His body quivered at the thought of going to her….. but he had to know. Know what she knew, what her intentions were. He had the ability...he had only to call on his training…to face the dark inside…
He slipped off his shirt as he moved toward the bed, aware she was watching him with smoldering eyes. He dropped the shirt on the floor and reached down to unbuckle the belt at his waist, her eyes following his hands, his movements slow and sensual. He slid his pants down and turned to sit on the bed, presenting her with the broad expanse of his muscled back, the old whip scars light lines crisscrossing the tanned skin. He caught the soft whisper of her sharply indrawn breath. As he leaned forward to remove a boot he felt her stir, felt the small hands stroking his back, moving over his bare shoulders and arms, sending shivers down his body. He pulled off the other boot and dropped it to the floor with its mate, then finished removing his pants and adding them to the heap.
He reached down and took protection from his pants pocket. He looked at it. A reminder. A thought. This was his choice. "I won't need this, will I?", he asked.
She rubbed her body against his back and murmured in his ear, "No, mutants don't carry human diseases and you can't make me pregnant.", confirming his suspicions even as her hand slid around his side and moved down his flat stomach to slip under the band of his underwear.
He drew a sharp breath, tossed the item on the floor, and caught her arm, moving his hand caressingly along it as he lifted the hand to his lips and very gently kissed the palm. He caught the hiss of her indrawn breath as the sensations slid along her body. He gently stroked her hand and arm, running a finger over the implement he could now see was actually the face of a Pip-boy, integrated into her body and an integral part of her. She shuddered slightly, leaning into him.
He twisted towards her, pulling her around under his arm onto his lap. His lips met hers in a long, slow lingering kiss that sent waves of desire coursing through her, one arm supporting her against him, his other hand moving caressingly down her body, over her thigh. His lips moved to her throat, finding the sensitive spot, as his hand moved up under her gown, cupping her round, smooth bottom. She was touching him, stroking him, arousing emotions he had never thought to feel. She moaned softly as he lifted up, twisting them around, lowering her back onto the bed, his body covering her. Neither of them noticed the rain had ceased pounding on the roof as the storm passed on.
Calli snuggled into him, humming contentedly. He smiled at her obvious satisfaction, lying on his back with one arm under his head, the other holding her gently to him, staring absently at the translucent skylight.
"Mmmmm", she said. "that was pretty good."
"Just pretty good?", he asked, grinning. She laughed lightly.
"Pretty wonderful, actually."
He turned toward her, running his hand over her hip, down her smooth thigh. "Just pretty wonderful?", he asked playfully, nuzzling at her neck. She smacked him lightly on the chest.
"Absolutely, positively great", she teased. He laughed, turning onto his back again. He was amazed to find he had found the encounter….. not unpleasant.
He stared at the ceiling. "How old are you, Calli?", he asked. He remembered the stories, the tales of the GECK explosion. He was just a child when he first heard them.
Calli sighed. "Old enough to be your grandmother, I expect.", she said quietly. She rose up to look into his face. "You know my secret now, Daniel Gordon.", she said. She felt him stiffen beside her.
"You know my name.", he said tightly.
"I've known your name since you first drew my attention five years ago. What you were doing could have made you a danger to the trade routes so I made it my business to get to know about you. I even considered letting you hold me up once a couple weeks ago. It might have been interesting." He wondered just how much she knew about him.
"Then why didn't you?", he asked.
Calli laughed softly. "You're very young, thief. I wouldn't do that to you. But since you came to me I won't turn you away."
"So you know my secrets", he said.
Calli's voice was mild but he wasn't fooled. "I've kept your secrets. I expect you to keep mine.", she said. He looked up into her face, studying her. Then he smiled, that pleasant wide smile that so attracted women to him. He reached up to cradle the back of her head.
"It seems we understand each other", he smiled, pulling her down to him. He cradled her against him comfortably as they fell asleep. He didn't think 23 was so very young at all, but then he wasn't an ageless mutant.
The pre-dawn light filtered through the skylight accompanied by the singing of early morning birds. It would be full light soon. Daniel opened his eyes, looking down at the woman still sleeping beside him. He was surprised to find that he was lying on his side, his arm around her waist, holding her to him. He found he was oddly reluctant to leave the warm, comfortable bed and the small woman curled against him. He gently disengaged himself and sat up, trying not to disturb her.
"Leaving so early?", she murmured, not opening her eyes.
"I didn't think you'd want anyone to see me leaving.", he said. She answered him sleepily.
"It doesn't matter. Hardin came around yesterday while you were out to make sure I was all right. I apologized to him for not letting him know I was going to have an overnight visitor. I expect everyone knows by now. If you had hurt me you'd never have made it to the gate, you know."
He felt a frisson of fear course down his spine. He had thought the storm had sufficiently covered his actions. Then he just felt annoyed and embarrassed. "Your head Ranger saw me, all tied up and unconscious?", he asked.
"Naw, he didn't come in. I won't tell if you don't", she chuckled. He lay back down pulling her back against him. Since the Rangers knew he was here and Calli didn't care, he might as well get some more sleep.
It was mid-morning before they finally stirred awake again and even later before they were ready to leave the bedroom. She didn't demand or take; she gave back to him all or more than he gave to her.
Calli stretched luxuriously and said, "Why don't you get a shower while I go get us some breakfast? I'll get one after we eat."
"Sure", he agreed, picking up his clothes. He watched her slip into a jumpsuit and netted hat. He heard her leave while he was in the bathroom. When he came out she had the table laid and breakfast on it, with two steaming cups of coffee. She had gone down to the small diner.
"You don't really live her now, do you?", he asked, picking up his fork.
"Why do you think that?", she asked casually.
"The refrigerator is unplugged, some of your cupboards are nearly empty, and your Mr. Handy is shut down. That's probably why there's still dust on some things you didn't get to yesterday before I interrupted you. Besides, there aren't that many unique items here. I only saw one prototype armor, and a few high powered weapons. There would be a lot more if you lived here."
Calli nodded approvingly. "We do live here, just not all the time. We have many homes throughout the wasteland and items are stored wherever it's convenient. We haven't been here in a month. That reminds me, I will find your informer you know. I'm not sure how they knew we weren't going to be here until today, but I really can't afford to have someone here that's willing to sell me out. I came a day early or I wouldn't have been here yesterday."
He was silent for a while. He didn't doubt she'd take care of that problem and he wouldn't be getting any more intel from that source. Calli glanced at her Pip-boy and finished her coffee.
"Hawk will be here soon and I still need to get my shower. You don't mind letting yourself out, do you?'", she asked.
"Not at all." He rose from the table and took her hand in his. He really didn't want to be here when her partner showed up. The super mutant was said to be civilized but he didn't want to test that when he had just spent the night with her.
"It's been a real pleasure, Calli", he said, lifting her hand to his lips, his eyes laughing. "Maybe we'll meet again." She smiled back at him.
"Maybe. Take care, Highwayman." She went in to the bathroom and soon he heard the water running.
Calli came out of the bathroom, drying her short hair with a towel. A casual inventory assured her the Abraham Lincoln figurine was missing along with 500 caps from her dresser. Her book had not been moved. That was a good thing because she would have had to go after him if he had taken her diary. It would be worth a fortune in the wasteland. She replaced the diary in the headboard, smiling to herself. He had been worth it.
