her rear, kneading pulling her even closer until the warm skin of her stomach met the hard ridges of his.
She rocked awkwardly against him, needing more, needing all of him, sensing that there was so much more he had yet to give, more than the physical, and that it would shatter her.
His lips broke from hers, sliding down her chin, his left hand now buried in her hair, while his right remained at her back.
He traced a fiery path along her jaw to her neck biting gently, and her head fell back in ecstasy at the inferno that was building in her body.
A keening cry fell from her lips, as his hand sliding from her down her throat to encircle her breast. She arched her back, and he captured her nipple between his teeth, gently tugging, before soothing the sting with his tongue.
Her reaction was violent, bucking against him, the head of his swollen flesh pressing against sensitive nerves, sliding through the moisture that lay in between her folds.
With a quiet cry, he tore his lips from her breast, resting his forehead against her chest, his breathing ragged.
She felt his tight skin, hot and pulsing, his hips erratic, coating himself in her essence.
"I can't take much more of this, Liz," he said in a tight voice.
She cradled his face, ducking her head, and lifting his chin.
"Then make love to me," she said softly.
He searched her face for reassurance, his control hanging by a mere thread.
"Are you sure?" he asked shakily, his eyes darkening, almost black.
"I've never been more sure of anything in my life," she said, meeting his gaze steadily.
He buried his hands in her hair, turning and laying her back on the bed.
Her thighs parted and he rested his lower body at the apex, trembling at the contact with her damp curls.
He remained poised above her, his weight resting on his elbows, his thumbs stroking the hair at her temples, his eyes locked on hers.
"I love you," he whispered.
"I love you too," she said, her hand cupping his jaw.
His hand slid between their bodies, fingers tracing her abdomen, falling lower into the soft hair at her core, sliding through the folds, feeling the evidence of her desire.
His head dropped against her chest, his forehead pressing against her pendant and he shuddered.
It was tentative, faint at first, but she felt him inside of her, inside of his heart. She felt his thoughts as if she were in his.
He didn't think she knew what a gift this was to him, that she could love him as she did, that she accepted him for who and what he was.
Tears stung her eyes as she stroked the hair at the back of his neck, willing him to know that his love was just as much of a gift for her.
But he knew. He knew now, just as she knew, for the bonding had begun with the heightened emotions between them. It would only become stronger, complete, when their bodies joined as their hearts had.
He raised his head once more and she felt him at her opening, pushing slowly, filling her, stretching her. Every muscle in his body was tense, battling to keep his control.
She felt her tight walls as he felt it, and he felt the sensation of his own flesh stretching her, filling her.
He winced, sharing her discomfort, and she arched her back, sharing the maddening sensation of being inside of her, pushing against her barrier.
And then it broke, and her eyes met his as they both cried out, pleasure and pain intermingled between him, and the final walls broke between them, leaving each heart open to the other.
All of the pain, the isolation they had endured alone, they now shared together. All of the fear, the pain, the loss burst through their connection in a wave, washing over them, before ebbing slowly, fading, leaving only the love they had between them.
Tears slid down her cheeks mingling with his as they fell from his, their hearts filled with the depth of the love that they had kept hidden, and only truly accepted that very night.
He gathered her closer, tenderly brushing her lips with feather-soft kisses, waiting for the pain to subside.
The sting soon faded and she moved against him, both still reeling through the kaleidoscope of the connection they now shared.
What he felt she felt, and what she felt, he experienced too.
He began to move inside of her, his length sliding deep within her, burying himself within her warmth, wrapping her in the depth of his love for her. His slow movements drove her need for him to an almost unbearable level.
Her compassion healed his lonely heart, and his heart wrapped around hers protectively, a promise that she would be his, that he would love her, protect her, keep her safe with his last breath.
She felt his determination in proving it to her. She already knew that he would cherish her and keep her safe. Still,she sensed that there was something more he had to do.
His hands roamed her arms, stilling over the puckered bullet scar.
He wanted it gone. He knew that he could never take away what happened, but he would take away the physical reminder of it. As he mended her skin, the memory bubbled in her mind, the pain, the fear. And because she felt it, he too felt it. He relived the heat, the sizzle, the deep burning she felt that night she was shot, and he whimpered.
"Max...please, you don't..." she said softly, her voice hitching in a sob. He silenced her with his lips, pleading for her to understand that he had to do this, for her, for him.
And then it was gone, replaced with new skin. She felt the cost to him, experiencing her memories as she had lived them. It was raw, unfettered, powerful.
His hand fell to her waist, covering the farrier's iron burn scar, his eyes connecting with hers, his back arching as the scene played before him, the hot brand hitting his skin as it hit hers.
His body tensed cringing against the unseen metal. Warm heat leeched from his fingers, renewing cells.
Almost frantic, his hand slid up her shoulder to the back of her neck, to the angry red slash at the back of her neck that Carlo had left.
His hands traced her body, to her shoulder, where it had been dislocated multiple times, and healed the damaged cartilage, a strangled groan escaping his lips.
"Max, please," she entreated, tears staining her cheeks, overwhelmed that he would do this, shamed that he felt he had to.
"Don't," he said fiercely, his voice trembling. "Don't you dare feel ashamed."
He would not be denied. Each painful experience he had shared with her cemented their bond.
A powerful surge of desire jolted their bodies, still joined, pulsing and heated.
Their limbs tangled in a passionate embrace, tears and sweat mingling with serrated breaths as he began to move deeper, faster, one seeping into another, skin against skin; melting, joining, piercing, hungry, insatiable.
Her shoulder blades rested on the cushion of his forearms, his fingers gripping her shoulders from beneath her, keeping them close, keeping her close. The crush of his hard chest softly abraded the peaks of her nipples, creating tantalizing friction between them.
His desire reached unimaginable heights, magnifying her own until she thought she would go mad. It felt as if his heart thundered in her ears, instead of her own, his erratic breathing was hers, the tightening in her very core.
The tension became almost unbearable, climbing higher and still higher as their bodies moved together in cadence, faster, deeper, frantic.
He could hold back no longer, and the intensity of his release drove her over the edge, her inner walls clamping around him, pulsating, their bodies stiffening together, voice crying out as every nerve ending exploded in a shower of bright sparks of pleasure. He drove himself deep inside of her and she felt as if he he'd touched her soul.
She felt as if she couldn't breathe, couldn't move, every muscle tensing with almost painful release.
He collapsed against her shoulder, resting his forehead there, trying to catch his own breath.
"Max," she gasped, closing her eyes.
Every cell in her body sang with his presence. She felt him with her, a part of him that remained even after their joining.
His emotions were now hers. She felt beautiful because she could feel he thought her beautiful. She felt protected and safe, because he had vowed she would be. She felt loved because she could feel the depth of the love he held in his heart for her.
And she knew he felt her love for him as well, for it sang along their connection, brightly, sweetly, real.
Finally, there were no more secrets, nothing standing between them, and she felt more alive than she had ever felt, because she was in his arms.
*****
She lay with her chin propped on his chest, watching him as he slept, marveling that she was here, with him.
Peace had stolen over his heart, something unfamiliar to him, yet welcome. She knew this because he was now part of her.
His face had softened, his demeanor almost boyish in slumber, wariness and worry fallen away with sleep.
His tousled hair was endearing, new to her, and she smiled, knowing that there were still some things she had yet to discover, despite their connection.
It hummed within her heart, intangible, a mere whisper of emotion, gentle, steady and true.
It wasn't as if she could read his mind, and she knew it was the same for him. More, each could feel what the other was feeling, muted, but without question.
Her fingers slid their way across his skin, pausing at the small depression to the side of his navel.
It was where he had been shot.
She traced the scar lightly with her finger.
Her jaw hardened at the thought of what David had almost done. He had almost taken Max from this Earth, from her, and she would never have known. She didn't think it mattered how much time would pass, she would always hate him.
She hated him ironically enough, because he had no humanity, no compassion.
Max stirred, his eyes opening slightly, his brow immediately furrowing.
"Liz?" he said softly, stroking her hair.
"I'm sorry," she said, "I didn't mean to wake you."
"What's wrong?" he asked, his voice husky with sleep.
She shook her head, not answering.
"We can't hide from each other, remember?" he asked, as she looked up at him with troubled eyes.
"Was this where he shot you?" she asked.
He nodded.
"Why didn't you get rid of the scar?" she asked quietly.
"It was a reminder, never to let my guard down," he said, his finger brushing her cheek.
She bit her lip, her hair falling in front of her face.
"Tell me what's bothering you," he said.
"It's just...he could have killed you," she said. "And I never would have known you, known this...I hate him Max."
She reached up to wipe away a tear that had slipped down her cheek.
"I just think...I wish that he never existed. For you, for your family..."
"Hey," he said, lifting her chin.
"Come here," he said, pulling her into his arms.
"None of that matters anymore," he said, kissing her forehead.
"He's gone, and he's never going to hurt anyone again. I can't wish that he never existed, because if he didn't, then you wouldn't either," he whispered. "This...you, makes all of it worth it. Don't you know that?"
"I love you," she whispered, kissing his neck.
"We were fated, Liz. I believe that now. My mother set a course of events in motion that brought us together. All of it, all of what we went through led to this moment, to us, to loving you. I would never wish that away," he said. "Never."
"I wouldn't either," she said softly.
"I love you, Max," she said, and he smiled, taking her into his arms once more.
"And I love you," he whispered, his lips capturing hers.
She pulled away suddenly.
"Oh Max, I never wore the dress you went to so much trouble for," she said.
He laughed out loud.
"Where did that come from?" he asked.
"I know you went to a lot of trouble," she protested.
"Liz Parker, if I have my way, you won't be wearing that dress for a long time to come," he said, rolling her onto her back.
Call it fate, destiny, whatever you will.
Their love was born from the kindness of a stranger, bringing the separate paths of two families full circle, healing all of them, finally.
“Come here,” she whispered.
Her tears would have fell if she let them, for she felt them filling her eyes.
His gentle, reverent touch as he had healed her had healed the part of her deep down inside that was convinced that she could never be loved...that she wasn't worthy of it.
But now was not the time for tears.
She watched as he placed his other knee on the bed, crawling up her body, until he hovered above her, her hands resting on the clenched muscles of his arms.
When she looked into his eyes, she saw the hunger that was reflected in her own heart, the part of him that he had pushed so far down inside his heart, the most secret wish to be loved by someone for what he was.
She knew that she had the power to break him, the naked vulnerability shining in his face told her so.
But that power gave her no satisfaction, for she knew that he could just as easily break her, and knowing that she held his heart, just as he held hers, was not confining. In fact, she finally felt as if she had been set free from the prison of her own fears.
Slowly, deliberately, he craned his neck, lowering his head to receive her kiss.
She needed to touch him. She wanted to feel every part of him touching her. His devouring kiss was no longer enough.
Her fingers grew restless, gliding along his ribs, deliberate in their intentions.
His whole body tightened his need, both alien and human, coiling in the pit of his stomach, demanding release. His groan was muffled against her lips.
Her hands slid his pants and boxers over his hips, pushing them downward, bending her leg to catch the waist with her toes, nudging them further, her cotton-clad sex inadvertently brushing his erection and he stilled, trying to maintain his control.
The rigid flesh pressing against the damp cotton that sheathed her aching core was desire manifested, causing an ache in the pit of her stomach, a flare of pure erotic sensation burning into her soul.
Lowering himself to his elbows, he rained soft kisses on her neck, her collarbone, before moving to her breast. Propping his weight on one elbow, he traced a line across her sensitive nipple, causing her to squirm.
His hand gently kneaded her while his tongue brushed across it, tentatively, testing, her reaction a whimper. It was not enough. It would never be enough until she and he were one. He laved her sensitive peak with his tongue, the sensitive tip tightening under his ministrations.
She needed him closer. She needed to see him, to touch him, to have all of him.
Her leg wound around his, pulling their bodies closer, pushing her hips against his in a jerky movement, inexperienced, she knew, but she couldn't...no wouldn't stop the awkward movements of her body.
Frustrated, she pushed against him, pushing him back to the bed, rising to her knees, her eyes darkening as she got her first real glimpse of his body.
The sleek lines of his body were broken only by shadows that accentuated toned muscle. His skin was almost golden in the room's dimmed light, highlighted with the slight sheen of moisture an effect that she knew matched her own skin. The temperature in the room had seemed to rise a notch, but she was sure it was mostly the heat that their need was generating between them.
Her eyes raked the ridges on his abdomen, a small faded scar marring its perfection, the plateaus of his chest, the dark ovals dotting each side, to the silver chain, which held the broken blue and silver pendant she shared with him.
His chest rose and fell rapidly, but that was the only movement he made. He lay perfectly still, his eyes burning into hers, his expression telling her without words that he would wait for an eternity if he had to, that it would be she that would take this further from here.
His countenance was cautious, still uncertain that her fear would not once more manifest itself.
She loved him all the more for it.
She pulled her panties off of her hips slowly, until they reached her knees. She lowered herself to lie partially against his chest, kicking them off.
Her eyes darkened scraping her fingers down his chest, running them across his pelvic bone, to the dark patch of hair below to the rigid part of him that lay against his stomach, the part of him that would join their bodies together
She stilled, hesitating and then touched his silken length. Unconsciously, his hips undulated, needing more of her touch.
"Liz," he whispered, his voice almost a plea, the sound of it sending a jolt of desire through her body, literally aching for him.
Her eyes lifted and met his, so dark now with need, yet still he remained still. A fine film of sweat had broken over his forehead, the tendons in his neck straining slightly as he fought to maintain control over his body.
She knew exactly what he was feeling.
In an instant, her leg slid over his hip, and her swollen core slid over his hot length, causing them both to moan.
Her hand slid around his neck and he sat up, pulling her closer, skin sliding against skin, as their tongues met in a heated open-mouthed duel.
The moment her bare skin pressed against his, he shuddered. She drew a deep breath. She had never imagined the press of a warm body could be so amazing, that the slide of her softness against his muscled frame could be everything, yet only the beginning.
His hands dragged around her waist, fingers spread, resting against her lower back, near swell of her rear, kneading pulling her even closer until the warm skin of her stomach met the hard ridges of his.
She rocked awkwardly against him, needing more, needing all of him, sensing that there was so much more he had yet to give, more than the physical, and that it would shatter her.
His lips broke from hers, sliding down her chin, his left hand now buried in her hair, while his right remained at her back.
He traced a fiery path along her jaw to her neck biting gently, and her head fell back in ecstasy at the inferno that was building in her body.
A keening cry fell from her lips, as his hand sliding from her down her throat to encircle her breast. She arched her back, and he captured her nipple between his teeth, gently tugging, before soothing the sting with his tongue.
Her reaction was violent, bucking against him, the head of his swollen flesh pressing against sensitive nerves, sliding through the moisture that lay in between her folds.
With a quiet cry, he tore his lips from her breast, resting his forehead against her chest, his breathing ragged.
She felt his tight skin, hot and pulsing, his hips erratic, coating himself in her essence.
"I can't take much more of this, Liz," he said in a tight voice.
She cradled his face, ducking her head, and lifting his chin.
"Then make love to me," she said softly.
He searched her face for reassurance, his control hanging by a mere thread.
"Are you sure?" he asked shakily, his eyes darkening, almost black.
"I've never been more sure of anything in my life," she said, meeting his gaze steadily.
He buried his hands in her hair, turning and laying her back on the bed.
Her thighs parted and he rested his lower body at the apex, trembling at the contact with her damp curls.
He remained poised above her, his weight resting on his elbows, his thumbs stroking the hair at her temples, his eyes locked on hers.
"I love you," he whispered.
"I love you too," she said, her hand cupping his jaw.
His hand slid between their bodies, fingers tracing her abdomen, falling lower into the soft hair at her core, sliding through the folds, feeling the evidence of her desire.
His head dropped against her chest, his forehead pressing against her pendant and he shuddered.
It was tentative, faint at first, but she felt him inside of her, inside of his heart. She felt his thoughts as if she were in his.
He didn't think she knew what a gift this was to him, that she could love him as she did, that she accepted him for who and what he was.
Tears stung her eyes as she stroked the hair at the back of his neck, willing him to know that his love was just as much of a gift for her.
But he knew. He knew now, just as she knew, for the bonding had begun with the heightened emotions between them. It would only become stronger, complete, when their bodies joined as their hearts had.
He raised his head once more and she felt him at her opening, pushing slowly, filling her, stretching her. Every muscle in his body was tense, battling to keep his control.
She felt her tight walls as he felt it, and he felt the sensation of his own flesh stretching her, filling her.
He winced, sharing her discomfort, and she arched her back, sharing the maddening sensation of being inside of her, pushing against her barrier.
And then it broke, and her eyes met his as they both cried out, pleasure and pain intermingled between him, and the final walls broke between them, leaving each heart open to the other.
All of the pain, the isolation they had endured alone, they now shared together. All of the fear, the pain, the loss burst through their connection in a wave, washing over them, before ebbing slowly, fading, leaving only the love they had between them.
Tears slid down her cheeks mingling with his as they fell from his, their hearts filled with the depth of the love that they had kept hidden, and only truly accepted that very night.
He gathered her closer, tenderly brushing her lips with feather-soft kisses, waiting for the pain to subside.
The sting soon faded and she moved against him, both still reeling through the kaleidoscope of the connection they now shared.
What he felt she felt, and what she felt, he experienced too.
He began to move inside of her, his length sliding deep within her, burying himself within her warmth, wrapping her in the depth of his love for her. His slow movements drove her need for him to an almost unbearable level.
Her compassion healed his lonely heart, and his heart wrapped around hers protectively, a promise that she would be his, that he would love her, protect her, keep her safe with his last breath.
She felt his determination in proving it to her. She already knew that he would cherish her and keep her safe. Still,she sensed that there was something more he had to do.
His hands roamed her arms, stilling over the puckered bullet scar.
He wanted it gone. He knew that he could never take away what happened, but he would take away the physical reminder of it. As he mended her skin, the memory bubbled in her mind, the pain, the fear. And because she felt it, he too felt it. He relived the heat, the sizzle, the deep burning she felt that night she was shot, and he whimpered.
"Max...please, you don't..." she said softly, her voice hitching in a sob. He silenced her with his lips, pleading for her to understand that he had to do this, for her, for him.
And then it was gone, replaced with new skin. She felt the cost to him, experiencing her memories as she had lived them. It was raw, unfettered, powerful.
His hand fell to her waist, covering the farrier's iron burn scar, his eyes connecting with hers, his back arching as the scene played before him, the hot brand hitting his skin as it hit hers.
His body tensed cringing against the unseen metal. Warm heat leeched from his fingers, renewing cells.
Almost frantic, his hand slid up her shoulder to the back of her neck, to the angry red slash at the back of her neck that Carlo had left.
His hands traced her body, to her shoulder, where it had been dislocated multiple times, and healed the damaged cartilage, a strangled groan escaping his lips.
"Max, please," she entreated, tears staining her cheeks, overwhelmed that he would do this, shamed that he felt he had to.
"Don't," he said fiercely, his voice trembling. "Don't you dare feel ashamed."
He would not be denied. Each painful experience he had shared with her cemented their bond.
A powerful surge of desire jolted their bodies, still joined, pulsing and heated.
Their limbs tangled in a passionate embrace, tears and sweat mingling with serrated breaths as he began to move deeper, faster, one seeping into another, skin against skin; melting, joining, piercing, hungry, insatiable.
Her shoulder blades rested on the cushion of his forearms, his fingers gripping her shoulders from beneath her, keeping them close, keeping her close. The crush of his hard chest softly abraded the peaks of her nipples, creating tantalizing friction between them.
His desire reached unimaginable heights, magnifying her own until she thought she would go mad. It felt as if his heart thundered in her ears, instead of her own, his erratic breathing was hers, the tightening in her very core.
The tension became almost unbearable, climbing higher and still higher as their bodies moved together in cadence, faster, deeper, frantic.
He could hold back no longer, and the intensity of his release drove her over the edge, her inner walls clamping around him, pulsating, their bodies stiffening together, voice crying out as every nerve ending exploded in a shower of bright sparks of pleasure. He drove himself deep inside of her and she felt as if he he'd touched her soul.
She felt as if she couldn't breathe, couldn't move, every muscle tensing with almost painful release.
He collapsed against her shoulder, resting his forehead there, trying to catch his own breath.
"Max," she gasped, closing her eyes.
Every cell in her body sang with his presence. She felt him with her, a part of him that remained even after their joining.
His emotions were now hers. She felt beautiful because she could feel he thought her beautiful. She felt protected and safe, because he had vowed she would be. She felt loved because she could feel the depth of the love he held in his heart for her.
And she knew he felt her love for him as well, for it sang along their connection, brightly, sweetly, real.
Finally, there were no more secrets, nothing standing between them, and she felt more alive than she had ever felt, because she was in his arms.
*****
She lay with her chin propped on his chest, watching him as he slept, marveling that she was here, with him.
Peace had stolen over his heart, something unfamiliar to him, yet welcome. She knew this because he was now part of her.
His face had softened, his demeanor almost boyish in slumber, wariness and worry fallen away with sleep.
His tousled hair was endearing, new to her, and she smiled, knowing that there were still some things she had yet to discover, despite their connection.
It hummed within her heart, intangible, a mere whisper of emotion, gentle, steady and true.
It wasn't as if she could read his mind, and she knew it was the same for him. More, each could feel what the other was feeling, muted, but without question.
Her fingers slid their way across his skin, pausing at the small depression to the side of his navel.
It was where he had been shot.
She traced the scar lightly with her finger.
Her jaw hardened at the thought of what David had almost done. He had almost taken Max from this Earth, from her, and she would never have known. She didn't think it mattered how much time would pass, she would always hate him.
She hated him ironically enough, because he had no humanity, no compassion.
Max stirred, his eyes opening slightly, his brow immediately furrowing.
"Liz?" he said softly, stroking her hair.
"I'm sorry," she said, "I didn't mean to wake you."
"What's wrong?" he asked, his voice husky with sleep.
She shook her head, not answering.
"We can't hide from each other, remember?" he asked, as she looked up at him with troubled eyes.
"Was this where he shot you?" she asked.
He nodded.
"Why didn't you get rid of the scar?" she asked quietly.
"It was a reminder, never to let my guard down," he said, his finger brushing her cheek.
She bit her lip, her hair falling in front of her face.
"Tell me what's bothering you," he said.
"It's just...he could have killed you," she said. "And I never would have known you, known this...I hate him Max."
She reached up to wipe away a tear that had slipped down her cheek.
"I just think...I wish that he never existed. For you, for your family..."
"Hey," he said, lifting her chin.
"Come here," he said, pulling her into his arms.
"None of that matters anymore," he said, kissing her forehead.
"He's gone, and he's never going to hurt anyone again. I can't wish that he never existed, because if he didn't, then you wouldn't either," he whispered. "This...you, makes all of it worth it. Don't you know that?"
"I love you," she whispered, kissing his neck.
"We were fated, Liz. I believe that now. My mother set a course of events in motion that brought us together. All of it, all of what we went through led to this moment, to us, to loving you. I would never wish that away," he said. "Never."
"I wouldn't either," she said softly.
"I love you, Max," she said, and he smiled, taking her into his arms once more.
"And I love you," he whispered, his lips capturing hers.
She pulled away suddenly.
"Oh Max, I never wore the dress you went to so much trouble for," she said.
He laughed out loud.
"Where did that come from?" he asked.
"I know you went to a lot of trouble," she protested.
"Liz Parker, if I have my way, you won't be wearing that dress for a long time to come," he said, rolling her onto her back.
Call it fate, destiny, whatever you will.
Their love was born from the kindness of a stranger, bringing the separate paths of two families full circle, healing all of them, finally.
Epilogue
The wedding was on a Sunday, on that very same beach where Max had been shot as a boy. Liz worried at the memories it held for Max, but he was insistent. He wanted a new memory to be made there, a wonderful memory that would replace the nightmare his family had endured there. Even Michael had agreed, despite the fact that Ed had been killed on that very same beach.
It was time to put it behind them.
The sun shone brightly, and a light breeze blew across the beach as Nancy and Maria walked arm in arm with Liz, giving their blessing and the dearest person in their lives to Max Evans.
She wore a simple white dress.
Her feet were bare, flowers woven into her shining hair.
That day was a miracle. Nancy was uncharacteristically lucid, bringing tears to Liz’s eyes.
"He'll take care of you, just like you took care of me," Nancy had said, with tears in her eyes.
Isabel stood between Phillip and Alex, her hand on her swollen belly, a new life almost ready to greet the world.
Liz smiled at her soon to be sister-in law, wondering how she'd ever gotten so lucky to join this family.
She could feel Max in her heart. It had become so familiar to her, reassuring, part of her that she could never again be without.
There was no hesitation, no second thoughts, only the joy that she would be his not only in heart, but in name.
Her heart sang as she walked toward him, meeting his golden eyes, their unspoken bond shining between them.
Nancy kissed her daughter and moved to stand beside Phillip. Maria hugged her life-long friend with tears in her eyes before moving to stand beside Michael and Amy.
There had never been any confrontation over their deception of Max and Liz. It was enough for the family that they were happy.
Max followed her gaze, smiling. She felt his gladness that his closest friend had finally found a home for his heart, someone to call his finally, after all these years alone.
And Liz echoed that sentiment for Maria.
He turned toward her once again, and Liz smiled at her beloved, her soul-mate and took his hand, ready to face whatever the world threw at them.
For she felt for the first time that her life was full, that as long as this close-knit group had each other, as long as she and Max belonged to each other, that they could conquer anything.
The healing was complete.
END
The wedding was on a Sunday, on that very same beach where Max had been shot as a boy. Liz worried at the memories it held for Max, but he was insistent. He wanted a new memory to be made there, a wonderful memory that would replace the nightmare his family had endured there. Even Michael had agreed, despite the fact that Ed had been killed on that very same beach.
It was time to put it behind them.
The sun shone brightly, and a light breeze blew across the beach as Nancy and Maria walked arm in arm with Liz, giving their blessing and the dearest person in their lives to Max Evans.
She wore a simple white dress.
Her feet were bare, flowers woven into her shining hair.
That day was a miracle. Nancy was uncharacteristically lucid, bringing tears to Liz’s eyes.
"He'll take care of you, just like you took care of me," Nancy had said, with tears in her eyes.
Isabel stood between Phillip and Alex, her hand on her swollen belly, a new life almost ready to greet the world.
Liz smiled at her soon to be sister-in law, wondering how she'd ever gotten so lucky to join this family.
She could feel Max in her heart. It had become so familiar to her, reassuring, part of her that she could never again be without.
There was no hesitation, no second thoughts, only the joy that she would be his not only in heart, but in name.
Her heart sang as she walked toward him, meeting his golden eyes, their unspoken bond shining between them.
Nancy kissed her daughter and moved to stand beside Phillip. Maria hugged her life-long friend with tears in her eyes before moving to stand beside Michael and Amy.
There had never been any confrontation over their deception of Max and Liz. It was enough for the family that they were happy.
Max followed her gaze, smiling. She felt his gladness that his closest friend had finally found a home for his heart, someone to call his finally, after all these years alone.
And Liz echoed that sentiment for Maria.
He turned toward her once again, and Liz smiled at her beloved, her soul-mate and took his hand, ready to face whatever the world threw at them.
For she felt for the first time that her life was full, that as long as this close-knit group had each other, as long as she and Max belonged to each other, that they could conquer anything.
The healing was complete.
END