Title: Them's Fighting Words

Rating: Let's just say the African desert isn't the only hot thing around here.

Summary: Rick teaches Evie to fight. It kind of goes according to plan.

Disclaimer: I'd take more blood and guts in the films if it had meant we'd gotten a steamy scene between our favorite couple.


Evie dodged the incoming punch, twisting her torso so that it missed her. She retaliated with a swift hit to the kidney, earning a pained umph from her opponent.

"You're definitely hitting harder," Rick wheezed.

"You promised you'd be fine!"

"I am fine," Rick replied. "I'm just sayin'."

He took a step back and got back into his fighting stance. "Okay. Come at me again."

It had been two months since Hamunaptra and her accidental awakening of a vengeful mummy, and since then things had been a whirlwind. She'd had to help restore the Museum of Antiquities to order, and although she'd been offered the position of curator, she'd been eager to get back into the field. She'd had a taste of adventure, and she couldn't give it up.

Besides, she needed to acquire actual physical evidence if she was ever going to stick it to the Bembridge Scholars.

Jonathan was hesitant about getting back out there, so he'd stayed behind to deliver the Hamunaptra treasures—one piece at a time—to museums as Evie 'found' them, but Rick had insisted on accompanying her. He'd also insisted, on their time off, on teaching her self-defense.

It had actually been going fairly well. The training, that is. The archeological dig had been going splendidly. Oh, there had been that little run-in with the raiders seeking treasure, and the mysterious cat that had followed them around that Rick was convinced was sent from the Egyptian underworld, and she might have accidentally cursed herself with a rather painful set of cramps if that one bit of text on the doorway of the last tomb was to be believed, but really. Everything was going splendidly.

Try telling that to her dear fiancé.

Rick was now insisting that they practice everyday at the hand-to-hand combat. She'd picked up firearms quickly enough—after all, you just had to point and shoot—to the point where Rick asked suspiciously if she'd been holding back on her marksmanship. But the hand-to-hand he wasn't fully satisfied with, and so they kept at it.

Of course, it wasn't as if Rick had any specific training techniques or had even learned combat from someone. His moves had all been picked up as needed, and so his teaching was a little more of trial and error than anything else. She'd managed to learn a lot, though, and their sessions were slowly becoming proper sparring as she came closer to becoming his equal. They were currently in their hotel room, having just wrapped everything up at the dig site.

Rick checked her stance, nodding in satisfaction. "Okay, come at me."

Evelyn gave a roundhouse kick, aiming for the temple, but Rick ducked and caught her ankle, twisting it so that she fell to the ground. She rolled, kicking his legs out from under him, sending him to the ground next to her. From there, things pretty much devolved into tussling as they rolled around trying to pin each other until finally she found herself with her back to the ground, wrists pinned above her head, all solid six feet three inches of him keeping her firmly trapped. Not one to be so easily defeated, Evelyn wriggled, trying to free herself. The first time she'd been pinned (against a wall with her arm twisted behind her) she'd stopped struggling and Rick had corrected her, telling her that she should never, ever stop trying to get free because you never knew when your opponent would let his guard down.

"You should probably give up," Rick teased.

"You're just lucky my knee can't get between your legs," She replied. Unfortunately for her predicament (but luckily for any children they planned on having), her legs were splayed out on either side of Rick's. She arched her body, trying to execute that flipping move Rick had told her about, where the pinned opponent was able to flip their attacker and switch their positions. So far she'd been unsuccessful, and today wasn't looking any different.

As she pushed her hips up, however, Rick's head dropped down. He tried to bite his lip to hide it but she heard the sound anyway—a small, wrecked groan.

"Something wrong, darling?" She asked, pouting her lips just a little.

"Nothing," Rick replied, but his strangled voice gave him away.

Evelyn rolled her hips again, and this time she could feel the tell-tale tent in his pants. She didn't even try to hide the grin she felt spreading across her face.

"Evelyn…" Rick's voice was definitely strained. "If you don't stop–"

"What?" She whispered, her pulse quickening. She loved how easily she could undo him. "You'll take me?" She let her legs fall even further apart and arched upwards, pressing every inch of them together. "You'll ravish me, right here on the floor? Where anyone could walk in?"

Rick groaned earnestly, his mouth against her shoulder causing the vibrations to pass through her body like a wave. She shuddered in response. "Evie, you can't tease a man like that and expect him just to–"

"Ah, but teasing would suggest that I have no intention of following through on my promises," She pointed out, taking his face in her hands so that he could see her expression. "And I have every intention of letting you do exactly what I said."

Her dear older brother would have a conniption if he found out, but this certainly wasn't the first time they'd done this together—although before it had always been in a bed. Rick's body was definitely responding favorably to her words, but there was still a flicker of uncertainty. "Are you sure about this, sweetheart?"

Evelyn nodded. "Well, Mr. O'Connell? Are you going to show a girl a good time or what?"

Rick let out a soft growl that she was certain was involuntary, and next thing she knew his mouth was crashing down onto hers. She moaned, parting her lips at once so that their tongues could tangle, adding heat to the already smoldering flames. He rocked his hips down and she responded in kind, letting out little gasps as they ground against each other. It wasn't enough to send the blaze into an inferno, but it was definitely adding fuel to the fire. One of his large hands tangled in her hair, gently pulling so that their mouths detached and her head tipped back, baring her neck. Rick immediately set about worshipping the skin there, sucking and planting soft kisses (and, at one point, biting gently) until she felt as though her skin were ablaze with flame. He didn't leave a mark anywhere—they'd learned their lesson the first time that had happened—but she knew he'd be less careful once he got to skin that could easily be covered up by clothing. She still had a few hickeys in rather interesting places thanks to a marathon session last week.

With Rick happily occupied with her neck and the bit of chest that her blouse didn't cover (she'd taken to wearing much more liberated and lighter clothing that didn't get in her way on digs), Evelyn managed to worm her hands between them, doing her utmost to undo their pants. Who had invented buttons, anyhow?

Rick managed to push part of her sleeve of her shoulder, which further limited her mobility (as if his attentions weren't distracting enough already, the attractive bastard) but after a bit of wriggling and finger mechanics, she managed to get both of their pants undone. She didn't even bother trying to get the clothing off of them, just rucked his shirt up a little and shoved her underwear to the side. Rick released the piece of skin he was sucking with a soft pop and groaned, and she knew without looking that he was going cross-eyed.

"Evie, you can't just spring that on a guy," He grunted, his hips canting in response to her ministrations.

A little giggle escaped her and he sealed his mouth over hers again. Evelyn smiled into the kiss, carefully aligning herself and guiding him into her. Rick bit her bottom lip as she slowly enveloped him inch by inch, going as slowly as she dared. She could feel his hips trembling with the effort of keeping still. She waited until he was in as far as possible and let her body adjust, willing herself to relax. She'd been sore, to say the least, after the first time but she was quickly learning how to properly relax and accept his length inside of her. When she was ready, she kissed the tip of his nose. It was all the go ahead that Rick needed and he began to slowly thrust, working his way even deeper. The clothes were still kind of getting in the way, preventing all of the skin she wanted from being exposed, but the rough fabrics added another layer of sensation that almost made up for it.

She'd just have to be sure to get them both fully naked later.

A tiny mewling noise escaped from the back of her throat and immediately Rick's mouth was over hers, his tongue delving in as if to snatch the sound and keep it for himself. She'd first thought the gasps and other sounds she made during lovemaking were embarrassing but Rick drank them in like they were water in the Sahara, and she'd soon learned to stop holding them back. She let out a moan and sure enough Rick picked up his pace, slipping a hand around to grip her hip and hike her leg up a littler farther, letting him hit a different angle. Evelyn saw stars.

"This good?" Rick asked, the words coming out low and gasping.

She nodded, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth. 'Good' didn't even begin to describe it. From this new angle it felt like he was hitting every nerve ending in her body at once, everything within her on fire and burning with the power of a thousand suns, the pleasure consuming her from the inside out. Just a minute more, that was all it would take, and then she–

Rick spilled inside of her, like gasoline on a flame, and she was gone. Lost in the fire, burning to ash as the indescribable sensations of pleasure overtook her. It stole the very air from her lungs and made her vision white out, leaving her gasping and writhing beneath her lover.

"You all right there?" Rick asked. His voice sounded rather muffled. Evelyn blinked twice before things started to swim into focus. Oh, but she did feel marvelous. She also realized, belatedly, that Rick's voice was muffled because he was speaking around a mouthful of her shoulder.

"I think I'm a great deal better than 'all right'," She told him, idly running her fingers through his hair. Rick hummed in pleasure as her nails gently scraped against his scalp. She smiled at him, suddenly reminded of a sleepy, contended lion. Speaking of sleep, her limbs did feel rather heavy. They should probably move over to the bed in a short bit. Just after she pet his hair a few more times…

"What the bloody hell!?"

The sound Rick let out was something between animalistic possession and outright shock. The first, she guessed, was the instinctive reaction of a man who's woman has been caught in flagrante delicto and has the urge to claim or protect her (or both). The second was probably because, well, they both knew that voice. Fortunately Evelyn had grown up listening to it make similar exclamations throughout the years and didn't let it faze her.

"Jonathan, just what do you think you're doing here, popping in unannounced? You're supposed to be in Cairo!"

"I was!" Jonathan immediately went on the defensive. "But I had a spot of trouble—not with the Hamunaptra antiquities, don't give me that look—with something else. It might have involved a friendly wager at a local bar… point is, I had to get out of Cairo for a while and I thought why not help my baby sister out on her dig—and just look what you've gotten up to in my absence! O'Connell, I ought to–"

"You ought to do nothing, Jonathan," Evie cut him off. "And you couldn't have sent a telegram?"

"Do you even get telegrams out here?"

"I sent you one two days ago!"

Jonathan frowned thoughtfully. "That's right. You did."

"Now, my dear, darling elder brother—get out of our private hotel room!"

By now Rick had relaxed in the certainty that Evelyn could handle the situation and was muffling his laughter into the crook of her neck.

"But–"

Evelyn sighed. "This isn't the first time it's happened and it won't be the last, Jonathan, so you might as well get used to it. Do be so kind as to close the door on your way out."

"Evie–"

"Now, Jonathan!"

The door shut quickly and there was the sound of hastily retreating footsteps in the hall. The second Jonathan could no longer be heard Rick stopped trying to contain his laughter, his entire body shaking with the force of it.

"Only you," He said, his tone laced with affection, "Could turn that situation around."

"Well, he should have warned us he was coming," Evelyn replied. "And what we get up to in our private quarters is none of his business."

Rick stood, taking her by the hand and pulling her to her feet, wrapping an arm around her waist. "You, Evelyn Carnahan, are something else."

"So I've heard."

"You want to go a second round? See if you can beat me this time?"

Evelyn smiled, stepping back and tugging him along. "You only won because I let you."

"Oh, no." Rick grinned back at her. "You know what they say."

"What?"

"Them's fighting words."

She ran for it but he caught her, hauling her as she put up a show of protest and depositing them both onto the bed. Needless to say, Jonathan saw neither of them until the next morning.


Jonathan tends to insert himself in places he wasn't originally intended to be—including my stories! I hope you enjoyed this little romp!