Damages
"Shit."
Norma clutched the back of her right shoulder where the exposed nail had cut her. In the dim light of the attic she couldn't determine the extent of the damage, but judging by the amount of pain she was in, the wound was deep. She let out an angry sigh, knowing her mission to move the bookcase down to Norman's room before he got home from summer theater would have to wait for another day. She'd hoped to surprise him. Then, as she went to shift the bookcase away from the wall of the attic, she moved back against one of the old beams and pain radiated through her shoulder and down her right arm. She hadn't even seen the nails sticking out until after one cut her.
Surrendering to the pain, Norma went back downstairs, trying to see the cut in the mirror of the upstairs bathroom. She could see the whole cut if she craned her neck, and she came to the realization that she couldn't dress the cut herself. Partly, maybe, but being right-handed was a huge inconvenience at the moment. She could barely touch the cut with her left hand, and moving her right arm stretched the cut to the point of being excruciating. She grabbed a spare towel, wetting it with cold water. She did her best to put pressure on the cut with her left hand, but it was a difficult angle.
She went down to the main floor of the house, getting the first aid kit from the kitchen cabinet. She put it on the kitchen table, knowing that it was as good as useless to her. She stared blankly at the kitchen table for a moment before a memory surfaced; she had once patched someone up at this very table.
An idea struck her, and she went to the front window in the living room, looking down on the motel. The black and white SUV was parked in front of Room 11. It would seem Sheriff Romero wasn't on duty today. Norma quickly realized that she didn't have a way to contact him directly, and with her shirt all bloody she was hardly about to walk all the way down to his room.
She picked up her cell phone, calling the motel.
Emma picked up on the first ring.
"Good morning, Bates Motel, how can I help you?"
"Hi, Emma. It's Norma."
"Hi, Norma. What's up?"
"Can you do me a favor?" Norma tried to keep any strain out of her voice; Emma was much too curious, and would want to know everything that had happened.
"Sure," Emma said in a cheerful tone; she seemed glad to be useful. Norma had been counting on it.
"Can you run down to Room 11 and ask the Sheriff if he can come up to the house? I need his help with something."
Emma paused in confusion.
"You want me to ask Sheriff Romero to go up to the house?"
"Yeah, I just need his help with something. Can you do it right away, please?"
"Uh, sure," Emma said, still a little befuddled. "Yeah, I'll do it right now."
"Thanks, Emma," Norma said, hanging up.
Precisely two minutes and twelve seconds later, there was a loud knock on her front door. Norma knew this because she'd been staring at the clock impatiently, wincing with the effort of trying to keep the towel pressed against the back of her shoulder. She went to the door to let him in.
As the door swung open, she confirmed that it was Alex's day off. He was in dark blue jeans and one of his buttoned down shirts, the cuffs rolled up as per usual.
He looked over her odd posture, and frowned a bit.
"Emma said you needed my help."
"Yeah, I kind of need a favor," Norma said, letting her exhausted and cramping left arm drop back to her side. Alex caught one look at the bloody towel in her hand, and his face grew serious.
"What happened?" he asked, immediately stepping forward into the house. Norma moved aside to let him in.
"I was in the attic, and a nail caught me. I can't really reach it, and it's bleeding a little-"
"More than a little," he commented, glancing again at the towel.
Looking down at it, Norma realized the towel was now more red than white. For a moment, she just stared at it, surprised she was bleeding that much.
"Come on," Alex said, putting one hand lightly on her lower back. "You should be sitting down."
"Yeah," she said, allowing him to lead her into the kitchen.
She sat down at the kitchen table, both amused and grateful that he stood next to her as she sat, as though ready to catch her if she fainted. He even helped her shift the chair closer to the table, so she could rest her arms on top of it. His face showed more concern than she'd seen before.
"I'm all right," she assured him. "I just can't reach the cut, and I figured you've patched up a few wounds in your line of work."
He pulled another of the chairs around next to her, so he could see the back of her shoulder.
"More than a few," he agreed darkly, reaching for the first aid kit.
"Plus, you owe me," she added with a sneaky smile.
He gave her a long-suffering look, and silently shook his head. He took out the bottle of betadine and a couple of gauze pads. Then he looked back to Norma, and noticeably hesitated.
"What?"
He took a deep breath, and let it out.
"I, uh.. This would be easier without your shirt in the way," he said, his voice betraying the level of his discomfort.
Norma was in too much pain to really care about it, and promptly began unbuttoning the blouse. Initially she tried to do it right her right hand, but even the small movement made her shoulder scream, so she used her left. It was slow going, but by the look on Alex's face – and the fact that he was now looking everywhere but at her – he would rather not be asked to assist her with it. She tried to shift the blouse off her shoulder, but couldn't.
"I can't…" she pointed to the stubborn fabric.
He gingerly grasped the sleeve of her shirt, and pulled it off of her arm. She hissed in pain as she bent her arm to free it from the sleeve.
"Sorry," he murmured.
"No, it's not you," she said. "It hurts every time I move my arm."
He swabbed gently at the cut, and got a good look at the damage.
"It's a pretty deep cut," he informed her.
"I am not going to the ER because of a damned nail," she intoned miserably.
"Naah, I think I can handle it. It's borderline for stitches, but if you can promise me you'll keep from using the arm much for a few days, I think it'll be ok."
"I promise," she said with a small smile, looking over her shoulder at him.
He returned the smile, but she could see he didn't entirely believe her.
"I'm going to clean it out," he warned. "This will sting… probably a lot."
"Ok," she said, steeling herself.
She gasped in pain, tears welling in her eyes as Alex cleaned out the gash. She knew he was being as gentle as possible, but it still hurt like hell. After a few seconds, the pain subsided a bit.
"Ok, that part's over," he said softly, placing a comforting hand on her lower back. His hand jerked away an instant later, though, as he realized his hand was resting on her bare skin. He coughed awkwardly, and got right back to business.
He blotted the cut dry, and then picked up the tube of antibiotic cream. She could feel the cool cream as his fingers spread it over the wound.
"So," he began, to cover the uncomfortable silence, "why didn't you have Emma tell me you were hurt? She only said you 'needed my help with something,' nothing else."
Norma's face was covered by her hands, so her reply was muffled a bit.
"Because I didn't want her to worry. Or ask questions," she added with just a touch of annoyance.
"Questions?"
"Emma's a darling," Norma said at once, as if to lighten the rest of her sentence, "but she's… almost invasively curious. She has to know about everything. Everything, and everyone. And if she knows you're keeping something from her, she'll get upset, and stay upset until you tell her all your secrets."
"Huh," Alex muttered. "I hadn't noticed."
"You're the Sheriff. She's not stupid enough to pry when it comes to you."
Alex actually chuckled a bit at that.
"Guess I'll add that to the list of the advantages of being Sheriff: not being interrogated by Emma Decody."
She laughed.
"You don't know how nice it must be, being you," she said sagely. "She can really get under your skin. The next time I see her, she'll ask about this, I guarantee it."
"Ask about what?"
"About you coming up to the house; what I needed you for."
Alex put down the antibiotic cream and picked up a few butterfly bandages.
"What will you tell her?"
"I don't know. I'll have to make up something that doesn't involve me hurt, though. Something less… dramatic."
He chuckled again.
"Tell her you broke your shower curtain, and asked me to help you fix it," he suggested, trying to suppress a grin.
"Oh, yeah, because that's exactly what I want her picturing: us in the shower together," Norma shot back without thinking.
Alex's hands halted their movements, his fingers still against her skin. Norma's brain raced but she couldn't think of anything to say to make her comment any less suggestive. After a long, tense silence, Alex's hands resumed their work.
"A leaking pipe, then," he said, in an oddly low, rough voice.
She nodded immediately.
"Plumbing problem. Ok. Good idea." She would have agreed even if he'd suggested astrophysics lessons.
They fell into an uneasy silence again, this one lasting longer than the first. Again, Alex was the one to rescue them.
"What were you doing in the attic, anyway?"
She huffed a small, frustrated sigh.
"I was moving a bookshelf."
"By yourself?" he asked immediately, sounding unhappy.
"It's not that big, and I was doing fine until I went around to slide the other side out away from the wall. Then this happened," she said, indicating her shoulder.
Alex picked up another few squares of gauze, and the medical tape.
"I'm going to cover the whole thing with gauze, in case it's not done bleeding yet. It'll keep it clean, too, until it closes up."
"Ok."
He cut a few strips of tape, his concentration on the task at hand. But as he affixed the gauze to her shoulder, he found he was still curious.
"So, what did you need the bookshelf for?"
"Oh, it was going to be a surprise for Norman."
"A surprise?"
Norma nodded.
"Yeah. His birthday was a few weeks ago. He turned 18, finally. Emma's Dad gave him a whole set of books on taxidermy, and they won't fit on the little shelf he has in his room now. I was going to move the bigger bookcase in the attic down, and switch them, so he can fit all his books on it."
Unseen, Alex smiled.
"That's thoughtful of you."
"Yeah, right up until this happened," she muttered in an aggrieved tone.
He chuckled.
"Yeah, I guess so. Still, it's a good idea," he said. "I didn't know Norman was into taxidermy. Kind of an odd hobby for a kid his age."
She made a scoffing noise.
"I know, I hate it. And worse, he knows I hate it, but he still puts his projects all around the house. They creep me out, it's like they're watching me."
"Wait a sec. You mean those birds in the living room, and that owl… Norman did those?"
"Yeah. And he's got even more down in the basement. And in his room," she replied.
"He does a really good job," he said, impressed.
She turned to look at him over her newly-bandaged shoulder.
"You are not helping," she informed him, with a half-hearted glare.
He couldn't resist a smile.
"Sorry."
She smiled back, giving up on chastising him.
He nodded at her shoulder.
"Ok, you should be all set, just don't move your arm around very much or you'll open it back up."
"I'll do my best," she offered, standing up.
Her vision swam, and little black dots seemed to fill the room. She reached out a hand to try to grab something for support, and ran right into the solid frame of Alex. He put his arms gently around her, holding her up as she leaned into him.
"Woah," she whispered.
"Yeah, you might have stood up a little too fast," he agreed.
"Mmm," was all she managed in response.
"Think you can walk?"
She looked down at her immobile feet, and the room spun. She leaned harder into Alex.
"Guess not," he said to himself, and in one effortless motion, bent down to throw an arm behind her knees, lifting her easily. She leaned into his chest, giving in to being carried.
"Let's get you upstairs," Alex said, carrying her through the hall, and all the way up to her bedroom. He struggled briefly to pull down the covers of her bed while still holding onto her, but once he figured out how to do it, he set her down on the sheets, pulling off her shoes with one hand while holding her up with the other. He settled her under the blankets, propping one of her pillows under her head.
"You comfortable?" he asked.
"Yeah, mostly. My shoulder hurts no matter what," she said.
He thought for a moment, and then nodded.
"Ok. I'm going to go grab something from my room. You hold tight, ok. I'll be back soon."
She nodded, looking curious, but he didn't stick around to explain. He jogged down the stairs, purposely going around the back of the motel to get to his room, so as to be less visible to Emma, who was presumably still manning the office. He grabbed a bottle of pills from his backroom medicine cabinet, and took the stairs two at a time back up to the house. He detoured into the kitchen to fill a glass of water, taking it with him upstairs.
"Ok," he said, re-entering Norma's bedroom. "These are pain meds. Only take one at a time, ok? No more."
Helping her sit up, he handed her one pill, then the glass of water. Obediently, she took the medicine, and then let him guide her back down onto the pillows.
"It makes you sleepy, so just rest for a while. In a couple of days that bandage will need to be changed, and the cut cleaned. Maybe Norman can help you with it?"
Immediately, Norma shook her head.
"No. No, I don't want him knowing how bad it is. He'll worry so much," she said. "Can't you do it?"
His face displayed a rapid mix of emotions, ranging from fear to desire to something she couldn't name, but that she knew she liked.
He broke eye contact, looking down at the floor. Finally, he nodded.
"Yeah. Yeah, I can."
She smiled weakly, her eyelids growing heaving.
"Thanks, Alex. You're so good to me."
His eyes went straight back to hers, and his oddly strained expression was the last thing she saw as her eyes slid shut.
"Thanks," he said softly.
She murmured something inaudible. He wished he knew what she'd meant to say.
Alex stayed in the room for a couple minutes, but as expected, she fell asleep. The blood loss alone was enough to cause that, and thanks to the pills, he knew she would sleep for a while. Leaving the bottle of pills on the nightstand, he walked over to the window, pulling the heavy curtains closed. He couldn't help but run his fingers over the sheer white curtains underneath, remembering the view he'd had that one night of Norma undressing. The good person in him demanded that he warn Norma about it, while the part of him that wanted her so badly screamed at him for ruining the chance of another show.
He glanced back at Norma; even in the much dimmer light she was still stunning. He shook his head, taking a firm hold of his thoughts. Without another glance at her, he walked out of the room.
He had an idea.
Norma woke that evening to the sound of Norman getting home.
"Hello, Mother," he called from the front hall.
Norma sat up in bed, a bit too fast. Reflexively, she reached up to rub her eyes, but stopped a moment later as a pinch of pain from her shoulder warned against it. As she carefully shifted the blankets off of her, she suddenly became aware that all she was wearing from the waist up was her bra. Her favorite, as a matter of fact; a pale pink number trimmed in matching lace. She heard Norman's footfalls on the stairs, and grabbed the closest shirt she could find, easing her right arm into it. She had just covered her shoulders when Norman popped his head into her room.
"Everything ok?" he asked curiously, watching her button her blouse. She turned away from him, so her back was to him, less to hide her body and more to hide her nearly useless right hand. She pretended to examine her outfit – which now did not quite match – in the mirror with a scrutinizing gaze.
"Yeah, Norman, everything's fine. I had a headache earlier, so I took a little nap," she said, waving it off. "How did the theater stuff go?"
"Good. We had to re-paint a few of the trees that got knocked over, but otherwise it was fine. I should go change, though. I think I got paint on my shirt."
"Ok, honey," she said, finally getting her shirt fully buttoned. She wondered to herself how she was going to cook dinner without revealing her injury.
From down the hall, she heard a jovial shout.
"This is great, mom!"
Brow furrowing, Norma left her bedroom, walking next door to Norman's.
The bookcase she'd been trying to move sat in place of the old one; it was nearly full of Norman's books, carefully organized by subject. Norman stood next to his newly arranged collection with almost bounding enthusiasm.
"This is great," he repeated. "And so good of you. Thanks, Mother." He went over to her and hugged her tightly.
She grimaced in pain as he nearly caught her shoulder in his hug. She backed out of the hug, caressing his cheek with her left hand.
"You're welcome, honey. I'm so glad you like it."
"I do. It's perfect. But how did you manage it?"
"You know me. I can do anything if I want to," she claimed with a wicked smile.
As he grinned at her, she silently reminded herself to thank Alex for this.
"Hey sweetie? What do you say to dinner out tonight? Just you and me?"
He blinked in mild surprise, but smiled all the wider.
"Sure. Sure, Mother. Why not?"
She nodded.
"Ok. I've got a few things to do down in the office, but we'll go to dinner around 7, ok?"
"Sure," Norman said, already turning back around to admire his new bookcase.
"Hi, Norma," Emma said from behind the desk.
"Hey, Emma." Norma made her way into the parlor behind the office.
Predictably, Emma followed.
"So, is everything ok?"
"Ok?" Norma repeated, making Emma work for it.
"Yeah. I mean, you needed Sheriff Romero's help with something, and quickly, so I just thought… it might be something bad."
"Oh! No, no," Norma said with a laugh. "He's just the only guy I know who knows how to fix a leaky pipe. My bathroom sink was leaking again," she explained.
"Oh, ok," Emma said with a grin. "Did he fix it?"
Norma nodded sagely.
"Yup, it works perfectly now."
"Cool," Emma said as she went back into the office.
Norma smiled to herself.
The following morning, Alex went to grab coffee in the office before heading out to start his shift. He smiled internally as he saw Emma behind the desk.
Emma The Inquisitor, as he now thought of her.
"Morning, Sheriff."
"Morning, Emma," he replied, going straight over to the coffee.
"I heard about yesterday," Emma said after only a slight pause. "It was really nice of you to help Norma with that leaking pipe."
He shrugged nonchalantly.
"It's nothing. I used to give Keith a hand when he owned the place, so it's not the first time I've repaired that kitchen sink. Those old pipes are trouble," he concluded simply.
After a few seconds of silence, he glanced at her. Emma was giving him an odd look, but he decided that it was because up until now he'd never said more than three or four words to her at once. By comparison, he'd just practically given a speech. He turned his attention back to mixing the cream into his coffee.
"Well, I guess I know who to ask if we have problems in any of the rooms," she said after a long moment.
"Yeah, sure," he replied amiably. He raised the mug of coffee in farewell. "See you later."
"Bye, Sheriff."
Emma stared after him, truly perplexed.
Why would Norma say he was fixing the bathroom sink, when Romero said he was fixing the kitchen sink?
Unless…the leaking pipe story was a lie.
But why would they both lie about-
Oh. OH.
Emma's eyes nearly popped out of her head.
The Sheriff and Norma were…
No way.
Alex arrived back at his room to find a stack of clean, neatly folded laundry on his bed. He glared at it immediately, knowing Norma had done it for him. As he went to put the clothes away, he saw a small note tucked into the balled up socks on top of the pile.
'Can we change the bandage tonight? Norman is at a party.'
He wondered if he should just give the woman his cell phone number, but then thought better of it. That woman calling him at any possible second – about any possible thing – was just what he needed. No, better if he limited her access to random notes stuck in his laundry. Laundry she shouldn't be doing.
He sighed in frustration, but accepted that Norma was just trying to pay him back for his help, and probably for his discretion, too.
He removed his uniform shirt, leaving just the black t-shirt underneath. It was a warm enough night to be fine with only that. He took the precaution of looking out his window at the motel office, making sure Emma wasn't outside to see him leave. Seeing nothing, he headed up to the house, again going around the back of the motel to avoid notice.
Norma answered the door mere seconds after he knocked.
"Hey, Alex." She looked pleased to see him.
"You really need to stop doing my laundry," he said in greeting.
She rolled her eyes, a tiny smirk in place.
"Not gonna happen."
He tried to give her a stern look, but his concentration was elsewhere.
"How's the shoulder?" he asked.
"Well the pain's a lot better. It almost itches sometimes," she told him, stepping aside so he could enter the hallway.
"Good, that means it's healing."
"I hope so," she replied, walking back towards the kitchen as he followed. "It's been a pain not being able to move my arm around."
"Did Norman or Emma figure it out?" he asked curiously.
"Emma has been giving me funny looks the last few days, but I don't think she's figured it out. And Norman… well, Norman is too excited about having that big bookcase he barely notices that I'm here," she finished, giving him a jokingly hard glare.
He smiled despite himself.
"Thank you for that," she said. "It was very sweet of you."
He was suddenly fidgeting.
"It's nothing. Just didn't want you trying to do it yourself."
"I wouldn't," she protested.
"Pretty sure you already did," he shot back.
"I meant with this," she explained pointing at her injury.
"Yeah, like that would stop you."
She shot him another look, but left it alone. Instead, she sat down at the kitchen table, her fingers working on the buttons of her blouse. He stayed in the doorway for the moment, staring pointedly at the floor.
"Oh, will you relax," she said in her best aggravated mother tone. "You've seen this before, remember?"
"Yeah, I know," he said quietly.
"So get over here and help me get this shirt off," she said. He hesitated, and she rolled her eyes. "The sooner you help me, the sooner we can be done and you can run away, ok?"
He looked at her then, an angry retort on his lips. But he froze, because at the same moment, she opened her shirt, trying to push the fabric off her shoulders. His eyes did as they shouldn't, and roamed the newly exposed skin, before he regained control and looked back down at the floor, furious with himself.
Norma stared at him, now certain that what she'd sensed from him previously was definitely not her imagination. It hadn't been for long, but his face had made things clear as day: he liked what he saw. He wanted her.
Unbeknownst to him, she smirked at the revelation.
His eyes still turned downward, he pulled the extra chair around next to hers, and sat. She pushed the medical kit over so it was in front of him.
He helped to remove her right arm from its sleeve, and then gently peeled away the tape that still held the gauze over the wound.
Alex made an approving noise at whatever he saw.
"Is it ok?" Norma asked.
"Yeah, it's looking good. I'll clean it up, and put new butterflies on it to keep it from opening, but other than that, it should be all set."
She breathed a sigh of relief.
"I can finally shower again," she said, mostly to herself.
Alex found his thoughts traveling in a bad direction, and shook his head to clear it.
"What?" Norma asked curiously, seeing him.
Caught, he looked at her with a slightly guilty expression.
"Nothing."
A slow, devilish smirk spread over her lips.
"Alex," she purred, "were you thinking of me in the shower?"
He blanched, and her smile only grew.
Bingo.
"I thought so," she said, turning back around to let him continue working on her shoulder.
But his hands didn't move; he just sat there, frozen, desperately trying to determine the right course of action. Obviously, Norma knew about his attraction to her. But rather than be uncomfortable about it, she was teasing him. Blatantly. Either she had a really twisted sense of humor, or the attraction was mutual. And he needed to know which it was, or risk doing serious damage to whatever could be brewing between them.
He formulated a plan quickly.
Then he got back to work cleaning the cut on Norma's shoulder, knowing he'd paused a bit too long to go unnoticed. Oh, well. She already knew he wanted her, so no real damage done. He worked in silence, knowing his refusal to respond to her teasing would probably bother her.
He applied the last of the small bandages to keep the wound from tearing open, and sat back.
"Ok, all set."
She turned to smile at him.
"Thanks, Alex."
"Sure," he replied simply, standing up and making his way out of the kitchen.
"Alex," she said the moment she realized that he was just going to leave.
He smiled to himself before he turned back around. She was chasing after him, metaphorically at least, which already told him something about her intentions.
"Norma?"
She shrugged slightly, fiddling with her fingers.
"Would you… You could stay for dinner," she said, turning it into a suggestion halfway through.
He allowed her a small half-smile.
"Nah, thanks. I'll have dinner in my room," he told her. "Besides, what would Norman think?"
She paused, a slight crease in her brow as she thought about that.
"Night, Norma," he said before she could think of something else, quickly turning away and striding to the front door, letting himself out.
As he went down the stairs, he felt the almost overwhelming need to go back – to stay near her. But he had a plan now, and he had to stick to it. He was certain now what she wanted of him, and while he was fine with anything physical, he would not be brought to heel by her. He knew too well what she was, and what she'd done to Shelby. She was almost a chameleon, becoming whatever the object of her desire wanted, to suck them in. Then she used their desire to keep them under her control. It was simple, it was genius, and he wasn't going to fall for it.
He would make her pursue him.
As he rounded the corner, headed for his room, he nearly bumped straight into Emma.
"Oh! Sorry, Sheriff," she said, jumping back.
"Nah, my fault," he replied, hoping that would be the entirety of their conversation.
"Were you up at the house?"
He paused, lips pursing for a second before he turned back to look at her.
"Yeah." He left it at that, and made to continue on his way.
"I know, by the way," Emma said in an amused voice.
Turning back to her again, he frowned.
"Know what?"
"The truth," she said, still smiling. "Why she needed you at the house the other day. Why you were probably just up there."
Wondering how she had figured it out, he kept his expression blank.
"And the truth would be?" he asked, sounding unimpressed.
She laughed a little.
"Oh, come on, Sheriff. So you're sleeping with her, so what? You guys are both single, it's not like there's any harm in it."
The shock on his face must have been obvious, because Emma's confident smile slowly faded away, to be replaced with confusion.
"Emma, we're not sleeping together," he corrected in a flat voice, as if he didn't have time for this.
"….Oh," was all she managed, looking like she wanted to sink into the gravel and disappear.
Alex shook his head, and let the matter drop without saying anything else. She looked mortified enough, anyway. He finally made it back to his room, where he shut and locked the door, inclined to have a little peace and quiet.
Sleeping with Norma?
'I wish.'
Norma was trying to fume silently, knowing that if she stomped around like she really wanted to, Norman would ask what was troubling her. And what would she say? That she had tried to ensnare Sheriff Romero and failed? There was a conversation that would go well…
So she pretended everything was lovely, and made dinner for just the two of them. Through the entire meal, as Norman chatted on about summer theater and whatever new props he was working on, she tried to think of ways to get Alex back up to the house. He would see through any lies, though, and that created a problem. Because she didn't really need him in any way except in her bedroom, with as few clothes on as possible. And somehow she knew that if she suggested that course of action, he would refuse. He wanted her, but he wasn't likely to come running. It wasn't Alex Romero's style. He had to think she was running to him.
She frowned.
'This might take some thought.'
Norman had excused himself a while ago to get to bed. Typically she would have been disappointed by his absence on the couch beside her, but tonight she was glad of it. She had something to do. Or perhaps someone.
Sneaking up to her bedroom, she pawed through various items of clothing in her dresser before finding something suitable for her mission. She needed something he couldn't refuse. She got changed, throwing her robe over the sheer lace of her outfit. Standing in front of the mirror, she ran her fingers through her hair, giving it a lightly tousled look. Finally, she looked exactly as she envisioned, and she smiled evilly at her reflection.
Alex didn't stand a chance.
Alex heard the knock at his door just as he was getting ready for bed. Glancing in the bathroom mirror, he couldn't help but smile at himself. He knew exactly who would be on the other side of the door; this late at night, there was only one person – one woman – it could be. And she'd managed to catch him shirtless, and with his belt undone. It couldn't have been better timing if he'd planned it.
Not fixing a thing about his half-undressed appearance, he walked calmly over to the door and opened it.
She had her arm propped against his doorframe, leaning into it. Her eyes were a darker blue than usual, their stormy depths promising any number of dirty things.
He feigned surprise at her arrival.
"Norma? What's up?"
He did not miss the way her eyes widened when she realized he wasn't wearing a shirt. Nor did he miss her eyes trailing downwards to his jeans, which he had been in the process of unbuttoning when she knocked on his door. He relished every moment of it, because this was exactly what he wanted. He would not be caught in her trap, but she was welcome to enter his.
Her eyes roamed back up to meet his, and the sexy smile that had been playing on her lips widened.
"You didn't stay for dinner… but I thought I'd bring you dessert."
She stalked into his room, intentionally cutting it close so that she brushed lightly against him. As she went, she untied the robe, letting it fall open as she turned around to face him.
His eyes wandered as they pleased, taking in the jaw-dropping view she had given him. The fabric of her teddy would have covered a lot if it weren't completely sheer. His face remained passive and calm, but his heart pounded.
He felt his iron will slip, ever so slightly.
"You might want to close the door," she said with a devilish smirk.
He did as he was told, pushing the door shut and locking it while never removing his eyes from her.
They both stood there for a long, long moment, staring each other down. Clinging to what resolve she'd not stripped from him, he stood his ground. He refused to go to her. She could not win the inaugural battle, or she'd have the whole war. So he stood there, watching.
He saw the same metal in her gaze, but she was weakening. He knew their desire for each other was likely equal, but he was just more practiced at hiding his. Her face betrayed too much; he could see her falter. He had her on the ropes.
Wordlessly, he held out a hand to her.
Initially, she raised her head a bit in defiance, but it quickly faded out of her eyes. She didn't want the fight anymore, just him.
Finally, her head now bowed, she looked up at him through her eyelashes and walked the few steps over to him. Her hand settled into his own, and he rubbed the back of it with his thumb. His other hand traced a line up from her waist, over her chest, and all the way up to the back of her neck.
He pulled her in, and she went willingly.
The kiss had little gentleness to it; almost immediately it was rough and heavy. Within seconds her fingers dug into his back. He was slightly more careful with how he grabbed at her, if only because of her shoulder. Regardless, what little clothing they'd been wearing was divested of in rapid succession as each of them tore at the other.
As he backed her onto the bed, pushing gently as he lay her down, he allowed the momentum they'd built up to fade away. He would take his time now, almost torturing her as he licked and kissed his way from her neck down to her inner thighs. She let her legs fall open for him, surrendering with a soft moan as his fingers explored her.
He knew he'd won.
At least, for now.
Norma hadn't meant to fall asleep, but she must have, because the first thing she became consciously aware of was distant, quiet birdsong. She slowly opened her eyes, to see soft light intruding into the room between the gaps in the curtains. So it was very early, but still morning.
Norman would be waking up soon, and she wasn't there.
She was, in fact, lying on top of Alex, her head on his chest, tucked under his chin. He still had one arm curled possessively around her waist, though the other was now tucked up under his pillow. She shifted slightly to see the alarm clock on the nightstand. 6:40am. The last she remembered, it was about two in the morning; that was round three for Norma and Alex. She knew she had every reason to be tired after everything they'd done – particularly everything he'd done to her. He'd been unstoppable. She'd lost count of the orgasms, and was instead left with the knowledge that Alex could do some rather amazing thing with that mouth of his. His fingers had come in quite handy, too. She smiled in contentment, realizing that she'd be sore, in the best places and in the best way, for the next few days.
She understood what had happened: she had lost. She wanted so badly to seduce him, but wound up being the one seduced. Given how he rewarded her for surrendering to him, she found little to complain about, except that he was now the one with the power. Power that she wanted. Power that she needed.
She couldn't wait for their next battle.
Alex's arm shifted, tracing her spine as he woke, a small smile already on his lips. Their eyes met, and they couldn't help but smile at one another.
"Shower?" he asked, his voice rough from sleep.
She shook her head.
"I have to get back to the house. Norman will be up soon."
He nodded, remembering.
"Ok." He helped her to slide off of him, then reached for the closest bits of her clothes that had been scattered around the room. He got out of bed, throwing on a pair of pajama pants as he did.
As she went to tie her robe, his hands reached out to cover hers, halting her progress.
He slid his arms inside the robe, wrapping them gently around her waist as he pulled her in for a long kiss. Norma returned it, feeling a fire reignite within her. How did he have such sway over her? She'd never felt this sort of heat for anyone else.
Almost too quickly, he pulled back, his fingers running through her hair.
"I want this to happen again," he told her with open honesty. For a moment, there were no hidden agendas, no missions, no manipulations. They looked at each other with genuine longing, their hands on each other's bare skin, craving the warmth.
"It will," she promised. She dropped one last kiss on Alex's lips, and then stepped away. It almost hurt to leave, but it was more than her life was worth to let Norman find her slipping back into the house dressed as she was. He would know immediately what – and who – she'd been doing.
Her sultry expression back in place, she threw Alex a steamy look over her shoulder just as she closed the door.
By his rapidly changing expression, she knew her arrow had hit its mark, and grinned to herself all the way up the stairs to the house.
She would win. It might take a few more sessions, and every ounce of determination she had, but she would win.
After a cold shower – damn that Norma Bates – Alex got dressed for work. He didn't have to be in for a while longer, but figured that he could get caught up on paperwork before the others arrived.
One thing was for sure: he was in desperate need of coffee. He had kept Norma up most of the night, barely letting her recover from one session before beginning the next. By the end, though, even he couldn't take anymore. As she collapsed on top of him, he wondered if it were possible to die from some sort of orgasmic overload. If it was, they were both at death's door. She fell asleep with him still inside her, as if she wasn't willing to lose the connection. He didn't remember much after that, so he must have fallen asleep shortly after.
He had lost sleep before, sometimes even because of her, but those had been dreams. This had been real, with the sore hips and shoulders to show for it. Flexing the aching shoulders, he took no little satisfaction from the pain. It meant he'd done something very right. And several times over. He wondered how sore Norma would be.
He had to wipe the grin off his face as he approached the motel office.
It wouldn't do to let people see him smile.
He walked in, heading straight for the coffee pot. He registered that Emma was behind the desk, as she usually was, but was too intent on his need for caffeine to see the look on her face.
"Morning, Emma," he mumbled.
"Good morning, Sheriff," she replied, her tone… unusual. Righteous, perhaps?
He yawned, mixing cream into his mug as fast as possible. He felt like he might fall asleep standing.
"So," Emma said from behind him. "You're not sleeping with Norma, huh?" Her sarcasm could be cut with a dull knife.
He turned to look at her, and saw her expression matched her words. She even raised an eyebrow at him.
He said nothing. He didn't have the brainpower available to formulate much of anything right now.
She mistook his silence for denial.
"I saw her leave your room as I pulled in," she explained. "She wasn't exactly…dressed."
He looked down, stumped as to how he might get himself out of this one.
Clearly she was waiting for some sort of response.
Finally, he shrugged.
'The hell with it.'
"Fine. We're sleeping together. In fact, I fucked the hell out of her for about five straight hours last night," he said, his mouth running well ahead of his brain. "You got a problem with that?"
Emma's mouth had dropped open, and she stared at him, wide-eyed.
Noiselessly, she shook her head.
"Good. Because even if you did, I wouldn't want to hear it," he told her in his best Sheriff voice. "And you're not going to blab this around, either. Or you'll answer to me. Understand?"
She nodded, uncertain as to whether he was joking or not. It was safer to assume he wasn't.
"Good. Have a nice day," he said in the same aggrieved tone, leaving the office, his precious coffee in hand.
He got into his SUV, and burst out laughing the moment he shut the door behind him. Emma looked ready to piss herself in fear of him. He loved that he could still have that effect on someone, especially considering what personal information Emma now had on him. As he caught his breath, he shook his head at himself. This would likely come back to haunt him. Whenever Emma recovered, she would probably say something to Norma. Who would immediately complain to Alex for saying that to Emma.
His self-critcism came to a grinding halt.
Norma would inevitably complain to Alex.
And then the next battle would begin.
'I can't wait.'
.
A/N: So I was trying to work on the next chapter of Caught, but this idea wouldn't leave me alone, so I had to write this first. It's a (very long) one-shot, which I doubt I'll continue with. Just had to get some Normero shenanigans out of my system.
This idea was courtesy of one of my anons on Tumblr. Whoever you are, thank you for the suggestion!