Chapter Seven
In Heat
It seemed an eternity since she'd felt so desired. She and Angel had returned to the apartment she shared with Cordelia, alone. Unexpectedly he'd caught her around the waist. He'd gazed at her from under heavy lidded eyes, the glazed look speaking clearly of his desire for her. She'd responded instantly, her hands reaching for him, his own hands grasping in return. Max felt the rushing of hormones through her body, pushing her to act. And with his hard, toned body before her, she was helpless to stop it. But from the grin on Angel's face, he didn't seem to mind. He responded to her urgings and soon enough they were together in her bed. They explored each other with hands, lips, and eyes, devouring each other. Max's eyes drifted shut as she felt herself spiraling out of control. But the sudden sharp pain in her neck shocked her into stillness. She opened her eyes and was surprised to see that Angel had slipped into his game face.
"Angel! What's going on?" she demanded, pushing as hard as she could against his shoulders. Angel allowed himself to be moved and looked down at her, grinning, his sharp bloodied, teeth very much in evidence.
"You tell me," he growled. "It's your dream."
Gasping, Max shot straight up in her bed. Shaking the haze of her dream away, she glanced around the room just to assure herself that there was no one there. She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head on them. 'Damn' she swore to herself. She knew what the dream meant. She had them two to three times a year. She was in heat again. It was the one thing that bothered her most from her time at Manticore. The feline DNA that they'd given her sent her into estrus cycles, pushing her to mate and produce children. Of course, with birth control pills, the children part had never happened. But she'd never prevented the mating part, no matter how hard she tried, except once. But that had been a strange set of circumstances. It was so bad that she'd even willingly trade the cycles for the seizures she used to suffer. At least with the seizures, a couple of pills would fix the problem. Max groaned as she got out of bed. She had no idea how she was going to make it through the next couple of days.
It was as she dressed that a brilliant idea came to her. She'd been meaning to check on the Manticore situation. Now was the best time. She needed to get away from temptation and nothing soothed her like the thrill she got riding a motorcycle. Of course, her naughty little mind conjured up the thought of riding Angel, but she was still enough in control to push that thought away while she still could. Now, she just needed an excuse.
Max pulled out an old duffel bag and threw some basic necessities as she thought. She could take the new motorcycle she'd gotten herself. Of course, she hadn't told Cordelia about it yet. Her late night excursions to the wealthier homes hadn't stopped. And she knew that the other girl would be suspicious of it when Max proclaimed that she only had enough for food, rent, utilities and a couple nights out from her salary. So she could always tell the other girl that she was taking the bus. But to where? She didn't want to give away her plans on the off chance that something was in Wyoming. Then she recalled the story she'd told the girl and her friends. Simple enough to concoct a story about her parents, one or the other, being ill. So she worked it out fully as she dressed and found some breakfast.
While she put in a phone call to her boss, who readily accepted her family emergency excuse, Cordy emerged from her bedroom. The other woman waited for Max to get off the phone. "What's going on?" she asked softly.
Max smiled sadly, doing her best to be convincing. "My mom is sick. I decided to go back and make sure she's okay."
"Oh," Cordy nodded. "I hope it's not serious."
"I don't think it is," Max improvised. "But still, after everything, I mean. She is my mom."
"Of course," Cordy agreed as she poured herself some of the coffee Max had made. Max smiled at her friend, then stood. She picked up her bag and headed to the door. "Be safe. And call me when you can." Cordy moved forward to give her friend a swift hug and then the dark haired girl disappeared out the door.
A few hours later, Cordy was finally ready to head to work. She was surprised to find that Angel was up and about. He usually wasn't up until later in the afternoon. He greeted Cordy when she came in and she made some noncommittal noise.
Angel realized right away that something was bothering her. "Hey Cordy," he called. Once she looked up at him with her full attention, he asked, "what's the matter?"
"Oh, it's nothing really," she waved her hand. "Max's mom is sick, so she headed back to Seattle for a visit." Angel's brow furrowed. He didn't really admit to himself, but after the previous evening, he'd been looking forward to seeing her again soon.
"That's too bad," he murmured, then walked away. Cordy watched him go, contemplating his words for a moment. Then a slow grin worked its way onto her face.
A/N- For the full NC-17 version of this chapter, check out my website listed on my author's page! It's under the Warrior Souls section.
