Title: Moon Madness
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Nick and Mandy
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the computer for which this was written
A/N: No flames please-fan fiction is for fun
A dire economy wreaked havoc on Las Vegas. Fewer tourists meant fewer jobs which equaled desperation, and desperation for some leads to murder. In the past few months, LVPD had seen an increase in murder-suicides with the suicide being the unemployed head of the household, dad or mom, and the victims being kids.
Not to mention, there had been a murder making headlines around the country of a lovely couple who adopted disabled kids. While it didn't happen in their jurisdiction, Nick and Mandy had found the story rather distressing.
The recession also brought out the worst in management. Ecklie, for example, who was normally a miser, could easily be dubbed Scrooge at this point. By Christmas that title easily could change to Grinch, and Nick often felt a lovely shade of green suited the curmudgeon Under Sheriff.
Ecklie refused to hire another person on their team after Riley left, and in fact had started cutting back on lab staff, which was a short-sighted decision as the longer it took for them to solve a crime, the more money it could add up to in the end, so why not have more staff to hurry up the process?
As these thoughts ran circles in his head, Nick's hands gripped the steering wheel as he drove up the highway to a cottage owned by Langston. Mandy went with him after much encouraging as she was not in a vacation frame of mind after Ecklie cut some on-call staff, one part-timer and one full-timer, someone directly below Mandy in the ranks. Although she missed the line of fire, Mandy was left with survivor's guilt as the laid off worker was a single mom with three kids to feed.
Through his peripheral vision Nick could see her leaning against the window, one finger circling on the pane aimlessly. He leaned over and rubbed her knee, urging her to cheer up. She smiled back and squeezed his hand and told him she would try for his sake.
This vacation was warranted for both of them. He was feeling overwhelmed with the responsibility of overlooking the team when Catherine had to take some personal time while going with Lindsay to check out colleges. Juggling meetings with Ecklie and paper work, justifying expenses had gotten to him, and as soon as Catherine was back he was on leave. Four days off and he convinced Mandy to do also in spite of the suspicious hackles it might raise.
"So where is the cabin you told me about?" she asked blandly.
"Just north of Lake Mead," Nick said and continued on as the sun looked as if it were ready to bid a fond farewell. It was Friday evening and he'd just finished arguing with Sara over her findings. She was far too ready to interpret the evidence in a direction that would see itself being knocked out of the park by the perpetrator's defense lawyer. There was often combativeness between Sara's logic and Nick's hunch. Sometimes he won, other times she won.
However, at the gas station he received a text from Sara saying the DA won and the guy was found guilty. Said text ended with a gleeful smiley face. He'd have a word about it with her when he got back. Just because Ecklie asked her to return didn't mean she had run of the team. Of course, being Grissom's forensic muse, she often thought she did.
Nick didn't mean to be resentful toward his friend, but he did acknowledge to her before he left that he was resentful of her not telling him of her relationship with Grissom. Sara had raised an eyebrow and smiled crookedly, telling him, "I understand, Nick, but when are you going to let me on your big secret about dating you-know-who in the lab?"
"You-know-who? Hodges?" Nick flashed a mischievous grin her way. "Dang, that guy can't keep his mouth shut."
He pivoted and left the office with a chuckle, leaving Sara looking miffed.
xxXXxx
Mandy was dozing when he hit a gravel road just off the highway. For a moment there he wondered if he'd read Langston's directions wrong.
When Nick was pondering his decision to go away for a long weekend, Langston had offered his cabin citing he could see the print tech was stressed and Nick was doing no better.
Before he left, Nick asked how Langston knew he was dating Mandy. Langston cited body language as the evidence, not to mention the well-oiled rumour wheel.
Nothing was secret in that Lab.
xxXXxx
Finally, the pointy roof of a log cabin appeared before them through some trees. As Nick got closer, he was pleasantly surprised. It was small, for sure, but very cozy looking on the outside. A bird feeder built to the spitting image of the cabin was just adjacent to it.
"Wow." Mandy had awoken and was stretching in her seat, her denim capris riding up under her indigo blue tank top. "Better than I thought." She beamed over at Nick who eyed her quizzically and she explained, "When you said cabin, I thought some dank, smelly place, but this is nice."
Nick sighed with relief. He wouldn't have to contend with a cranky tech for the weekend, complaining about a dingy cabin. Lord knows, Mandy had been a real b with an itch as of late and while he was a pretty understanding guy, he had his limits.
Sliding on his shades, he got out of the truck and stretched his legs and arms while Mandy got their bags out of the back seat. She had brought four; he'd brought two.
"Gees, woman!" Nick teased. "You brought enough stuff to last a month."
"I just want to be prepared," she quipped as she picked up two of them and began to saunter toward the cabin.
"For what?!" Nick shook his head. "A tsunami?! In Vegas?!"
"Anything's possible these days."
"I think your geography is off."
Mandy giggled as she walked up the steps onto the deck where Mukoka chairs laid.
xxXXxx
It was tiny, perfect for one man. The kitchen was separated by a bar, but had all the basics including a stove, toaster oven, microwave, grill, and dishwasher. There was a TV, but no cable, just a DVD player and a VCR in a sparsely decorated living room with a chocolate brown leather love seat and couch. There were, however, shelves and shelves of books and books on the coffee table. An electric fireplace finished the room, and while it was indeed barren, it was cozy.
"Well, we know what Ray likes to do on his time off," Nick commented as he looked around.
"That looks promising." Mandy smiled at him as she approached a door and tentatively opened it. "Aww…the bedroom." She turned and smiled and gestured for him to bring all the bags in.
The bedroom was tiny compared to the living room, but it could have been due to the king sized bed with a wooden frame and the framed painting of an orchid overhead. A small night table with a reading lamp provided the only electrical light in the room. It was the bay window which overlooked the nearby lake that provided the light source, therefore no man-made device was needed.
"What a view!" exclaimed Mandy as she looked out the window. A full moon was rising, it's glow haunting the sky.
"Kind of spooky," Nick commented. "I mean, serial killers tend to come out at night when there's a moon. Grissom called it 'moon madness'."
Mandy turned with a contorted face exhibiting annoyance. "Gees, talk about ruining a potential romantic moment, dude."
"What?!" Nick laughed as he set the bags down. "That's what Grissom said."
"If Grissom jumped into the Arctic Ocean, would you jump in after him?"
"Hmm," Nick pondered the thought. "All depends on how good a swimmer he is."
"Oh for crying out loud." Mandy walked over and lifted a cream-coloured, leather suitcase onto the bed and clicked it open. She began to lift out college sweatshirts, sweatpants, jeans, and a strappy dress, and hang them all in the closet where Ray had posted a sign for them.
Nick lifted his gym bag (which Mandy had sprayed with Febreeze) and took out his faithful jeans, t-shirts, and sweatshirts. His attention was taken by a book on the side table. Sitting down on the bed, he read the title out loud, "How the Moon Affects - A Compelling and Controversial Book On the Moon's Awesome Power To Affect Your Emotions and The Way You Live."
Sitting down next to him, Mandy took the book and scrunched her face. "Weird. Interesting…but weird."
"Weird is the idea of Langston reading this kind of crap," Nick said. "I mean it's all folklore…moon madness and shit like that."
"You think so?" The print tech smiled behind her glasses.
"Yeah, there's no scientific evidence linking a full moon to an increase in crime."
"Maybe the right study hasn't been done." Mandy lowered her eyes and raised an eyebrow in her best imitation of Grissom. "Every folklore has a grain of truth."
"He didn't say that about folklore. He said that about urban legends."
"What's the difference?" Mandy asked handing back the book. "Urban legends are nothing more than modern day folklore."
"Whatever!" Nick was tired from driving, hungry, and just wanted to crawl into the sack.
"Don't whatever me, Stokes!" Mandy snarked. "Don't you realize that we are eighty per cent water? Just like the earth is eighty per cent water!"
"Wrong!" Nick said. "Eighty per cent of the earth's surface is made up of water and it has no bearing on the moon's gravitational pull!" He waggled his eyebrows at her. "Furthermore, Mandy dandy, the moon only affects unbounded bodies of water, while the water in the human body is bounded!" He folded his arms. "There is no way in hell the moon has any affect on our bounded water system."
Mandy glared at him and then went to the other side of the bed and began to remove her glasses and put in her contacts. "I think I'll go for a walk and enjoy the full moon's gravitational pull on the lake."
"You're going for a walk in the dark?" Nick asked incredulously.
"What?" Mandy said. "You said moon madness was folklore."
Nick stared at her, a comeback escaping him.
"I mean…you can come with me."
"You're not going anywhere in this dark."
"What are you scared of Nick?" Mandy teased as her eyes gleamed. "Werewolves? Vampires? Edward Cullen? Voldemort?!"
"Oh, very funny Mandy!" Nick responded. "Let's go for a walk."
Mandy smiled back at him. "You know, I was a lot like Hermione when I was a little girl."
"Why am I not surprised?" Nick griped.
Smirking once more, she quipped, "I think for Halloween I should dress up as Hermione and you can dress up as Ron Weasley."
"I don't have red hair, darling," Nick reminded her. "I could, however, put some glasses on, draw a scar on my head, and be a perfect Harry Potter."
"Or Voldemort." Mandy was fighting back a flood of giggles but was unsuccessful.
Nick blinked and cleared his throat. "Let's go, Miss Mandy."
"You can grab my hand if you get scared, Nicky." Her teasing knew no boundaries.
xxXXxx
Crickets chirped a merry tune as the lake shone in the full moon. It was unusually large, dominating the celestial sky with its haunting, white glow.
Joining the cacophony of cheeps was slaps and groans from the couple situated by the lake. A groan…a slapping sound…then another moan with a slap, then a gasp, and then a slap.
"Damn! Damn! Oh God!"
"You okay?!"
"Yeah," Nick gasped.
Wiping a sweaty brow, Mandy asked, "Would you like some bug spray?" She set her purse down and brought out a small, no name brand. Brand names be damned in this economy, and she was indeed a frugal girl.
Nick shot an annoyed look her way and then started spraying his half-eaten arms. "Why didn't you give me that before I left?"
"Sorry, I must have forgotten, must the bounded water in my brain!" Mandy giggled.
"You're a real prankster, Webster," he mumbled taking the spray and dousing his arm, the irritating scent scratching at his nose.
"And you're a drama queen!" she said, disappointed that this walk had not yielded any carnal desires on their part. Nick was too busy getting physical with the mosquitoes.
"I am not!" he protested.
"Good God, you're carrying on as if you were giving birth to a cow!" Mandy started back toward the cabin. "Let's go and put some anti-itch lotion on you before you die."
"Hey! I was almost eaten alive by fire ants." Nick mumbled.
Mandy looked empathetic for a second and then concluded, "Then these mosquito bites should be a walk in the park for you."
Their leisurely walk by the lake had been a dismal failure. Nick could see sense they were both on edge, stressed to the brink. He watched as Mandy walked onward up to the sliding glass doors that led to the dining room.
Neither had talked much, and until the insects started their buffet on him he had some rather lustful thoughts on his mind, wanting to act them out by the tree or near the lake. Their sex life had been nonexistent as of late. Usually, one would arrive home to find the other in a deep slumber and to awaken would be to risk one's life.
xxXXxx
Mandy opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of Coors, handing it to Nick even before he asked for one, and then took one for herself.
"Thanks," he said and then their eyes met.
"I'm sorry." Mandy said it first.
"Nothing to be sorry for, Mandy, we're both stressed." He leaned on the counter with a palm.
"I…" She ran a hand through her dark tresses. "…feel really, really bad for Veronica." She took a gulp. "I mean, here I am…I'm not married. I don't have kids to support, and yet I still have my job and she's…going to be collecting food stamps or moving back with her mother in Dallas and collecting government cheques."
Nick rubbed her back and smiled. "No, she won't."
"Yeah, she will."
"I'm very sure she won't. Well, she will have to live with her mom, but she won't be collecting government cheques."
Mandy looked at him quizzically. "How do you know?"
Gulping back some beer, he set the bottle on the counter and placed both hands on her shoulders. "Because I was talking to her before she left. I didn't know she was from Dallas originally. Anyway, I put a call in to some old friends at the crime lab there and they had a spot for her. Better pay, I might add. She texted me before we left and told me she got the job."
A look of relief and joy spread across Mandy's face as she jumped up and hugged him, smattering his face with kisses.
"Dude, you are the sweetest, kindest, most generous guy I ever, ever knew!"
Nick held her tightly and returned with a deep kiss that took her breath away. When they finally broke away, he added, "Remember you said that when I forget to wash the dishes."
"Who cares?" She leaned up and kissed him again, he welcomed them like a man lost in the desert finding an oasis. Now he realized how long it had been, his body responding urgently as he pulled her tighter to him. He'd take her right her in the kitchen, fast and furious and then onto the bedroom.
Their mouths tangoed in a frenzy. Mandy slid her hands up under his shirt and massaged his back, mumbling between kisses, "You're still tense."
"As are you." He silenced her with a smoldering kiss, his arms locked around her waist, unwilling to release her. Now that he had her, Nick wasn't about to let her go. Heat generated between them, kindling a hungering need. He stroked her back under the tank top, feeling goose bumps emerge.
Their kisses became more urgent as primal urges beckoned them. Nick brought the other hand up under her shirt but she stopped him with a hoarse whisper, "Let's take this into the bedroom."
A bit disappointed his kitchen plans were dished, Nick didn't argue and soon backed her into the bedroom.
xxXXxx
"I wanna try something different." Mandy closed the door behind them, her eyes filled with longing.
Nick eyed her cautiously. "What?"
"Just something different," she said coyly as she walked over to the corner of the bedroom, picked up a red, leather, wing back chair. She carried it over to the side of the bed and planted it there.
"Have a seat, Nick." She petted the chair.
Nick walked over wondering what in the world Miss Mandy had in mind, this night wasn't going to go as he planned, but maybe she had better plans. He'd wait.
As soon he sat down, she strolled over to the enormous bed and sat in the middle of it.
"Have you ever been a voyeur, Nick?" She leaned back on her palms.
Nick ducked his heady shyly while clasping his hands in front his face with a shy smile. "No ma'am, can't say I have been."
"Hmm." Mandy sat up and slid off her glasses. She laid them on the side table on top of the book they were looking at earlier and then faced him with these instructions. "I'm going to give you a show, Nick, and you are to sit there and watch. I'll tell you when I'm ready for you. Am I clear?" Her voice was low and dangerous as she leaned over and turned off the lamp
Eyes wide, Nick found his voice had gone AWOL, so he merely nodded then leaned back, his hands gripping the arms of the chair.
With a sigh, Mandy placed her fingertips on the bottom of her shirt and lifted it over her head, revealing a pink, sheer bra. She tossed the shirt to an unknown corner and reached behind her back. A tiny smile formed on her full lips as she unclasped the bra and slid it down her arms and away it flew.
Nick ran a tongue across his lips as he watched her turn around and lay on her back. She lifted her ass off the bed and slid off the capris, kicking them away.
Still in her matching pink panties, she turned her head on the pillow and gauged his reaction while grasping her breasts and massaging them with her hands. Her hands closed around the soft flesh, squeezed and released, squeezed and released, before drawing them together, only to push them apart.
Nick swallowed hard and leaned back, his anticipation on high alert.
Her rosy nipples puckered as Mandy's deft fingers rolled, pulled, and tweaked them roughly while her brown eyes took on a dreamy look. Almost as if by magic, her breasts seem to swell before Nick's very own eyes causing stirrings deep within his own loins, but he held fast as he promised her he wouldn't leave the chair until she said so.
This promise was soon proving hard to fulfill as he watched one hand slide down and dive into her panties. Running a hand down his clammy face, his eyes were transfixed by the sight of the hand moving around under the silky material. His gaze shifted to Mandy's cherub face and soon he ached with longing as he watched her cheeks flush with desire, while her eyes closed and her mouth opened, forming into a letter O.
Fidgeting in the chair, Nick bit down on his bottom lip while his fingers dug into the leather, unconcerned about damage. Moonbeams lit Mandy's voluptuous body, illuminating her skin in a heavenly glow. His breathing became shallow, and his heart started a marathon as the sight.
Christ! Nick ran a hand over his face and shifted uncomfortably in the chair. Mind over matter was a rule he always managed to adhere to, but unfortunately matter - his body, that is - was screaming at him to ravage the creature on the bed writhing in self-induced ecstasy.
No, that was his job! Dammit. Arousing the woman he loved was his job! He leaned forward, his feet sliding on the hardwood floor. Eyes fixed on the scene played out for him.
Mandy stopped momentarily, opened her eyes, and for a brief second Nick thought, or more hoped, Mandy was going to give the word and he could join her and they both could find release in conjugal fashion. Instead, however, she lifted her legs, latched her thumbs into the sides of her underwear, and slid them off, kicking them away. Like a bull behind a gate, he waited for the bid. There was none. Damn her!
Bending her knees, she planted her feet on the bed, slid her legs open, and dove her fingers back into her sex. She closed her eyes, her chest rising and falling as she pleasured herself. Nick could visualize the actions in his mind, and the ache in his pants became far too much to bear. All 650 plus of his muscles (or more so in his case, but the average human body had about 656) worked to control his libido which was poking clearly through his pants.
"Jesus," he rasped while shifting in his seat. "Jesus, girl! How long are you going to make me wait?" His heart thumped with the effort it took to contain himself.
She didn't answer, her legs were swaying from side to side as she whimpered softly, eyes closed, as both hands were now inside her, the muscles in her supple thighs tightening as she reached a fevered pitch. Dammit, Nick wanted to jump into and take over, because he knew every button to push on her after hours and hours of 'research'.
But he kept his word, although there were no rules about relieving himself of the ache, so he took matters into his own hands, literally, undoing his belt, unzipping, and diving in.
As he followed suit, frantically stroking his swollen, purple cock, he opened his eyes and found Mandy had stopped and was staring him lustfully. With a smile she whispered, "I want you."
He didn't need any more encouraging as he made short order of his clothes and climbed into the bed, crawling like a hungry wolf toward her, feeling a surge of triumph as he watched her rise up on her elbows, eyes widening nervously. She brought him to the edge and there were going to be serious repercussions for such, but in spite of her anxiousness, her eyes were black with lust. But she still had the friggin' nerve to tease as she sat up and crawled backwards.
Hell no! There'd be none of that! Nick stopped and sat up on his knees, grabbed her by the legs and dragged her toward him. A delighted squeal emerged from her lips as she came to face to face with him, arms entwining of their own volition around his neck and lifted her herself up, while his hands grasped her ass. Their eyes focused on another for moment, their breathing raspy with lust. With a feral mewl and a twinkle in her eye, Mandy slid down onto his rock hard cock and began to rock. Slowly, then fast almost triumphantly, a lust-filled grin on her face before she closed her eyes and arched her neck. He pressed her closely and sucked the soft skin on her exposed skin, letting her know she hadn't exactly won. And this position wasn't going to do, he needed to feel her body inside and out. He laid her flat on her back as he cloaked, her arms hooked around his shoulder blades as her legs wrapped around his waist, a toe stroking his ass.
Nick couldn't deny it, though. Her little performance had ignited him, and as their bodies fused, groans expelled from both of them as they made love fast and furious as he'd planned for the kitchen and by the tree outside, but so be it here in the bedroom Mandy's hips were soon meeting his as her face buried into his shoulder, the sound of her rapid breathing fueling him, but as she laid her back, he turned his head and planted his mouth on her neck, sucking furiously at the skin till she moaned in pain, the sound driving him to pound her even harder into the mattress.
Her response was immediate. Nick groaned as felt her nails dig into the skin on his back and drag down. The pain was minimal, a minor irritation at best.
Clouds had covered the moon, cloaking the room partially into darkness, but they barely discerned the outside world as their own clouded in a fog of heated, long dormant, passion. Finally, explosions rippled through Nick as he became lost in the sensations, barely cognitive of Mandy's own climax had she not cried out his name along with some deities. As the last of release dwindled he collapsed onto her body, still shuddering from thunderous orgasm.
As he gathered his wits, he perched himself over Mandy who was staring sideways out the bay window, her cheeks still flushed, her forehead clammy and eyes twinkling. He planted a gentle kiss on her temple to draw her from her reverie.
She blinked and looked up at him. "Moon madness."
Nick squinted his eyes. "Pardon?"
Mandy touched his face with her fingertips. "I think I was hit with moon madness, because up until now I never would have dared to do that in front of you."
"So if we had a half moon or a quarter moon, I wouldn't have had to sit in that chair feeling as if I was gonna blow to the high heavens?" Her took her hand and kissed the digits.
"I think so. Something came over me." Mandy turned her face toward the window again with a faint smile, "I think something came over you too, you were a little vampirish?"
"Is there such a word?" Nick smiled as he glimpsed at the bruise forming on her neck. That would take some explaining at work, "And now if I change my shirt in the locker room, they'll be some eyes on the scratches on my back." He sensed the sting of the injuries.
"Maybe there's some truth to the folklore after all." Mandy turned to face him with one of her trademark crooked grins. "And judging by the few bruises I sense on my neck, I'd say you were hit with some sort of lunacy."
"Lunacy from the word 'lunary' I take it?" Nick asked.
"Yep.."
"I don't know about that," Nick said "But if this is what I'm gonna get from your version of moon madness, I'm all for folklore." With those words he shushed her with a kiss, drawing her close with plans to make love, albeit more tenderly until the moon bid farewell and the sun rose - folklore be damned.