Yet another chapter about our beloved Stan and Alexa!

Song: Moment of Madness by Katie Melua


Only your Life

"A moment of madness

It's happened before

It could turn into sadness or a civil war

You've got me changing all I ever thought"

Alexa woke up with her left temple pressed against the cold window, her wound throbbing from being in an uncomfortable position too long. Her right hand went to drag through her head but when she moved to lift it her skin brushed against warm cloth instead of cold air. Her eyes settled on the beige thing covering her legs as well as parts of her arms. She lifted it to get a better look of it and at the same moment she realized what it was a distinctively male smell hit her nose. Not a bad smell, just definitely manly. 'Stan...Wait,wait, hold a phone! STANSFIELD! Never "Stan." Jeez girl, wake up already!' She really had not woken up yet. But why did she have Stansfield's probably very expensive suit jacket over her? 'He must have come home while I slept.'

That thought worried and enraged her. She should have stayed awake to kick his ass as soon as he entered that door! Said door was now wide open. Alexa pursed her lips in determination. 'No matter, I can kick it now.' Grabbing the jacket she gingerly rose to her feet, muscles stretching uncomfortably as she walked through the door into what she chose to call the living room. Looking around she saw large windows, the door to the bathroom from the day before, 'horrible, embarrassing, thought', a separate room behind a wall, probably the kitchen, and to her right was a large grand piano that she had somehow missed the day before. She smiled slightly at the sight of it, and upon closer inspection discovered it was an old Steinway. A bit rough around the edges but it looked like a lovely instrument. A smooth voice interrupter her admiration.

"It was my mother's." Alexa whirled around at a speed that would impress any ballet dancer to see Stansfield leaning in the doorway leading to the kitchen. The look on his face stopped any further questions that bubbled up in Alexa's mind. 'Something is wrong here' He looked at her so intently she could only stand there gaping like a fish until he caught sight of the forgotten jacket in her hand. She followed his gaze, almost feeling as if she herself had forgotten what she held on to. A menacing but simultaneously gentle grin spread across his lips. 'How does he do that?!' "Sleep well?" Alexa swallowed and nodded, worrying her lower lip. He smiled wider, like a shark. "Good." This time his tone was easy, too light to be fully normal. He still hadn't shaved since last she saw him, the slight beard and moustache giving him a rugged look. And, having obviously removed his jacket, he still wore beige pants and white dress shirt. Averting her eyes Alexa suddenly found the hem of his jacket very interesting, his close scrutiny unnerving her more than any kind of violence ever could. His lips were still twitching slightly every now and then, as if he thought of something that tickled him slightly but not enough to smile fully.

"A smiling assassin

The demon within"

All of a sudden an alarm sounded from the kitchen, breaking the unbearable tension. Stansfield's face took on a pleased look, turning to walk into the kitchen. " You like pasta?" Okay, now Alexa was thoroughly confused, she couldn't resist following him. The sight that met her made her eyebrows practically raise till they were hovering above her head like a cartoon character's. " You cook? I mean, you Actually cook?!" Believe it or not, Alexa had never Ever dated a man who could cook. She'd heard rumours they existed but never put any deep faith in them. Here was the proof to prove her wrong. Stan looked at her oddly, now openly amused. " Problem?" Alexa narrowed her eyes at him. " Men don't cook. " He chuckled, the sound rippling through Alexa's body like a river, teasing something searingly hot inside her abdomen. " Well, Alexa Rivers, I do."

She flinched at hearing her full name from his lips, it suddenly flowed in an entirely new way. She frowned. "I keep forgetting you're a cop. " While she had been frowning he had poured off the spaghetti and mixed it with some bacon and something else she didn't quite know what it was. " If that's your way of asking if I've read the file we have on you, then yes, I have. And oh what an interesting file it is. You have quite the colorful past, my dear. " Alexa instinctively took a step back. " Well, what did it say?" Stan looked at her tense stature, eyebrows furrowing. " Nothing too incriminating." He turned and stepped towards her, pointing at her with a spoon. " What did you think it would say?" It was only then that Alexa realized her mistake that she had unwittingly alerted him of something she feared. Stan looked suddenly very serious and came closer. Alexa stod stock still in the middle of his kitchen. " Aah, they missed something didn't they? " He stood at a close distance now, like a good friend or, heavens forbid, a lover might. 'Shit. He's taller than me.' The hand with the spoon raised slowly to trace the rounded part of the cool metal, gently, against her cheek. " You got a criminal past, little Alexa Rivers?" She managed, heroically, to suppress a shiver as he spoke.

"Endorphins are raging

Resistance is thin"

Stan seemed to be waiting for something, it was as if he could sense that she was close to her first breaking point. Not her deepest downfall, but enough to maybe spill the beans about her past. He had sensed it when he read her file, it was hiding something. Or she would clam up even more, it could go either way. But that was the fun of it.

His eyes watched her entire face and the upper part of her chest around her collarbone. The spoon trailed past her jaw bone and down the side of her throat, Stan now so very close, she could feel his breath against the skin around her collarbone. This time she was defenceless when the spoon hit a certain point on her skin and her whole body shuddered violently and her eyes closed at the sensation. Stan put his free left hand against her hip to steady her and she grabbed at his arm, his jacket forgotten on the floor beside her. This happened only for a few seconds before her eyes flew open in panic only to be met by a vicious smirk. He had won.

Alexa shoved him off of her but even when he'd let go she could feel his palm print burning on her hip, her breathing suddenly somewhat ragged, pulse beating like a drum in her ear. She suddenly felt very angry. " What am I doing here? Huh? Why here?! This is where you live for fucks sake! Why would you keep me HERE?! Only an idiot, a major imbecile, would take that risk! So why, why?!" While yelling at him she had closed in on him and for once it was he who was against the wall. It was short lived however, and Alexa failed to see the cold rage that spread like wildfire through his ice blue eyes.

"You know I'm not asking a lot,

Only your life,

I don't want to get what I want,

But I'm willing to try,

And I'm gonna ask you to stop,

But I'm full of lies"

Three red seconds later she found herself against the wall, his right hand clasping her entire lower face as his body towered over her, boxing her in and his left resting against the wall behind her. Only the clattering of the spoon against the floor could be heard. It was Stan's turn to breathe like a raged lunatic and he wanted to yell at her, frighten her, simply be angry with her, but the usual repertoire of scathing words he usually threw at people who pissed him off royally seemed to have vanished. Instead he settled for whatever came to mind, leaning down to hiss calmly in her ear, not missing the way she tensed up. 'Odd.' " I keep you HERE because it is the only place I know you can't escape from. Now I know that you are not stupid, you crack safes every day, you would have no difficulty cracking people. But I'm not people, sweetheart. I'm like you."

And with that he released her, leaving her in the kitchen to collect herself while he moved the pasta and some plates into the living room, calling to her over his shoulder, " I hope you like pasta carbonara!", his tone back to the easy melody that picked at her insides like a hot poker. Alexa rubbed at her sore jaw, it would probably bruise. It was now that Alexa Rivers understood just how deep in shit she had landed herself, all because of the smooth voice of a madman.

"And you're blowing my mind

'Cause I find that your theories of life

Are insane, feed my brain

I could listen all night

I can't leave till we kiss

It's a moment of madness"


Please review guys! Let me hear your thoughts :)