Agent in Training – Brussels Interlude
Amanda saw Lee tip the bellhop ten Belgian francs as he spoke quietly to him in French.
« Merci beaucoup pour votre aide. Ma femme est très fatiguée, donc nous désirons que nous ne soyons pas déranger. »
The young man nodded and beat a deferential retreat. As the door closed, Amanda's quiet observation of their hotel room was halted by Lee's approach, a predatory look on his face. Her eyes darted towards the bed, where most of their luggage was piled.
"It's time to deliver on that promise you made in the plane earlier." he rumbled, dropping his coat on the floor and pulling her purse from her limp hands.
"Promise?" she whispered, wetting her lips and toeing off her shoes.
"Uh huh." His hands were making quick work of the buttons of her blouse, while her own hands had found their way to his biceps of their own volition.
"What is it you think I promised you?" as he unsnapped and unzipped her pants, letting them fall to the ground where she stepped out of them.
"This." And he pushed her backwards towards the far side of the room, his mouth harsh and insistent against her own, his hands gripping her shoulders, then lowering to grasp her under her ass and lift her to sit on the cool surface of the hotel room desk.
"Lee …" she gasped, catching his urgent mood and throwing it back to him, her hands running up and down the length of his back, tongue seeking out his mouth, trying to consume him everywhere their bodies met.
He fought with the clasp of her bra with fumbling hands, finally giving up and simply pulling the cups down so that he could suck on her nipples, loving how she pushed herself hungrily towards the sensation. She lifted one hip and then the other, kicking her underwear down her legs and then wrapping them around his still clothed hips, pulling him towards her.
He reached between her legs and realized she was already very wet, their extended dry spell obviously making her almost as hungry for him as he was for her. He knew there was no way he was going to manage anything more elaborate than a frantic physical connection, so great was his need. The least he could do was ensure she understood.
"Amanda. I can't wait. I'm sor…."
She halted his apology with her lips, and reached down to unzip his pants, reaching through the fly of his boxers and stroking him mercilessly. He bared his teeth, throwing his head back in pleasure at the familiar but foreign touch of her hand. He pulled her hips forward to the very edge of the desk, then dragged her hand away, guiding himself home. Amanda made a sound halfway between a gasp and a sigh of happiness.
Despite the almost overwhelming primal urge to start pumping, he stopped for a moment once he was fully inside her body, looking into her glassy eyes.
"Missed this so much." Seeing her answering smile and nod of agreement, he began to move, immediately taking up a quick rhythm that his body couldn't deny.
There was no way he was going to last more than a few minutes, given that it had been more than three weeks since the last time they'd made love, and that she'd teased him to unresolved arousal in the plane earlier. Their position made it impossible for him to stimulate her with his fingers, so he focused on the other parts of her body that he knew were exceptionally sensitive. The dip of her back, just above her ass. The skin on the sides of her breasts. Her earlobes. He used every weapon in his considerable arsenal to urge her towards release, but eventually his own need was too great and he simply couldn't stop himself as he lifted her by the hips and pulled her towards him roughly once, twice, three times and then a long "ahhhhfuck" as he came without her.
He leaned his forehead against her shoulder, gasping for breath. "Sorry."
"Don't be. Happy to make good on my promise." she smiled, kissing his neck gently.
"Give me a sec, and I'll see what I can do about some reciprocity."
"I've got a better idea. How about we both get properly undressed and grab a shower. I don't know about you, but I'll feel a lot more human once I wash nine hours of stale airplane air off my skin. And then we can see what you can do about some reciprocity …."
Helping her down from the desk, he indicated "You go ahead and get started. I'll be right there."
Wandering into the bathroom, Amanda stopped short, a huge smile materializing.
"Lee, you've got to see this!"
"Amanda, that was me just a minute or two ago. There isn't much I haven't already seen." he teased.
"Not that. This!" she pointed to the massive shower stall, complete with dual shower heads, as he entered the bathroom behind her, mostly naked and carrying his dop kit and her toiletry bag. "I thought European showers were all tiny?" she asked.
"Apparently this hotel didn't get the memo. They even included a bench. How thoughtful." he smirked at her, managing to look seductive, even as he pulled off his socks.
She shuddered in anticipation, knowing full well what that look meant. His always active mind had already devised a plan to even the proverbial score.
Under the dual streams of cascading water, Amanda drew back her head and let the steam and rivulets wash away the invisible layers of travel grime. Lee made quick work of cleaning his lean body, before turning his attention to hers. His soapy hands were everywhere, lifting each of her feet gently, running up and down her legs, over her ass, drawing patterns on her back and chest and arms. The acute desire that had reluctantly retreated after their interlude on the desk was back with a vengeance and she pulled his head down towards hers for an open-mouthed kiss, trying to tell him in a silent language she knew he understood how badly she needed him.
"We've got to get you clean, Amanda." he stated suggestively, before unhooking the handheld shower nozzle from its cradle. Starting with her shoulders, he moved the pulsing spray over her body, never letting it linger on any one spot for more than a few seconds. His other hand held her steady by the arm, as her legs were already starting to shake. Slowly, deliberately, he focused the spray, first on her nipples, which were tightened into peaks, despite the hot water, then lower down her belly.
"Lee, please." she begged, when she couldn't stand his teasing avoidance any longer.
"Your turn?" he smiled.
"My turn."
He held the handset a few inches from her body, making certain the flow hit her only obliquely, knowing how stimulated she would be by now. She immediately moaned and shifted her legs apart, pushing against the invisible pressure of the water. He wrapped his free arm around her back, holding her firmly as her legs started to tremble. She found his mouth briefly before breaking away again, needing air more than his kiss.
"That's it. Just let go. I've got you. Let go." he whispered near her ear and she started to moan and quiver in his grasp. Her legs finally gave way, and he lowered her slowly to the shower bench, dropping the shower nozzle and kneeling in front of her and looking her in the eyes as she managed to refocus on his face.
"Good?" he smirked.
She laughed an incredulous laugh. "Good isn't even in the same dictionary, Lee."
He nodded, satisfied that he had made up for his earlier haste, and then stood to turn off the water and grabbed two thick bath towels from the rack. He wrapped his around his waist while Amanda used hers to start drying her hair.
"I'm just going to shave, while I'm here." he motioned towards the vanity.
He watched as Amanda began finger combing her hair, knowing that it would dry into the loose curls that he loved. Women were fascinating creatures, as far as Lee was concerned. They had secret bathroom rituals, and he felt like an anthropologist as he observed her reflection quietly in the mirror. She caught his glance and smiled. "I'll be out of your way in a second."
"No rush. My five o'clock shadow isn't going anywhere."
"I rather like the five o'clock shadow, but not the stubble rash that comes with it. Makes you look dangerous." she grinned.
"I am dangerous." he growled, making his secret agent face.
"The best kind of dangerous." She turned to place a light kiss on his lips, planning to vacate the vanity so that he could get on with his business, but upon contact, the glowing ember of want that was always there between them flared to life again, and he immediately deepened the kiss, running his tongue along her lips. Before either of them knew what was happening, both their towels were on the floor and they were wild in each other's arms again, eager to make up for all the lost opportunities of the past few weeks.
"Turn around and face the mirror." Lee instructed when he was certain he couldn't make it another minute without being inside of her again.
Doing as she was bid, Amanda watched his reflection as he pushed her shoulders downward so that she was braced over the sink, and drew his hands down her back to her hips before grasping himself and rubbing against her slick entrance, causing her to hiss and push backwards until he slid into her. The look of carnal bliss on his face as he did so caused her to clench around him, and he moaned and started to move slowly, trying to prolong the ecstasy. Their eyes locked in the mirror as he moved within her, building his pace no faster than was necessary to avoid frustration, determined that she would come first this time. Still, he knew her body so well by now that he recognized that her orgasm in the shower would leave her over-stimulated and that the position they were in did not help his cause. Fortunately, he also understood that Amanda's most sensitive erogenous zone was located directly between her two ears. He raised his left hand to his mouth, letting her see him wetting his fingers before reaching between her legs and seeking her out.
"Is that what you want?" She moaned a low "yes" in response.
"Does it feel like my mouth? Like my tongue?" he purred as he continue to thrust rhythmically.
"God, Lee. Yes. Don't stop. I need to come. So good. Don't stop. Yesssssssss."
He watched the play of emotions over her face as she came. Hunger. Desperation. Panic. And then something that didn't have a name in any language that he knew, but which set off his own climax like an echoing cannon shot.
He pulled away from her reluctantly, conscious of the physically vulnerable position in which she had placed herself in the name of their mutual pleasure. He bent and retrieved her towel from the floor, handing it to her with a cheeky smile. "Better cover up before I decide to risk a fourth round." He gave her a quick kiss on her nose.
"The Agency's short term disability policy doesn't cover injuries sustained outside of work hours. Better hand me that robe instead, just to be safe."
Finished with shaving and brushing his teeth, Lee donned the second fluffy terry bath robe from the coat hook, thinking that they may have checked into the only hotel in Europe that had American-style amenities. He walked into the bedroom, intending to share that insight with Amanda, but stopped the words on his lips when he saw her curled up on her side in the bed, luggage stacked tidily against one wall, her damp hair spread out across the pillow. He smiled, dimmed all the lights except one, crawled into bed beside her and gently kissed the side of her neck.
Amanda woke later, disoriented. She recognized Lee's deep, regular breathing and relaxed slightly. The hotel's soft terry robe was twisted around her waist, and she struggled to right it without waking him. The alarm clock on the nightstand read 3:50, but she had no idea if it was night or day. Jetlag. One thing was for certain, they'd missed at least a couple meals, and she was famished. She padded to the window and drew back the corner of the thick drapes to let in the watery northern European springtime sun. That answered that question. Next, she found the room service menu and ordered something for them to eat, speaking as quietly as she could into the phone so as not to wake Lee.
He was, however, an incredibly light sleeper, and he was stirring as she returned to bed.
"Good morning." His sleep-roughened voice made her insides quiver, and she ran a hand through his hair, just because.
"Good afternoon, actually. We've slept the whole day away. It's true what they say about the diplomatic lifestyle."
"You mean the part about beautiful women in hotel room bathrobes?" he grinned.
"That too. I just ordered us some room service. Got to keep your strength up." as she brushed a light kiss against his lips.
They lay side by side in bed waiting for their food to arrive, chatting about Lee's previous visits to Brussels and what she might do with her free time over the next three days while he was working. Upon hearing a knock on the door, Amanda ducked into the bathroom while Lee had the porter leave their tray on the bed. They continued to lay on their sides facing each other while they shared a plate of Belgian frites. Amanda caught Lee observing her when he thought she wasn't paying attention.
"What?" she finally asked, curious.
"Nothing."
"No, really Lee. What?"
"I'm just enjoying this. Being here with you, with no place to be for almost another day, eating fries and talking. I miss just talking with you, Amanda."
Amanda dipped a fry into her miniature jar of mayonnaise and fed it to him, smiling sweetly.
"I miss that too. Amongst other things …" she eyed the planes of his chest, exposed above the gaping robe.
"Mmmmmm. I would have thought you were almost caught up on other things, after this morning …." he rumbled.
"Not exactly. I mean … three weeks is a looooong time to go without."
"But surely you …. erm … you know …"
"What? Oh. You mean …." she blushed, looking at him sideways through her hair. "No. If I'd had the time or the energy for that, I'd have invited you to join me. Are you saying that you ….?"
It was Lee's turn to blush. It wasn't so much embarrassment, as a vague feeling that he had cheated on her, with himself. But he was a grown man with a healthy sex drive who happened to work side by side with the object of his desire on a daily basis. When they weren't able to be together, given the choice between self-gratification and taking Amanda on the couch of the Q Bureau where anyone could walk in on them, self-gratification won out. He grinned and nodded.
Amanda rose and moved the room service tray to the desk. Walking back to the bed, something about the look in her eyes made Lee's pulse flutter. Laying back down on her side beside him, she tugged on the belt of his robe until it came loose.
"Show me."
He took a deep breath. On the one hand, her request was incredibly hot. If their roles were reversed, he knew he'd be halfway to finished before she even touched herself. But it was a strangely intimate situation. They'd been lovers for over nine months, and while he'd certainly touched himself in her presence before, it had never been as the means to the end with her simply watching. He tried to remember if he'd ever, and came up blank.
Sex with Amanda was revelatory, in more ways than one. In the past, the few longer term relationships he'd had started out explosively in bed, but eventually grew predictable, at least for him. He had assumed it was just the nature of the trade-off for the comfort and security of a steady presence in one's life. But with Amanda, it was different. Partly because she was sexually adventurous and open, but he suspected the real difference lay with himself. Before, his body had simply been a tool that he used to cause and achieve sexual release. But with her, he could no longer divorce the emotional intimacy of the act from the act itself, and it made every encounter more intense than the last because with time, he only loved her more. With that thought in mind, he drew a deep breath, and let his hand drift down his body.
Amanda balanced her head above her elbow and watched Lee consider her request. She was about to let him off the hook when he closed his eyes and his hand slid down his chest. Her heart hammered in her chest, and it occurred to her she might have been more nervous than he was. She wet her lips.
"Have you thought about me, when you were doing this before?"
He let out an amused puff of air. "Yes. Of course."
"Like what?" she watched his hand in fascination, trying to memorize his actions so that she could mimic them in the future.
"God. Amanda. Anything. Your smile. How you smell when you're turned on. The first time we made love. The last time we made love. What you look like when I make you come. I've got an almost limitless store of fantasies about you." As he spoke, the movements of his hand grew more rapid, and his hips started to lift slightly every time he reached the apex of his stroke.
Without being conscious of it, she had leaned towards him until her head was on his shoulder, her free hand smoothing across his chest and teasing his hardened nipples. Her eyes felt dry, it had been so long since she had blinked.
"Please, Amanda." he begged, and she understood what he wanted. She knelt beside him and pulled his hand away, replacing it with her mouth. He moaned and bucked upwards reflexively, and she pushed down against the crescent of his hip, holding him in place.
"Mmmmm. The real thing is so much better." he bit out, and she hummed her agreement, eliciting another moan.
His hands reached out to try to grab for her waist and she was confused until she realized he was trying to open her robe and pull her over his mouth. She considered refusing, not certain she knew how she would manage to continue to pleasure him once he was in a position to reciprocate. But in the end, she made the only decision she could make. She wasn't sorry.
Laying side by side afterward, still catching their breath, he felt compelled to remark, "That was new."
"Which part?" she laughed.
"Well, all of it, I suppose. But I meant at the end, there."
"It's like I was saying, three weeks is a long time. And we always did make a good team."
The rest of the afternoon and evening they spent propped up against the headboard, still wearing their bathrobes. Lee watched the evening news in French, translating any interesting bits for her. Amanda flipped through the Brussels guidebook she'd bought back in Washington, asking Lee about certain places of interest that caught her attention. It turned out he'd spent more than a month in Brussels on assignment back in 1974, so he knew the town very well. He didn't mention it, but something about the way he spoke about that time led Amanda to understand that he'd been there with Dorothy.
When he had been quiet for a few minutes, she looked over and saw him staring at the duvet, a wistful expression on his face. She reached out and took his hand.
"You can talk about her, you know. I don't mind."
He squeezed her hand in thanks.
"There's not much to say. We were both so young, and very in love in the way that young people always seem to be. She was crazy about Brussels. She was interested in Art Nouveau, and kept dragging me around different neighbourhoods to look at the architecture when we had time off. I, however, wanted to drink beer. Eventually we found an Art Nouveau café with a great beer selection, and we just went there every day when we weren't working." he smiled fondly at the memory, realizing that it was the first time he had thought about Dorothy since her death without any guilt or sadness. Amanda's tidying spree continued. She'd started with his office, moved on to his apartment, and now she was cleaning house inside his heart, letting the air rush in while all the trapped ghosts flew away, leaving him feeling clean and unmarked like a fresh sheet of white paper. He leaned over and kissed her cheek, happier than he could ever remember being.
Even though they weren't particularly tired, they agreed to at least attempt to adjust their body clocks to local time by dimming the lights and dressing for bed around 11pm. Amanda lay her head on his chest, and he played absently with her hair and scratched her upper back through her thin top. Eventually she drifted off and he lay in the dark, listening to her sleep. As they often did during the watching hours, his thoughts turned to the strange series of events that had brought her into his life and then kept her there. That she was his partner, was fortuitous. That she was his friend, was damn lucky. That she was his lover, incredible. But that she was all those things, and that she seemed to love him with the same consuming intensity as he loved her, well, there were only so many winning lottery tickets like that in the universe. It made him feel certain he'd done the right thing, when he'd called in a favour with a friend in the Antwerp Interpol office a month ago and quietly transferred him a small fortune in Swiss francs. He wasn't interested in playing the lottery anymore, and his final gamble would be to ask her if she felt the same way.
He woke from a light sleep some time later to feel her lips on his chest. He looked down and met her limpid gaze, drawing her up so that she lay on top of him. Wordlessly, they kissed and touched, their sleepy, disoriented bodies responding instinctively to each other. Warm hands reached inside of loose clothing, which disappeared as though by magic. He tangled his fingers in her hair and lifted a knee, rolling her underneath him without breaking contact with her lips. Holding her hands above her head on the pillow, he entered her unguided, her hips rising to meet him. Every movement was slow and heavy, like moving underwater, and he inhaled her quiet gasps into his lungs like oxygen. Her hands gripped his tightly as she arched below him, trembling as the sensation struck and held her in its grasp. He rode out the last of her spasms before bending his head to her neck and driving himself to the edge and over. He rolled her back on top of him and held her there, both murmuring soft words of love until they fell back asleep.
THE END