Madeline's lips were pursed into a thin line as she walked inside the Perch and stood next to Operations.

'What is it? I'm busy,' he barely glanced in her direction.

The chief strategist breathed out through the slits of her nose more loudly than she meant.

'Did you sign off Michael's down-time?' she asked.

'Yes, I did,' Paul looked at her out the corner of his eye. 'What's wrong? Don't tell me he's so irreplaceable we can't do without him for five days.'

Madeline crossed her arms in front of herself.

'Do you know what he's using it for?'

Operations stopped typing on the keyboard and turned to his second-in-command. His brows met over the bridge of his nose.

'What?'

'He bought two plane tickets to China for himself and Simone Wu. They're planning to elope.'

Paul's laugh reverberated through the small space of the room.

'I don't care who he sleeps with,' he shrugged. 'He can screw half the Section as long as he does his job.'

'That's exactly my point,' Madeline fumed. 'Michael has a passionate and loyal soul. Having watched him with miss Wu, I have reason to believe he's quite serious about her. If his loyalty to Simone is ever weighed against his loyalty to us, we may have a big problem on our hands.'

Operations took a drag of his cigar and measured his colleague with a knowing stare.

'The way you worry about it,' he said smiling, 'almost makes me think there's more to it than you're saying.'

'Not at all,' Madeline looked at him levelly feeling the blush creeping up her neck and thankful for the dim lights in the room.

Paul nodded and put his gaze to the work screen again.

'We'll cross that bridge when we come it,' he concluded. 'If it turns out to be a problem, I'm sure you'll think of a way to put a wedge between them. After all, no one lives forever. Especially here.'

Madeline inclined her head in agreement and let her mouth relax. She had a bad feeling about it but she couldn't deny that Paul was right.

A jeep was taking them up a winding narrow path going slow and careful on the turns. Simone was beginning to feel queasy and closed her eyes for a few seconds wishing she didn't have to. The view was simply breathtaking: the mountains reached high and proud, covered in patches of green, jagging the air with bare gray pikes and guarding the ancient silence around.

'Are you all right?' Michael asked looking worried.

He was sitting right next to her on the spacious backseat while a middle-aged Chinese man navigated at the wheel.

'Just a little tired,' Simone gave him a small smile and felt warmth spreading through her body as he intertwined his fingers with hers.

They hadn't said much to each other on the plane or at the airport. Still, she could tell that Michael felt her every mood swing and was amazed at herself because of how easily she melted to his touch. It was as if their bodies had already known each other somewhere in another life and were slowly remembering the familiar contours and the steady heat coming through the skin. He couldn't have been aware, of course, but his guess hit right home.

'What?' Michael asked noticing the slight smile playing at her lips.

'How did you choose this place?' she shook her head in wonder.

He thought about it for a moment and then shrugged his shoulders.

'It looked beautiful,' he said. 'And peaceful.'

Simone gazed out the window unable to resist the view.

'When I was little,' she started telling, 'we always lived on the first floor. I only saw people's feet rushing on the sidewalk and the revving cars. Every time I looked up, there were rows and rows of windows and screaming ads and bright lights. Then one day we went to the beach and there were mountains visible on the other side of the bay. I used to dream about them after we moved to the States.'

Michael lifted her hand and brushed the tender knuckles with his lips.

'I'm glad you like it,' he whispered against her skin.

Simone felt hot shivers creeping up her spine and hurried to look away.

The car finally stopped and they saw a small cabin, half wood and half glass, hanging on the edge of the cliff. Michael picked up their bags, gave the driver a generous tip and led Simone up a narrow stone path. The house consisted of two parts: a living room with a kitchen island along one wall, the windows overlooking a small forest clearing, and a bedroom with a glass ceiling and almost transparent walls, nesting on the rim of the precipice. Simone's breath caught in her throat as she looked at the abyss spread at her feet and at the rising mountains containing it.

'I hope you're not afraid of heights,' Michael whispered coming behind her and putting his arms around her tiny frame.

She shook her head and smiled.

'It's perfect.'

They said their vows at sunset, repeating them after an old priest and standing on top of a small plateau. Each shuddered slightly at the words 'till death do us part' but quickly recovered. The consummating kiss was chaste and gentle, if only a little long. Before the ceremony Michael had talked about the seven trail paths and the cable car line situated nearby but Simone suspected it was only 'plan B'. Plan A involved the huge bed, of course, and the thought made her uneasy.

She lifted the hem of the simple white dress Michael had chosen for her as they were picking their way back to the cabin. A cold gust of wind licked her bare shoulders, and the shivers only got worse as she was carried over the threshold and set by the bed.

'I'm only going to do what you ask,' Michael whispered sensing her misgivings.

He lifted her face and looked deep into her eyes. Simone nodded and swallowed a lump in her throat.

'Do it,' she breathed out arching her neck to his heated lips.

He started a burning trail against her skin punctuating the way with hot plumes of tongue and simmering graze of teeth. His hands played a soft tune along her spine slowly unzipping the dress and revealing her natural form. She could feel the heat coming off him in waves, could hear his labored breathing and sense his hardness at her stomach. Still, he was going as delicately as possible, denying his own frantic wishes and easing her into it one tiny step at a time.

When her dress had finally dropped to the floor, the dusk gave way to darkness, and the first stars were visible through the glass roof. Michael was standing on his knees before Simone and his mouth was worshiping her breasts. Ripples of sudden warmth attacked her muscles aiming closer and closer to the core. She was no longer cold or tight at the joints. Her body turned weightless and supple and when she looked through the glass walls of their shelter, she felt like they were moving through space and time.

Michael lifted her off the floor sensing how weak at the knees she became and put her on the bed. She tugged at his shirt helplessly and he disposed of it in one swift motion letting her hands roam around his broad chest. A hard moan escaped his lips as she pulled him to herself and invited for a deep, all-thought-erasing kiss. Their nipples grazed against one another, and for one tantalizingly short second Michael pressed his enclosed arousal to the soft flesh of her belly. Her eyes widened at the feel of it and although he could clearly read her desire, she was nowhere near as desperate for him as he needed her to be.

He gave her another long kiss and then started to move down. He grazed her clit with his nail through the thin silk panties as his mouth lingered at the breasts again. Simone inhaled sharply and moved with her hips to meet his skilled fingers. He could feel her wetness, could already taste the salt on her skin as she searched for pleasure straining her muscles instinctively and blending her whole body to his touch.

His lips let go of her nipple and trailed down slowly as he finally decided to remove the last shred of clothing separating them. Simone bent her waist willingly as he spread her thighs and breathed her in. He almost ravished her then and had to ball his fists for control. He didn't think he'd ever feel this way — not after what Section had put him through — but he knew now that nothing was lost, and everything was found.

He leaned in and suckled her hard sending her to the brink of an orgasm in a matter of seconds. Then he pulled back a little and started a soft, tantalizingly slow rhythm with his tongue. Simone whimpered and put her hands around his head. She moved her hips begging his skillful mouth for the release but Michael was in no hurry. Once and again he led her to the very edge and then stopped, making each following anticipation of pleasure stronger than the last until finally she was mindless with the sweetest torment and the tiniest flicker made her scream and convulse.

Michael held her through it drinking her juices with total abandon. As she was starting to come down, he unzipped his trousers and moved on top of her.

'Tell me to stop,' he whispered hoarsely not sure if he would be able to.

Simone's eyes were wide and still unfocused with pleasure. She lunged for his lips hungrily as her hand found his hardness. She stroked him through the cotton underwear and moaned loudly. He couldn't wait any longer and conceded happily to the begging of her fingers. With the pants and the underwear discarded, he hovered at her entrance and urged her to look at him.

'I love you, Simone.'

He pushed hard inside of her knowing he had to do it in one swift stroke. She tensed under him and gave out a guttural cry. He waited for a few seconds letting her adjust and then made another gentle push. She didn't meet him in the thrust. In fact, her whole body turned cold and rigid. She was biting down on her lip and shaking with unbidden tears.

Michael withdrew himself at once and put his hands around her face making her look at him. The tears were flowing freely now and her eyes stared at him without really seeing.

'I'm sorry,' he breathed out stroking her cheek.

He couldn't stand her pain still he could tell it was more than physical. The torment pushed from inside of her, tying her muscles into knots, distorting her face with brutal ripples. She was trying to fight it, was trying to formulate words, but only hoarse wails emitted from her mouth.

'Let it go…' Michael whispered and pulled her to himself.

She curled into a ball and screamed into his chest. She drummed her small fists against his ribcage and tried to get out of his grip. He held her firmly and stroked her back while his heart was ripping apart. He had been foolish enough to succumb to his own happiness and to believe that all his smooth moves and Valentine training would break through her walls. But Simone was not just a virgin. Despite her cool under fire and her confident quiet manner, something was broken inside of her, and he had to have spent more time discovering that instead of numbing her apprehensions with Seduction 1.01.

He kept his arms around her until she was so exhausted with screaming and thrashing that she fell asleep like a child after a tantrum. Michael lay awake, wrapped around her protectively, his mind reeling with questions and his heart in agony. When dawn was starting to seep through the glass walls of their bedroom, he extricated himself from under the sheets, got dressed and disappeared in the woods behind the house.