(I forgot to do this earlier, so I had to go back and repost this chapter.):
Title: Paybacks
Author: Angel LeeAnn
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Marguerite and Roxton play a game of paybacks.
Disclaimer: They aren't owned by me.
This story has NOTHING to do with Trusting Danger or Unsuspecting Danger.
Chapter One
Domesticated
Part One
Stretching, Marguerite staggered into the kitchenette. She had returned from her leisure walk, but felt tenser than when she left. She stopped dead in her tracks as her eyes fell on Roxton's well-toned backside. He was oblivious to her entrance, busy stirring contents in three different pots. And he was humming. Stifling a giggle, she bit her lower lip. Who would have guessed?
Roxton lifted a spoon to his face, sniffing the contents before timidly taking a taste. His nose curled up repulsively. "What the hell," he muttered to him self. "I swear I followed the instructions…mmm…" He reached up into the cabinet above the "stove" and withdrew a spice. Looking at it oddly, he seemed to ponder his next move before shrugging and dumping a heaping full into the pan. After mixing the spice thoroughly, he hesitantly tried the food again. "Ahg!" He dropped the spoon in the pot as he rushed over to the makeshift sink. He stuck his head under the faucet and cranked the water pressure full blast.
Marguerite couldn't contain her self. She let loose a powerful laugh that nearly doubled her over. "What… are you…doing?" She managed to whiz between fits of laughter.
From his bent-over, tilted-head position, Roxton eyed her with a mixture of irritation and amusement. When the revolting taste in his mouth subsided, he switched the faucet off and wiped his dripping face off with the back of his hand. "Nothing." He ambled over to the stove and glared down at the pot of mystery. "I used to make this all the time. I just don't understand what's wrong with it."
Marguerite shook her head and strolled over, peering down into the pot. "Well, I can tell you what's wrong with it."
"What?"
She poked the mush with the spoon. "It's alive."
Roxton pressed his lips together and rolled his eyes. "It's gourmet, Marguerite."
"Gourmet? Since when do you cook gourmet? Actually, since when do you cook anything at all?"
Roxton sighed with a chuckle. "I hardly cook anything that's not been shot, yet alone anything gourmet. Yet, I did pick up a few recipe over the years of my travels."
"Ok…so what is this…mush?"
"It's called Mee Goreng. It's fried noodles with prawns, eggs, meats, and hot sauce. Yet, I had to exclude the prawns because: where would I get those around here? Anyway, I believe it is an Indian dish. Not Native American. I mean from India or some country out that way. I don't know." He eyed the dish as though he were about to discipline it.
"You continue to amaze me, John." Marguerite handed him the spoon. "And maybe it doesn't taste right because you're missing an ingredient."
He stared at her with a teasing grin. "Always stating the obvious."
"Well, I wouldn't have to if you could realize it yourself."
"Yeah, yeah, go sit down. The rest of dinner is ready and it's delicious." He swatted her gently on the behind and she yelped at the intrusion. "Oh, quit being a drama queen, Marguerite and…sit the bloody hell down."
She tossed him an angry glare from over her shoulder, but did his bidding. She plopped onto the nearest chair and rolled her eyes up at him. "So now what, John? You choke me to death with your cooking?"
Roxton barked out a laugh. "Ha! Look who's talking! Need I remind you that every time you cook, we use the left overs as poison to kill the dinosaurs? That is, if they are brave enough to even sniff it."
Marguerite made a slight, impatient growl in the back of her throat. "You're so lucky I find you charmingly insufferable."
"And you're lucky I find you adoringly infuriating." He set the rest of the table before sitting down beside her. "With Challenger, Veronica, and Malone gone for the next few days…we have to make do." He piled his plate with steaming food.
"Oh what a gentleman," Marguerite griped. "Aren't you supposed to at least offer the lady before digging in?"
"Oh, I would…if there were a lady present."
Marguerite smacked his arm. "Always so witty aren't you?"
"It is just part of my charm."
Marguerite sighed, smiling at their routine banter. "You think your charm could forgive you of anything."
Roxton pretended to think it over. "Well, it tends to work…so why not use it?"
"Because it works."
Part Two
After eating, together they cleared the table and washed the dishes. Marguerite was putting the boiling pot into place above the fire pit when suddenly she was splashed with soapy water. She whirled around, her mouth agape. "Lord John Roxton!" she scolded. "This is so not funny."
"I thought you could use a bath. You were beginning to kill the wildflowers." He indicated the vase in the middle of the table. The lilies were withering.
"That's because," she seethed, "the flowers are already dead!" She stormed over, her fists clasped at her side. "Do you enjoy being cruel, John? Because -- " she threw herself at him, causing him to loose his balance and stagger " – I enjoy it, too!" She pressed her soaked shirt against his chest. Then, reached up and wrung her dripping hair onto his shoulders. She stepped back, not yet satisfied.
Roxton chuckled whole-heartedly. "You do love to play dirty, don't you?"
"That was only the beginning." She sauntered away from him. "I'll strike when you least expect it, Lord Roxton."
"I guess I'll have to sleep with both eyes open."
She raised her eyebrows at him. "Guess so, Lord Roxton."
"I think I'm frightened to go to bed."
"Then don't go to bed," she teased.
"Oh no, I'm definitely going to bed."
"Oh really?"
"You owe me for dinner, Mrs. Roxton."
End Chapter One
Good? Bad? TERRIBLE? This is unlike my other stories. I hope it's to your liking.