...And introducing Fi.

Chapter 4

The three quickly shuffled inside the safety of Sam's vehicle, with Madeline in the passenger side. As they drove away from The Cantina pandemonium, Madeline had turned and looked at her son in the back seat.

Surprisingly, Michael looked unruffled. Wearing his requisite shades, he was once again calmly staring straight out, as if it was an average day in Miami and the three of them were in a car, casually going sightseeing.

Sam drove unevenly, constantly viewing the rear and side view mirrors. They drove ten minutes in silence, each deep in his or her own thought.

Two police vehicles, going the opposite way, raced by them with sirens blaring. That's when reality finally hit Madeline.

"Michael, Sam…what the hell just happened back there?" she demanded to know, her eyes large.

Sam keep his sights forward and made a right into Michael's warehouse loft, "I think someone is serious about getting your purse, Maddie," he said, driving into the enclosed area to let Michael and Madeline out.

"Well, he'll never get it," Madeline announced for the umpteenth time as Sam drove away to his own place, quite relieved to be going home alone.

As they climbed up the stairs to his loft, Michael held on to Madeline, who was still a little unsteady.

"Well…thank you, Michael," she finally acknowledged, once they reached the top of the stairs.

Standing calmly on the landing now, Madeline showed the first sign of being back to normal as her face lit up with a contrived smile. She tried to make light of the situation, "I guess that'll teach someone to call me elderly, eh, Michael?"

She looked almost cute when she smiled. Almost.

The bald man calling his mom "elderly" did not bother Michael at all. He was actually more upset when the guy thought she was his girlfriend.

"Ma, don't worry," he said as he got out his keys, "We will find out why that guy was after your purse."

Madeline looked relieved with his confident declaration while Michael couldn't believe he had just confirmed he would take on his mom as a client.

"Well…about hiring you, Michael…I could only pay you with some of my chipped beef … that's all I can afford right now …but I'll make a BIG batch…"

For a second, his taste buds were screaming at him: Not the chipped beef! Anything but that! He remembered as a youth, he thought of it as "chipped-tooth beef."

But outwardly, he showed no reaction.

"Sure, Ma," was his forced reply.

"I've even learned how to make your chipped beef a new way, " added Madeline proudly, "I pour in a can of soup on the beef and then nuke it entirely in the microwave! It's delish!"

Michael bit his lower lip until it almost bled to keep from commenting as he opened the door.

A glimpse of sexy legs on his bed was the first thing they noticed when Michael opened the door.

Fiona Glenanne was lying on her stomach in his bed. Her tanned legs were crossed high in the air. She was flipping through a magazine.

One would expect someone who looked like Fiona to be perusing through a fashion magazine, but her magazine of choice was a military weapons magazine.

Just 15 minutes earlier, she had been reading an article about Ireland's TruLock 12- gauge double shotgun, the kind she had used when she had been on an undercover assignment with Michael in Dublin. Michael had made the mission unforgettable.

With her index finger, Fiona lovingly traced around the gun in the picture, as she absent-mindedly recalled their time there. Memories of Michael filtered through her thoughts as she recalled their first kiss on that long ago night..

It was ten years ago, in the blackness of the night. They had barely escaped. Their backs were against a dilapidated building, in a dark alley. Artillery fire could be heard in the background, as they attempted to listen for the sounds of any lagging military footsteps. The enemy had already passed them, but they had to make sure the coast was clear before venturing out in the open again.

They stood side by side, secretly hidden in an isolated backstreet in Ireland. They were surrounded by danger, yet all Fiona could think about was the man next to her.

She could not deny her attraction to Michael McBride.

The confined hiding place forced her shoulders to come in contact with the hard side of his body, his closeness making it hard for her to breathe. She was afraid he would hear her heart pounding in the quiet darkness of the night. She knew the exact moment he had turned to watch her, as her entire body seemed to burn with awareness.

The moon shone high in the clear Dublin sky, illuminating just enough light so that as she peered up at him , the first thing visible to her was his mouth. She thought he had the most sensuous lips she had ever seen, wide and promising.

Her eyes traveled up to his eyes and she realized with a start that he had been watching her the whole time. Their gazes locked.

Wordlessly he moved closer to her in the midnight shadows as his hand reached out and languidly grazed the outside of her lips and then up to her cheeks, causing her to tremble. The texture of his hand was so masculine...and rough. It was too dark to see each other's faces completely, but she knew what would come next.

She opened her mouth to protest but her voice was extinguished into a feeble gasp as his head lowered.

There was a sudden blaze of sensation as she felt her mouth against the burning heat of his. He used his hand to urge her head to his shoulder, anchoring her firmly, as his lips covered hers. The feel of his mouth was exquisite, as he possessed her with a slow, lingering kiss, using his tongue to entice her. The kiss then turned into something hot, pressing and insistent. She had never been kissed like this, his mouth sending such a sensual demand that she wilted from the heat of it. She surged up against him, pressing herself deeper into his strong embrace. The dark, dangerous night suddenly turned into a star-filled rapturous night as they ended their kiss.

The last thing Fi remembered was the gleam of moonlight reflected in his eyes.

She was brought out of her daydreams as Michael and Madeline entered the loft.

.

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Uh…I should have warned you…I am a hopeless romantic, so Michael and Fiona's scenes together will be more "moonlight kisses" than" hot and sexy romps". I hope that is okay with you.

So what do you thinK? Please review and let me know-I would really appreciate it!