I shuffled around my planned sequence of chapters to incorporate the ideas you presented in your reviews. Besides, it's been a week already so Mer is due for another day-off. LOL.
For Ciaobella06 & AuburnH, who love the sneaking around; Jany1988 & JenniferL, who love semi-domestic meralex; and LaFilmeM, to make up for my 'joke' in chapter 8. LOL.
He stood by the door inside his room, his ear pressed against it as he listened intently for the creak that would indicate the opening of the door next to his. When he heard it, he counted to five, and then the door at the end of the hallway slammed shut. He quietly opened his door, then tiptoed his way to the bathroom, and at the sound of water running, he took three steps into Meredith's room.
She was still asleep under the covers, in the exact position as he'd left her half an hour ago. He walked towards her side of the bed and knelt on the floor, leaning in to smooth the hair that impeded his view of her face. He planted a kiss on her forehead as she stirred.
Rousing from the light sleep she had fallen into since he snuck out of the room a while ago, she opened sleep-drugged eyes to warm brown ones sparkling with desire and disappointment. She smiled up at him, scooting closer to the edge of the bed to get nearer to the warmth of his body.
"Do you really have to go to work today? Couldn't you just call in sick and get someone to cover your shift," she whispered.
"Meredith," he berated in a low voice (as sternly as he could), groaning in frustration as he desperately prevented her wandering hand from reaching its destination. "Stop that!"
She faked a pout at the entrapment of her hand against his stomach, a mere inch above the waistband of his jeans. "Spoilsport," she mumbled teasingly, a gleam in her smiling eyes.
She let out a gurgle of laughter at the way his hand tightened over hers when she attempted to continue its downward slide. This elicited an amused smirk from her sorely-tempted-but-defenseless prey, his eyes betraying his desire. He bent down a little more to scowl at her.
"Meredith, behave. I have to …," he growled, his voice hitching when he felt her free hand sneakily graze his crotch.
He snaked his hands around her wrists and moved quickly. In a matter of seconds, he had covered her body with his, her back flat on the bed, his hands around her wrists keeping her hands firmly in place on either side of her head. He smirked at her before covering her mouth with his, swallowing her triumphant giggle.
Calculating that they had a few more minutes before Izzie completed her morning routine, he gave in to the temptation to kiss her passionately, devouring her mouth to let her know how much he wanted to stay in bed with her. Gathering his last remaining ounce of control, he gently pulled away from the kiss, his lips softening against hers to bank the fire before completely breaking contact.
He leaned his forehead on hers, trying to normalize his breathing. He pressed his crotch against hers in a manner of helpless surrender, announcing the victory of her mission to seduce. He chuckled when he heard her gloating laugh.
"I really have to go to work, but I'll see what I can do about getting out early. You're going to pay for this later, you know that, right," he threatened, gently grazing his teeth against her neck, his tongue dancing lightly on her skin, a promise of retaliation, a glimpse of what he intended to do later tonight.
His lips moved back to her mouth, a final farewell, and then he quickly removed himself from temptation. Standing beside the bed, he bent down to kiss her.
"I'll see you later. Enjoy your day-off."
Get out while you still can, the voice of sanity screamed at him. Shaking his head, he moved towards the door, looking back to throw her a promise of retribution. He smirked at her grin before closing the door.
X ---------- LIVING ROOM AT THE GREY YOUTH HOSTEL, 11:00AM ---------- X
What the … oh no! Oh shit! Of all the idiotic things … she berated herself. I'm never going to hear the end of this.
She jumped out of the couch in a state of panic when she heard keys jangling against the front door.
Alex finally managed to still his trembling fingers long enough to unlock the door, anticipation and exhilaration at spending the day with Mer uninterrupted affecting his coordination. He quickly pushed through the door and locked it, dropped his bag, and announced his presence. Just giving her fair warning, the prey-turned-predator mused humorously.
"Mer," he called out as he moved away from the door.
"Hey. In here," she answered somewhat out of breath.
He followed her voice to the living room. He leaned against the doorframe, taking in the pile of laundry in the basket on the coffee table and the folded clothes neatly stacked on the seat.
"Hey. What are you doing home," she greeted distractedly, her smile warm but a little forced as she gazed at him from her position on the couch.
"I was able to get Parkins to cover my shift so I took off early," he explained, smiling curiously at her Cleopatra-like pose on the couch. His eyes traveled the length of her body stretched out on the couch, one leg crossed over the other, her right hand splayed across her stomach, her head cradled in the palm of her left hand.
Though he sensed a little tension in her demeanor, he readily accepted the bright smile that flashed on her face upon hearing his news. Eager for the fun to commence, he walked towards the couch. Claiming his reward for getting the day off, he wasted no time in kissing her, pushing her back against the cushions by lying on top of her as he attacked her mouth relentlessly.
Knowing that they had the rest of the day together, his feverish assault on her tapered into gentle teasing. He lifted his head and stared down at her.
She smiled back up at him, conveying her delight at having him to herself the rest of the afternoon.
"Have you had lunch?"
"Not yet. I spent the morning doing laundry," she answered, running her fingers through his hair.
"Yeah, I could see that. We need to eat, though … you know, for energy, 'coz I'm thinking we're going to need it," he drawled, wagging his eyebrows at her.
She giggled her response, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.
"Come on, let's see what we have in the fridge," he coaxed, planting a kiss on her mouth before disentangling himself from her body.
"Uh … um … why don't you go do that while I finish off the laundry," she stammered, her body stiffening once more against the cushions.
"I'll help you with the laundry later. I was hoping we'd fix lunch together," he said, taking hold of her hand to pull her up.
"I told you I can't cook, so maybe you should take care of lunch," she reminded him laughingly. "I'm almost done anyway, so I'll join you in the kitchen in a while," she promised, trying to charm him into submitting to her wishes.
He stood back and crossed his arms across his chest, studying her closely to figure out why she was acting twitchy and nervous again. He spied a patch of something pink from under her shoulder, and he looked at her shrewdly.
"Meredith Grey, just what are you trying to hide here," he taunted with humor as he bent towards her to fish out the item in question.
She threw him a sheepish look, prepared for the inevitable discovery of her secret.
"Are these my briefs?"
Sorry had to end here, but I'm trying to put up a chapter before I leave for the weekend. I'll be out till Sunday, so I won't be able to update till Monday, but I'll be working on a few chapters hopefully while I'm away. Good news, though. I'll be on a three-week break before classes start (I'm a preschool teacher, btw) in June, so I'll be able to work on this story uninterrupted. So, keep those requests/suggestions coming. LOL.
Ciaobella06, AuburnH, Jany1988, JenniferL & LaFilmeM --- here's hoping my objectives for this chapter were met. Thanks for your continued reviews.
Greys-Angeles --- I want him back, too!
AuburnH --- LMAO! Thanks for the details. Will use them for the upcoming chapter, but I have to say that it won't be an actual reenactment.
Murgy31 --- great idea, sloan and izzie. This might even be helpful in diffusing her 'freaking out' reaction if she too has a secret to hide. Good thing I didn't use the gizzie storyline here. Thanks for the suggestion.
Coppie & ilajkajas2215 --- am really glad you're enjoying this. I'm hooked, too, especially since mcdreamy's no longer being dreamy. Argh, I dread the upcoming epi --- he better not hook up with that girl! Anyway, thanks for your reviews.
More of the 'day-off' in the next chapter. As always, please review and thanks for reading.
051007