Part 9

Michael was having a difficult time unlocking the front door of the trailer; the light over the door had burned out months ago, making it impossible to distinguish one key from another. Not that it mattered because he couldn't tear his mouth off of hers and now that his hands had encountered bare skin he had no idea what he had even done with his keys.

All he knew was that if they didn't get inside and quick they were gonna be giving his neighbors who already hated him a show they weren't likely to forget anytime soon. The last thing he needed was to get arrested for public indecency, but in a few more minutes he was gonna be beyond even caring about that. He threw his weight back against the right side of the door, knowing that the he could bust the lock with very little effort.

Maria pulled back slightly at the sound of splintering wood. "What's that?" she asked, only interested because whatever it was had caused them to break contact.

"Nothin' I can't fix tomorrow," he muttered, pulling her mouth back to his as he stepped up and backed inside. He kicked the door shut and pinned her to it while he fumbled for the deadbolt, sighing when he finally located it and he heard the lock slide into place. His hands made quick work of divesting her of the tee shirt and bra she was wearing and tossing them behind him, careless of where they landed.

Maria quickly returned the favor and groaned when his big hands came up to cup her breasts, the rough pads of his thumbs grazing over her nipples, teasing them into taut peaks before his mouth replaced them.

"God, Michael…"

He chuckled and the sound reverberated against her sensitive flesh for several seconds before his mouth found hers once more with unerring accuracy. His amusement was quickly buried when her pelvis ground into his and he obeyed her unspoken command by sliding his hands down her sides and over her hips to grasp the backs of her thighs and lift her up.

Her legs wrapped around his waist and her arms came around his shoulders, her hands tangling in his messy hair. He growled low in his throat when her fingers tugged on his hair and he reluctantly lifted his mouth from hers, his questioning gaze searching hers in the faint moonlight that crept in through the uncovered windows.

Christ, she was beautiful, he thought as he scanned over her flushed face before looking down at her heaving breasts.

With her back against the door, Maria had enough support to release his shoulders and her hands came up to frame his face, exerting just enough pressure to bring his gaze level with hers again. Her eyes were burning with intensity and passion as she searched his deep, dark eyes.

Michael returned her stare and wondered if he should say something to break the moment because she was studying him as if her life depended on it. "Are we movin' too fast?" he asked, uncertain of her sudden stillness.

"No." She laughed quietly, the sound husky. "No, but I'm about to tell you something that may completely kill the mood."

His expression turned wary. "What?" His hands came up to cradle her face when he saw unshed tears glistening in her eyes. "Maria, what's wrong?"

"I'm falling in love with you, Michael." Her fingers traced over his features as she watched him for his reaction. He didn't pull away but she could see a myriad of emotions crossing his face as he tried to process her words. "I'm not asking you to say it in return; I just wanted you to know how I feel before we go any further."

Michael could feel his heart hammering in his chest in response to her statement. What was he supposed to say to her? In twenty-six years no one had ever said those words to him and he had long ago accepted that fleeting moments of passion and one-night stands were going to be as close as he ever got to anything meaningful. "I don't know… I mean… I can't promise…"

Maria brought her hand up to cover his mouth, stopping the stuttered words. "I just wanted you to know how I feel." She paused to search his gaze. "I'll understand if that's too much for you to handle – "

Michael's mouth crashed into hers, cutting off her offer to let him back out and not take their relationship to the next level. He didn't know where this thing with her was going to lead; she lived in a condo in New York and he lived in a trailer in New Mexico, she was a respected journalist and he was a bartender… was it even possible for them to find a way to bring their lives together? He didn't have an answer for that question, all he knew was that he wanted to see where this thing might take them.

He reached up and moved her hands back to his shoulders and he slid his arms around her as he stepped away from the front door. He made it down the hallway and into his bedroom without a single misstep, something he could attribute to the many times the electricity had been turned off because his foster father had spent all the money on beer and ignored the bills.

He lowered her to the floor beside the bed without breaking the kiss and her eager hands made it to the snap on his jeans before he could reach the waistband of her shorts. He took a step back when she slowly ended the kiss, following her silent command to stand still when she knelt before him to unlace his boots. Once he had kicked them off and toed his socks off as well she reached up to lower his zipper and slide his jeans and boxers over his hips and down his long legs.

Michael groaned when he felt her hot breath brush against the tip of his erection and he knew that if her mouth touched him it was all over and he didn't want that for their first time. She must have understood when his hands cradled her head and his fingers clenched and spasmed around handfuls of her hair.

"Later," she whispered, her fingernails gently scraping against his outer thighs as she stood once more.

"Naked, now," Michael growled, and quickly stripped her of the last of her clothes. He was fast reaching the end of his proverbial rope and he didn't want to be still standing there, wondering what it would feel like to be inside of her, when that happened.

"This is probably a really bad time to ask," Maria said, stopping him with a hand on his chest when she felt the backs of her knees hit the side of the bed, "but you do have protection, don't you?"

"Ah, fuck!" Michael swore, scrambling around in the dark to find his jeans and the wallet in the back pocket.

Maria chuckled as she threw the blankets back and settled in his bed, propping herself up against the pillows. His long litany of colorful profanities was interrupted by a sudden triumphant shout quickly followed by the sound of a foil packet being torn open.

Moments later the mattress dipped as he climbed into bed and she felt him straddle her legs as he leaned forward over her body. "I can honestly say that I've never had this much fun tryin' to have sex," he growled as he lowered himself until he was stretched out over her, carefully keeping most of his weight balanced on his forearms.

"Me either," she admitted and pulled him down for another kiss. She felt his knee move to nudge her thighs apart and she shifted to accommodate him, moaning when he settled more fully against her. She nipped his bottom lip before letting him slide down to take her breasts in his mouth again.

"Michael?"

He mumbled a response but didn't raise his head.

"Remember what I told you about foreplay the second time we met?"

"Uh-huh… it has its place." He had no idea how he remembered that and he didn't really care. He released the nipple he had been laving and his dark eyes glittered in the moonlight as he raised himself up to meet her gaze. Her pupils were so dilated the green of her irises was a thin ring that was hardly distinguishable and he could feel her pulse pounding at every pulse point in her body. He grinned when she shifted against him restlessly, seeking more intimate contact and he leaned down to kiss her as his right hand slid down between them.

She was more than ready; wet, swollen, and extremely sensitive when his fingers slid through her folds. He quickly found the bundle of nerves and alternated between rubbing and pressing against them as her hips bucked beneath him. He brought her right to the edge before backing off several times and when she finally couldn't stand anymore teasing she reached down and grabbed the first thing her hands came into contact with to pull him back up to her.

"I wasn't kidding," she growled, kissing him hard and fast.

Michael didn't have time to get a single complaint out about the abuse his ears were taking when she grabbed hold of them and hauled him back up to her mouth. She felt him shift up and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he slid into her with ease, shocked by the sense of absolute rightness that came with making love with him. His tongue tangled with hers as he took control of the kiss, forcing his body to stay still while she adjusted to him.

He waited for her to buck up against him, letting him know that she was ready before he withdrew and thrust into her again. He kept his rhythm slow and even at first and his hands slid up to thread his fingers through hers, resting them on the pillow on either side of her head.

Before long her hips were pushing up to meet every thrust and his pace quickened. He quickly released her hands when his knuckles brushed against the wall, sliding his hands under her and wrapping them around her shoulders to keep her head from hitting the wall. Their bodies were slowly inching up the bed as they increased their pace, rapidly rushing towards their shared goal as they climbed towards the peak in search of the ultimate freefall.

He changed the angle of penetration slightly and her breathless cries let him know he had literally hit the spot. She was having a difficult time finding purchase on his sweat-slick body and her hands finally settled for gripping his shoulders, curling around them and holding on as she felt her orgasm building.

Michael was teetering on the edge when she started chanting his name breathlessly in between the kisses she was brushing against every inch of his skin that she could reach. He lowered his head to her right breast, swiping his tongue over the nipple in time with his thrusts. He shifted to her other breast, giving it the same attention before sucking it into his mouth and scraping his teeth over it. That pushed her over the edge and she came screaming his name as her fingers dug into his flesh, her nails leaving deep, half-moon imprints.

Maria felt his hips stutter as he lost his rhythm and she knew he was close. Her heart was ready to pound out of her chest as she pulled his head down so she could whisper in his ear. "Let go," she whispered and kissed him. "I can take it."

Her words pushed him over the edge and he pressed his forehead against her shoulder, his breath hot and heavy as he panted against her skin. He let himself go, encouraged by her whispered words, and his hips slammed into hers repeatedly as he came. His vision grayed out as his body tensed up and he shouted his release to the entire world, silently congratulating himself when his mind registered the fact that he had made Maria scream through another orgasm.

He could have easily fallen asleep right then and there, but he forced himself to move to her side so he could dispose of the condom. He flopped back down beside her and she settled into his arms when he pulled her to him. Their hearts slowly eased back into a normal rhythm and their breathing slowed by degrees as they lay in the silence that followed.

"Would it bother you if I said I love you?" Maria asked as she shifted around and stretched out on top of him. She placed her hands on top of each other on his chest and rested her chin on them as she regarded him.

"I can't say it back, Maria."

She watched him for several long minutes, wondering what had caused him to be so wary of emotions and forming attachments. "I'm not asking you to, and until you want to, until you're comfortable saying those words, I don't want you to say them. It's the first time I've ever felt this, Michael, and I'd love to shout it to the world, but the last thing I wanna do is scare you off."

Michael brought his hands up to trace his fingers over her face. "I've never felt…" He cleared his throat as he tried again. "What we just did… I've never felt that with anyone else, Maria; I've never let myself…" He trailed off, unable to complete his thoughts. "I don't know how to do this," he said finally.

"Neither do I," she admitted with a smile. "We'll muddle our way through it together."

He was silent for a few minutes. "You can say it. I mean, y'know, if you want to."

Maria smiled as she shifted up to kiss him. "I love you, Michael."

His dark eyes locked on her as she settled back down on his chest and he suddenly grinned. "You weren't kiddin' when you said you wanted a screaming orgasm."

"And you weren't kidding when you said you could deliver." She chuckled. "I'll never look at alcoholic drinks the same way."

"I sure as hell hope not," Michael muttered and reached for the blanket when he felt her shiver. He could feel her body becoming heavier as sleep began to pull her under and he found himself unable to do the same. Would he ever be able to feel the same way about her that she felt about him? Was he even capable of that? His thoughts kept him awake, and the first rays of dawn were breaking over the horizon before he finally fell asleep.