Chapter Sweet Sixteen: Celebration

He was waiting for her when she returned from her mission, just as she'd known he would be. She'd called him as soon as the plane landed to let him know she was on her way, and he'd promised to be waiting for her outside when she returned.

"I can't wait to see you, Syd," he'd said on the phone, a sound that had caused a goofy grin to spread across her face.

"I've missed you so much, Michael," she'd responded, clutching the phone as tightly as if it were him.

"I've missed you too, baby," he'd replied, and her grin had widened, though she wouldn't have thought such a thing was possible. "Let's not let your mother send you out without me again, okay?"

"Deal," she'd said happily. "I've got to go, Michael, okay? I love you."

"Get back to me as soon as you can. I love you, Syd."

Now the car were pulling up to her mother's headquarters, and she could see him, leaning against the front door with a lazy grin spread across his face. God, he was gorgeous. God, she loved him. She jumped out of the car before it had even come to a complete stop-- this earned her an irritated cry from Sark, but she didn't hear it-- and went running toward him, barely feeling her feet touching the payment. He started toward her at the exact same moment, and when they met, he took her in his arms and lifted her, spinning her around in a circle.

"God, I've missed you," she breathed, taking his lips with hers.

"I've missed you, too," he managed between kisses. "How was the mission? Are you okay? You must be exhausted."

"Oh, I am, darling," she assured him, planting a kiss on his neck, "I insist that you take me straight to bed."

"God, get a room, you two," Sark said, pushing past them on his way up the front stairs. The driver followed, his and Sydney's suitcases in hand. "But I'd either make your tryst quick or save it for later, Sydney dear. Your mother's going to want to hear about the mission."

"You can tell her that things went smoothly as well as I can," Sydney replied, barely taking her eyes from Michael. "Tell her that I'll be in my room and that I don't wish to be disturbed until tomorrow afternoon."

"Oooh, Syd," Michael whispered in her ear. "You're going to wear me out."

She let out a peal of laughter, causing Sark to shake his head with a scowl.

"I'll tell her," he said. "But for future reference, I'm not your errand boy."

"When I'm in charge of this organization, you'll be a lot less than that," Sydney muttered. The thought surprised her. Since when had she actually intended to take charge of her mother's organization? She must have been feeling jet-lagged. That had to be it.

"Take me to bed, Michael," she breathed.

"Whatever the lady wants." His words sent shivers down her spine. He was so good to her. She loved him so much.

Now he took her hand and led her through Irina's headquarters to the wing that held their bedroom. When they were finally alone, with the door locked-- screw Irina's rules, this time-- she turned to him and began kissing him with such intensity that it must have surprised him. He recovered from the shock quickly, his hands lifting her shirt over her head as his lips found hers over and over. She pulled at his white button down shirt so fiercely it was a wonder she didn't rip it; it didn't take long to remove it completely. There was still the matter of his undershirt to contend with; that was disposed of just as quickly.

"God, you're beautiful," he whispered, lips moving down to her neck as he fumbled with the clasp of her bra.

She smiled, turning them so that she was facing the bed. She pushed him roughly onto his back and let herself fall on top of him, working her lips down his neck. "I've missed you."

"I can tell," he murmured, and they both laughed. They had never been like this before-- so frantic, urgent. Usually they moved slowly, worshipping every inch of each other's skin until they could hardly stand it. Now all she wanted was him inside of her, filling her. Showing her how much he'd missed her.

He didn't disappoint, but then, he'd rarely disappointed her in any situation, and never in the bedroom. He always could tell exactly what she wanted, and he was only too happy to oblige.

Michael Vaughn was a wonderful man. An even better lover.

"And you thought I'd be the one to wear you out," she gasped after they'd finished, lying back on the bed.

"Well, tomorrow afternoon, Syd?" She didn't look at him, but she could hear the laughter in his voice as he turned to plant a kiss on her neck. "It's only four o'clock today."

"So I want some time alone with my man," she said, turning to face him. "Is that so wrong?"

"Of course not," he said, placing a gentle kiss on her lips. "We did have to spend a whole night apart, after all."

"Michael Vaughn, are you mocking me?" Her tone was demanding, but she couldn't keep the smile from her face.

"Absolutely not." He rested a hand on her thigh, and she shivered. She was glad he didn't know what his touch did to her. If he did, she would be completely under his power. Except she was fairly sure that she did the same thing to him. And she was quite certain she wouldn't mind playing the part of Michael Vaughn's love slave. "I was lonely all by myself in this big bed."

She smiled. "So you were good when I was gone?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that."

For a split second, Sydney felt her blood run cold. "What do you mean?"

"I called your mother a bitch to her face."

Sydney let out a relieved peal of laughter. "Michael, you didn't."

"I did."

Sydney giggled. "Oh, Michael, you were a bad boy," she teased. "Why would you say such a nasty thing to my sainted mother?"

Michael grimaced. "I'm not sure," he said. "But I think she may have asked our friend Brooke Banning to seduce me."

"Your friend Brooke Banning," Sydney corrected with a scowl. "I knew she was trash from the minute I laid eyes on her."

"Oh, you did not." Michael rolled his eyes. "You just didn't like her flirting with your man."

Sydney glared at him. "Oh, and I suppose you'd love it if a handsome young thing started putting the moves on me."

"Of course I wouldn't," Michael said impatiently. "That's not the point."

"Oh, what is the point, Michael?" Sydney demanded. "I'd love it if you'd explain it to me."

"The point," Michael said, with a calmness that drove Sydney absolutely mad. "Is that whether or not Brooke is trash, she is very much under your mother's thumb, and I believe she would have seduced me if I'd let her."

"You're sure?" Sydney didn't want to believe that her mother was capable of meddling in her life like that, but deep down she knew better. Well, not even that deep down.

"No, I'm not sure," Michael admitted. "I could have been being paranoid."

Sydney sighed, jumping up from the bed and throwing Michael's discarded dress shirt over her naked body. "Or you could be right, and that's exactly something my mother would do," she sighed, buttoning the shirt up.

"You missed a couple of buttons," Michael pointed out.

Sydney smiled, a little sheepishly. "Actually, I think I tore them off before."

"Nice," Michael said with a grin.

The smile froze on Sydney's face as she thought of her mother, actually asking another woman to seduce Michael. "I can't believe my mother," she fumed. "She knows how much I love you, and yet she'd have you sleep with someone else just so she'd have something to use against you."

"But it didn't work," Michael pointed out. "That's the important thing."

"Yeah, I just wonder what she has in store for us next," Sydney said, running a hand back through her hair.

"I won't pretend I'm not a little paranoid about it myself," Michael confessed. "But Syd, I've thought about it a lot, and she can't hurt us. We're stronger than that."

"She obviously doesn't think so," Sydney said, beginning to pace.

"But we are." Now Michael was out of bed too, locating his boxer shorts and pulling them on. He moved to the dresser and began rummaging through a drawer. "And I think I know a way to show her that."

Sydney wasn't sure what she'd expected him to pull out of that drawer, but it wasn't a little black box containing a square cut diamond not unlike the one she'd worn in her dream.

"Sydney, will you marry me?"

Sydney stared at the ring. There were a million reasons she should say no, a million reasons this would never work.

But there was a bigger reason she should say yes, and he was standing right in front of her. "Of course, Michael."

He slipped the ring on her finger and drew her into the longest, most passionate kiss she'd ever experienced.

She'd known there had been a reason she'd said she didn't want to be disturbed till the next afternoon. She had some serious celebrating to do.