Something awakened inside Norma the moment Alex ineptly told her about her curtains, right after she had checked him out and had come to the realization that he looks incredibly handsome in a suit.
It's half past ten o'clock, and Norma has been tossing and turning all evening. It's stupid to try and find sleep when all she can think about is Alex.
He has seen her exposed. Never in a million years, she would have thought that her actions would acquire someone else's attention. Her hand flies to rest apprehensively on her forehead, and her teeth get ahold of her bottom lip when, unknowingly, she apprehends that Alex Romero has seen her completely naked and that peculiar feeling inside her chest is something she can't underestimate.
She likes knowing that he has and doesn't even know why.
Norma grins gleefully, not disparaging the idea of being exposed to Alex Romero. Their relationship is more than sophisticated, but somehow they understand each other. Their bickering is a part of her day-to-day life and at this point, something she needs to function properly throughout the day.
Tired of struggling to find sleep, she uncovers herself and gets out of bed. Her lights were off, but she was bold enough to stand in front of the window Alex specifically warned her about. Her eyes look for his SUV, and they spot the humongous vehicle parked in front of room eleven.
Bingo.
Norma fidgets through her drawers, all of that without daring to turn her light on. She spots her cellphone and uses its flashlight to locate what she's looking for. Once she does, she clutches her robe and walks out of her room and heads straight to the bathroom.
If he was able to tell her about her curtains unashamedly; she's going to show him how it's done.
Alex takes his last gulp of scotch and flops down on the bed. He can't deny that seeing Norma hugging another man had been a kick right to the teeth. While he questioned Norman about Jimmy Brennen's death, she was easily being enveloped in the arms of an obscure man, and that simple act drove him to the edge. Norma Bates would be the death of him, and he hates the power she has over him. He loathes it.
He tries as much as he can to delete that picture from his head. Norma is an attractive woman. She took Lee Berman's chair, and he knows that, for the scumbags in this town, that was even a more prominent attraction.
His thoughts are disrupted by two distinct knocks on his door. He immediately knows who it is. He only knows one person who knocks, at his door anyway, in that individual way.
A groan escapes his mouth involuntarily, but it took everything in him to get out of bed. He marches to the door and takes a deep breath; his hand hasn't touched the doorknob when there's another knock. He smiles at her apparent desperation.
Alex swings the door open and finds her leaning her head on the frame with her arms crossed over her chest. That silky blue robe concealed her body in all the right places. He concluded that from that point forward, that specific mantle had become his favorite attire on Norma Bates.
"Is something wrong?" he questions, peeling his eyes off her body and meeting her gaze.
Norma sucks her teeth. "You sound like a broken disc. You know that, right?"
He sighs and attempts to break eye contact. "Norma, you know what I mean."
"Can you find another way of greeting me instead of asking me what's wrong all the freaking time?"
He looks back at her, already exasperated by her common and never-ending sarcasm. "Fine. What do you need?"
She frowns. "Do you think that sounds better?"
"Norma," he starts, taking a deep breath. He catches the sparse grin on her face. Pushing his buttons, it's what she's best at, and she's well aware of it. "How can I help you?"
"That's better," she states. "Um, well, now that I think about it, I do have a little problem."
His eyebrows furrowed in worry. "What is it? Are you okay?"
The constant solicitude in his voice was what always made her feel unharmed. She straightens her back, no longer sagging against the door frame.
"Um," she looks down at her feet before proceeding. Her heart was pounding dynamically against her chest. "I was wondering, you know, you got me thinking... How long have you been watching me?"
Their eyes meet, and Alex is incapable of following. "Wh-what do you mean?"
"You know... through my curtains..."
A sudden prick ran through his spine the moment he realized what she was talking about. He knew he shouldn't have said anything to her. It was hard for him to tell her, too. But he couldn't bring himself not to tell her and have someone else examine her perfect body the way he already has. Although watching her without her consent didn't feel right either, he felt this possessive side of him demanding what was not his and he couldn't expose her like that to no one. No one else but him.
"Listen, I'm sorry if—if I made you feel uncomfortable. I just—I had to tell you. I couldn't just stand back and wait—wait for, you know, someone else to..." he breathes, despising himself more than ever for decaying in front of her like it was nothing. He always had control. "I just had to tell you."
"Wait for someone else to do what?" she asks softly. "To watch me the way you were watching me?"
He scratches the back of his head, feeling foolish for not being able to find the right words to express himself. "I didn't mean it like that, Norma. I just—I thought you needed to know. That's all. Again, I'm sorry if it made you feel like you had no privacy... And—and I don't want you to feel like I'm some pervert that just creeps—oh God, I sound like a pervert, don't I?"
Norma manages to keep a straight face. Her lack of sentiment made him feel enervated and queasy. Making her feel awkward was the last thing he ever wanted to do.
"Norma," he laments, taking a step forward. "I'm sorry, I never intended to, you know, I wasn't—" he was babbling like a five-year-old, and he hated it. "I wasn't trying to make you feel uncomfortable. That's the last thing I want. I just had to tell you because I don't—"
He stops talking the moment he watches Norma reach for the knot that was keeping the robe fastened to her body. His eyes travel down to what her hands were doing.
"You don't want anyone else to watch me..." she whispers as her hands work to undo the tight and futile knot. "Is that it?"
Alex swallows hard. "Norma..."
"Is that it, Alex Romero?" her hands finally untie the harness and rush over to her collarbone, opening ever so gently the fabric and revealing what was underneath. "Is it because you want all of this to yourself?"
His eyes travel down her body with anticipation. He had Norma Bates standing right in front of him in silky black stockings with a suspender belt that had two perfect tiny bows attached to the front, resting sweetly on her thighs. The matching lace bra that left little to no imagination with very delicate small buttons on the front; the same sheer material as her dainty underwear, exposing her perfect porcelain skin in all the right places. Very much indeed a contributing factor.
His mouth goes dry, and he can't think straight. Is he drunk? Is this a dream and he has the scotch to impute? He can't tell.
Norma watches as his eyes devour her hungrily, and she bites her lip to try and contain her arousal. No one's ever looked at her like that, and it was making her weak at the knees.
"You don't want anyone else to see this, don't you?" she whispers intensely, obtaining the perfect reaction from him.
"No," he states huskily, licking his lips as he looks around and lunges forward to envelop his hand around her waist, tugging her inside his room cautiously.
Norma smiles triumphantly as he locks the door behind them. Alex keeps overseeing her body with deprivation. How astonishing she looks in this and thinking of a million ways he can rip it off of her body.
"Do you like it?" she murmurs, feeling a bit timid at his lack of words.
"Do I like it?" he asks in disbelief, his chest rising and falling, steady and constant like the waves crashing on the shore. His fingers trace the fabric pressed against her body, making her tremble under his warm and delicate touch. "I love it. It's perfect."
His hot breath brushes her neck, causing a shiver that only occurred when icy beach water first reaches her toes.
"You—you look fantastic... amazing," he declares as he rests his forehead against hers. Her body touches the door, and her hands find support on the hem of his shirt. Her breathing had picked up the moment he asked if it was okay to remove the hindering robe, letting it fall gradually to the floor.
He leans back to gaze at her delicious body; any sense of irony gone whatsoever at this point. The black lace hugged perfectly every curve, every speck.
He cherishes her to deep within the core of his being. With an overwhelming urge to protect her, to make her happy— to make both of them happy. He needs her, every fiber of him wants to be near her. To let her feel his devotion and his love.
Alex grins, and Norma immediately feels him smiling. She opens her eyes deliberately, moving her hands to hold him by his waist.
"What?" she murmurs with a tiny smirk.
"I just—" she feels his fingers pulling down slowly the material of her bra. "This looks so good on you. I can't get over it."
The moment he lets go of the lace bra, she suddenly remembers what it's like to breathe. She loved witnessing his reaction. Seeing how gentle he is being and how he's taking his time to explore her body.
Her hands move under his shirt, feeling every hard muscle against her fingertips. Alex steps closer and rolls down the bra strap on her left shoulder, kissing the exposed skin right after with delicacy.
The moment she feels his lips on her glowing skin her heart stops. She shuts her eyes at the delicious sensation and bites back a moan. He traces a path up her shoulder to the side of her ear. A smile shows the moment he spots her self-evident goosebumps.
Alex leans back to find her with her eyes closed in concentration and her lower lip easily gripped by her teeth. The instant her eyes open, she loses it. Everything she's feeling now, and he hasn't even thoroughly touched her yet, don't compare to what she's going to feel later. Norma relaxes her head back against the wooden door, never breaking eye contact with him. Both of them eager for the other.
Since her hands were already touching his bare skin, she pulls his shirt up, and Alex obeys. Raising his arms to help her in the process, Norma takes advantage and seizes his perfect, muscular torso.
She's never seen him without a shirt before, which makes everything more personal. She needs him. The little that he's expressed at the moment she's been in his room describes the perfect and attentive lover that he is.
As soon as his shirt is discarded, he closes the distance between them again. Norma runs her hands up his torso with no remorse. She wants this, and she is going to enjoy it.
Her eyes focus on his hard-rock chest, finding a few freckles and beauty marks on his skin. He watches her watch him. He likes the feeling of her soft hands on his chest. There isn't anything more perfect than this.
After watching her fascinated with his body, the same way he was with her, he lifts her chin to make eye contact with her. It was crucial that she answers what he's about to ask her with nothing but the truth, and he needs to see it in her noble deep azure eyes.
"Norma," he whispers, his one finger under his chin being replaced by all of them. He holds her chin softly, sustaining eye contact at all times. Her hands stop moving but remain right where they were. "You have no idea what you do to me. You can turn my life upside down with every word you say, with everything you do. And right now..." he keeps his glare on her. "Right now I'm all yours. There's no point in hiding it anymore. And-and when you're ready for me to show you," he brushes her hair to the side. "I'm going to kiss you."
Norma's breath quickens, and her eyes remain glued to his. Her hands move slowly, almost painfully slow, to his collarbone. Alex clutches her waist, pressing his hands firmly around her body and bringing her closer.
Her eyes travel down to his lips, and she licks her own, making Alex's insides twist. Her hands rest wholly around his neck, and he was sure he could feel her heart pumping inside her chest.
It's a whole new version of delicacy.
"I'm ready," Norma whimpers, her mouth only inches away. "Kiss me."
To those of you asking me to give Alex and Norma alone time in Chaos Without You, be patient. These past four chapters needed to happen in order for me to get where I need to be. However, Amanda is such an important character and you'll understand later why. We are just getting started. The next chapter will be different and we'll learn so much. Norma will talk about her feelings and so will Alex.
Be patient. Good things take time.