Hi everyone ! This is the translation of my story 'Comme t'es belle'. I owe Urbanmuse a big thanks for her help and corrections ! And I dedicate this chapter to Quille ;)
Enjoy !

The rain was coming down hard over New York City, transforming the large avenues into fast-flowing rivers and creating a heavy curtain which offered some degree of intimacy to the few brave souls who dared to emerge from their shelter. Among those fearlessly putting up a fight against the downpour was Mac Taylor, trying hopelessly to shelter his companion under his umbrella, an arm around her waist to keep her warm against him.

For her part, Jo Danville was cuddled into him, pouting. Despite Mac's best efforts to keep her dry, she was completely drenched, and she was looking forward to reaching his place to dry herself - or, better still - to be dried by Mac. A cheeky smile played on her lips for a short moment, as she stared at his face with a look of mischief. As much as she hated the rain, it did harbor some advantages like being hugged by your lover on the way home from work - and that was only one among quite a few. A shiver ran down her spine when she felt a drop fall right between the collar of her leather coat and the nape of her neck, rolling between her shoulder blades. Mac's hand brought her closer to him and all of a sudden, he ran, guiding her to the entrance of a building which might shelter them for a short moment. Jo stared at him, aghast. They were soaked to the skin. At this point, any shelter was useless. As the only answer to her silent inquiry, Mac tilted his head to the spot they had just left – a large car passed by on the road where they had been walking mere seconds before, creating a wave of muddy water that splashed onto the pavement. Jo wrinkled her nose in a way Mac found irresistible and he kissed the corner of her mouth.

"I hate the rain !" she shouted, trying to make herself heard over the deafening noise of the downpour. He shot her a compassionate smile and tucked a lock of her soaked hair behind her ear.

'"Let's go and warm up at home or we'll catch our death."
Ten minutes later, Mac pushed Jo inside his flat with a hand in the small of her back and closed the front door behind them. She stretched out like a cat and tried to take off her coat which ended up peeling away from her skin with a sucking sound.
'"Yuck, what awful weather ! That's it Mac, you'll never again make me walk to the lab in the morning, even when the sun is shining and the birds are singing."
Mac smiled hearing his beloved complaining about the weather. That morning, indeed, no one could have guessed the city would be flooded by the end of the day. The sun had been shining brightly, and he had wanted to enjoy both the weather and the fact that Jo had woken up early enough to allow them to walk to the lab. He wasn't regretting it yet.
Suddenly, Jo caught a glimpse of herself in the small hallway mirror and she choked back a shout of horror, clasping her hands over her mouth.
"Oh my God, Mac ! I look like a panda!"
Mac burst out laughing, taking off his coat which he hung on the hook in the hallway before wrapping his arms around the middle of his companion who was vainly trying to bring back some volume to her hair while sweeping away traces of her ruined make-up. Obviously, waterproof make-up was not fit to survive a walk under the ocean. He rested his chin on her shoulder and gazed at her reflection in the mirror.
"Pandas are cute."
She looked daggers at him but he simply held her more tightly. He loved to see her natural self without artifice. Eye-shadow and eyeliner, blush, lipstick, high-heeled boots and so much jewelry - all that gave him the impression she was beyond his reach. When he saw her at the lab, she was a dark and sexy woman, a femme fatale, and he wondered what she was doing with a man like him. On the other hand, in the morning, seeing her sound asleep in his bed, with her hair ruffled from their love-making, her face devoid of make-up, and wearing only the sheet in which she had rolled herself up during the night, leaving him at the mercy of the cold… It was only then, when she was simply Jo, his Jo, that he could measure, without make-up or pretense, just how much he loved her. He smiled as he saw her there in his arms, all traces of cosmetics washed from her face, her hair soaked and her clothes glued to her thin frame.
"Mac Taylor, will you please stop making fun of me and let me go change my clothes ?" She asked turning her eyes to the sky.
He turned her to face him, kissed her forehead as lightly as a feather, and let her go.
"I wouldn't want you to get sick. Go find something warm, I'm gonna make some tea." She nodded and went to the bedroom, his gaze following her every move. He would have liked to undress her, on that very spot, to stroke her skin, kiss her here and there, to slip his nose in that tantalizing hollow right between her collar bones, moving higher and higher on her neck to brush his lips right under her ear. She would sigh in contentment and cling to him. He shook his head. She was driving him crazy, but it was not the right time to give in to the passion threatening to consume him with each passing second. She would catch a cold by his own fault if he didn't brush his thoughts aside to make tea and switch on the heat.
When Jo came back into the living room, Mac was waiting for her with a cup of tea, standing to avoid soaking the sofa. When she set her eyes on him, she caught him lost in contemplation with a goofy smile on his lips and his eyes full of tenderness. She took a look at herself and raised an eyebrow.
"Mac, if an old sweater and flannel pajama pants have you so turned on, I'm gonna have to take your temperature." She said with a teasing smile, taking the cup he was handing her. She gave him a peck on the lips and he put a hand on her waist to keep her close to him as he observed her for a short moment.
"This outfit is terribly ravishing. You know, I'd like to see you in it every-time you're here." He answered with a smile.
She bit her lip and he thought he saw her pupils dilate.
"Only if you stay in your birthday suit when you're at my place…" She purred.
He choked back a sharp laugh that threatened to burst into the silence of the apartment and he brought his forehead to Jo's. She was looking at him with curiosity.
"What about Ellie? There are some rules of decorum that she may not let us drop…"
She groaned. "Yeah, what an unworthy mother I am. We can't lock her up in her room when you're around, can we?" She asked pouting.
This statement brought an exasperated smile to Mac's lips and he pressed her against his body, crushing his wet clothes into his companion's fresh ones, which made her jump.
"Mac! You're drenched ! Go dry yourself or you're gonna catch pneumonia!"
And she pushed him with her hand towards the bedroom. He turned to her just before entering the room, and saluted her.
"Yes Ma'am. At your command!"
She sighed. Mac was paying so much attention to her every need, to her every wish, that he often forgot about himself in the process. She sipped her tea, smiling. He was going to drive her mad. What sort of silly idea was it to walk back from work in the rain ? She had spent her day, as the mature and reasonable woman she was, looking forward to the moment she would be able to stroke his torso with her hands, then his back, to grip his shoulders, taking his lips in a full-mouthed kiss. And she still had to wait for them to be both dried and warmed up before they could at last enjoy their intimacy. She stretched. If he wasn't back in three minutes' time, she decided she'd just have to help him change - and that would take much, much more time, she thought as she walked towards the doorway, not caring to wait any longer.