Chapter Nine: Stupid Things Guys Do: Part II
Yo! Thanks for the reviews! They are my life-blood. So, here's the next chapter – I hope you like it! There is a bit of Xianghua-bashing here, but not a lot, and it's not because I hate her. Don't flame me if you get mad – I don't flame folks who ... wait, I don't flame folks at all. ^^
To Spider-Bear: Her left eye is brown, and her right is very pale blue, like a walleye. I explained it like in the very first chapter, when she was still a wolf. ^.^ Forever ago, huh?
Sansaku: (Appears in a ball of fire, a la Kasumi Karen from X – Yes, in fact, I am a fan of CLAMP!) Hi hi! It's nice to see you again!
Maxi: Woo-hoo! You know what this means! ^_^
Sansaku: Yup, that's right – things are gonna be a bit better for Maxi here. We all know he's been wanting a piece of Ilya for a while now. =P
Maxi: Hell yeah! She's one hot chick! ^o^
Sansaku: Well, since the feedback's been good, I suppose maybe you'll get a little.
Maxi: FINALLY!
Sansaku: Perv. Well, if this chapter seems really slow, don't worry and keep reading, it's fairly long. That being said, sit back and enjoy the show! ... Er, story!
"Hello," Maxi greeted in a cheerful tone as Ilya re-entered the room.
"Um, yeah, Kilik said I should stay in here."
"Well, good. Now we can have a nice long chat."
Her heart skipped a beat. "About what?"
He flashed her that charming smile of his. "About anything, really. I'd like to learn a bit more about you."
"Oh ... really?"
"Of course."
A million thoughts were racing through her mind. 'Why does he want to know so much about me?' 'I barely know anything about HIM!' 'I'm not that interesting.' 'Why the hell doesn't he talk about himself?' Finally, she sat down on the bed Kilik was supposed to have occupied and looked at him, where he still lay from when she'd been in there earlier. "Er ... what do you want to know?"
"Well, if it doesn't upset you, I'd like to know about your childhood."
She smiled. "It was pretty normal. I had parents, sisters and a brother. I never got along with my siblings that well, but I was still happy."
"That's pretty general, you know. Is there anything specific you remember?"
Ilya thought for a moment, and then grinned. "Well, once when I was about six I got into a huge fight with my mother. Being an idiot kid, I was ready to run away, and I started packing my bag, and she came in to help me. At first I was angry because she was teaching me the proper way to pack, and she kept adding things, but then I realized she was making it so heavy I couldn't lift it. I thought that was really sweet. She told me she never wanted me to leave, and that was the greatest feeling in the world." She had to stop then; she could feel her throat tighten and her eyes burn, as they always did before she started crying. "So, what was your childhood like?"
He shook his head. "If you can call it that. My parents died when I was very young, and I was adopted by a group of pirates, who put me through rigorous training exercises." When he saw the shocked look on Ilya's face, he smiled again. "Don't worry, it wasn't entirely unhappy, looking back – it turned me into the man I am today."
Ilya smiled and said, "Well, you certainly aren't suffering from a lack of character."
Maxi sat up on the edge of the bed; the two beds were so close that their knees were nearly touching. "Ilya, I think it's best if you don't confront Cervantes," he said, his voice low and serious.
Her eyes flashed. "What are you talking about?"
"I know you're strong and you can take care of yourself, but Cervantes has killed so many people ... and I know you've experienced that first-hand. I don't want you to get hurt. So please, don't go after him."
She shook her head angrily. "No. I'm going – I've already made up my mind."
He placed his large hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes; she quickly averted her gaze. "Listen to me. I love you, okay? I don't want anything to happen to you. Please, stay here. Or go back to Russia."
"No way, I'm not going back empty-handed."
His heart nearly stopped. "What? What are you talking about?" Maxi feared she was after Soul Edge itself, which would cause quite a bit of conflict between not only the two of them, but between her, Kilik and Xianghua.
"... I can't tell you."
"Tell me, are you after the sword? I can't let you get your hands on it."
"No, no, it's not that. It's just ... Cervantes took something from us ... and I need to get it back."
A wave of relief washed over the Ryukyu pirate. "Thank God ... I was afraid I'd have to fight you."
It was several moments before either spoke again. "Why ... why don't you want me to go with you?"
Maxi shook his head and smiled. "That's not it. I just want you to be safe. You've almost died twice on this trip already, and that was about as much as I could handle."
"So? Remember, you're the one who was poisoned. And besides, I don't have some crazy priest after me."
A feeling of combined dread and annoyance filled him. He'd completely forgotten about that. "But you're still young. You have so much life left in you ... I'd hate to see you throw that all away."
"Who says I'm throwing it away?" she retorted, frowning. "I'm not gonna die. I'll be fine."
A smile graced Maxi's handsome face. "I used to be a lot like that too. Then, after I went after Astaroth for the first time, I spent four years barely able to move. It's a miracle I can walk, even though I still limp a little. I nearly died; I was inches away from it. So please, think about this. You're not invincible, Ilya."
Truly touched by his concern for her but even more irritated by his hypocrisy, she just grumbled something completely inaudible and turned her head away. Maxi, however, was still somehow able to make it out as something along the lines of "Fine, I'll think about it." Smiling, he kissed her deeply, and within moments they were both in the same bed. The two were so consumed by passion that they had forgotten the seriousness of their situation; all that mattered was the moment they were sharing.
"Maxi?" Ilya whispered after a minute.
"Yeah?" He gave her a concerned look.
"I ... I love you."
Delighted that she'd finally been able to say those three words that were somehow so difficult, he kissed her again. "I love you, too."
It wasn't long before the two drifted off to sleep in each other's arms. ***
Ilya awoke the next morning to the sound of Maxi's steadily beating heart. She'd slept the entire night with her ear against his chest, and her neck was killing her. She saw, however, that Maxi was still asleep and decided not to stir – she wanted him to rest. Besides, he was so cute when he slept. The girl let out a soft giggle – he looked so young, so peaceful! Due to the intense pain in her neck, though, she decided to stir ever so slightly to get a bit more comfortable and closed her eyes, listening to his heart beat and feeling the gentle rise and fall of his chest.
Within moments he stirred a bit, and slowly opened his eyes. "Morning," he greeted with a sleepy smile.
"Good morning," she replied, beaming sunnily. She sat up and stretched her arms. "What time to you think it is?"
Maxi glanced over at the drawn shades and shrugged. "Probably early ... it looks like it's still dark outside."
Ilya cracked her neck in a decidedly un-feminine manner and lay back down next to him. "Good. I'm still tired."
It was at that precise moment that a deep rumble that rattled the window could be heard and sheets of rain began pouring down. The roar of thunder was so loud it shook the room and caused Ilya to let out a yelp. Maxi smiled. "What, you're afraid of thunder?"
She nodded meekly. "And spiders ... and small cramped places ... and a whole lot of other things ..."
He let out a laugh. "Don't worry, it's just thunder. It's not gonna hurt you."
"Hurts my ears well enough," she grumbled, eliciting a smile from him.
"Well, considering it's raining like nobody's business, we should wait until tomorrow to start going again."
Ilya yawned – she was very tired. But she knew sleep wouldn't come easily when there was a thunderstorm raging outdoors. "Come on, let's get something to eat," Maxi suggested, holding out a hand to her. She smiled and took it, and they left the room.
Needless to say, Xianghua was very upset to see the two of them holding hands. She was about to open her mouth and say something when a booming voice called out, "MAXI!"
Maxi and Ilya both turned around to find a scruffy man of about 30 or so smiling at them. "Maxi, long time, no see!" he said loudly.
"Er ... Kaida?" Maxi looked quite confused, as if he were randomly guessing a name, hoping it was the right one.
"Yep, that's right, it's me!" He let out a great bellow that was apparently a laugh. "Ah, never expected to see you again!"
Maxi's face broke into a smile. "It's nice to see you, too," he said cheerily.
"Ah, it's been ... what, four years? Wow, how time flies, eh? And who's this? Your latest squeeze?" The large man bent down and looked at Ilya, who'd moved herself so that she was half-hidden behind Maxi's considerably larger frame. "She's a beaut, that she is. Where'd ya find 'er?"
"This," Maxi said with a deep fondness in his voice, "is my lover, Ilya." He gave her a tender look, and she smiled up at him.
"Hmmm, lover? Never expected you'd settle down. What say we go have a drink?"
Ilya smiled at him. "Go on, I know you have a lot of catching up to do."
"R – Really?" He looked perplexed.
"Of course. Go on!" she urged.
As Maxi and Kaida settled down at the bar, Ilya headed off to take a bath – something she'd enjoy, considering how many aches and pains she had. The hot water would do wonders for them.
"That's one cute girl," Kaida said, smiling. "Nice body, too."
Maxi shifted in his chair uncomfortably. "I suppose."
Kaida laughed. "I guess you really have changed, huh? You must be serious about this one. I remember when we first met back in India, you had a different girl every night. How long were we both at that inn? Six, seven days?"
"Six," Maxi answered, taking a shot of bourbon.
"So how long have you two been together?"
"Well ... officially, about a week or so. But ... you know, we were sorta together before that."
"Oh, I understand. You bedded 'er yet?"
The younger pirate nearly choked on his whiskey. "Er ... no. It's not like that."
The big man slapped his knee as he roared with laughter. "Getting sensitive, huh? Well, love's bound to do that to you. Is she anything like ... you know ... Rafa?"
Maxi's shoulders hunched at the mention of the name. "I don't ... know. I never really thought about that."
"I know you really liked little Rafa. She was a sweetie, wasn't she? It's too bad what happened to her."
Maxi did not speak. He'd forgotten entirely about the only other woman he'd ever had such strong feelings for ... she, too, had been lost in India along with Kyam, Yagazzi, the rest of his crew and his ship as well. She was a beautiful girl, and so kind-hearted he felt she could make the world a better place.
"Still sensitive about that, aren't you?" Kaida clapped a hand on Maxi's back. "Don't worry; you've got that other girl now."
"You know ... I feel guilty whenever I'm with her. Because I'm a man. I just get so excited around her! I can't help it. I don't know what to do about it, either. She's not ready yet."
"You may know a lot about pleasuring a woman, but you sure as hell don't know anything about their feelings. I can't help you there, mate, but she'll let you know when she's ready. Who knows, maybe she'll be just like Rafa."
"But she knows about my past. I'm afraid that she'll think I'll leave her if she doesn't sleep with me." He shook his head. "I wouldn't be able to face her if she ... slept with me just for that reason."
"Do you think she would do that?"
He shook his head again. "I don't know. I hope not." Maxi paused and then laughed. "No, she's more the type to get mad and leave me if she thought that."
A few tables away, Xianghua smiled to herself. It was a small glimmer of hope, this revelation – even if Ilya didn't leave Maxi, even if they DID sleep together just because Ilya thought he'd leave her, it would hurt Ilya nonetheless. Xianghua had known too many women who'd lost their virginity under the same circumstance that had become depressed and withdrawn to pass up this opportunity. She took a sip of her tea and then left, knowing Ilya was taking a bath. ***
Ilya was humming quietly as she scrubbed the dirt and dead skin off of her elbows. Her knee was healing rapidly, she discovered, and would leave another battle scar. 'Oh, well,' she thought to herself, 'that's how it goes.'
A knock came to the bathroom door. "I'm IN here," Ilya said rudely, half-expecting it to be Maxi. To her surprise it was Xianghua's voice that responded.
"I know. Can I ... can I talk to you for a moment?" There was a lot of pain in her voice.
"Um ... sure, come on in."
Xianghua quickly entered the room and shut the door. Her eyes were puffy and red, and tears had left shining streaks on her cheeks. "What happened?" Ilya inquired.
"It's ... it's Maxi!"
'Oh great,' Ilya thought bitterly, 'she's gonna complain about us being together, I'll bet.'
"He tried to ... he tried to force himself on me!" She broke into loud sobs.
"What?" the Russian demanded in disbelief. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"He said ... it's been too long since he'd had a woman, and he couldn't wait anymore. He said he knew I loved him, and that you wouldn't sleep with him!"
Ilya was speechless. Gullible though she might be, she wasn't entirely sure the girl was telling the truth. Xianghua had been plenty upset that they were together, but she was truly shaken.
"Maxi grabbed my wrists and kissed me, and when I said no, he got really angry. He did this!" She pointed to an angry red welt on her cheek that had previously gone unnoticed by Ilya. "He slapped me and called me names, and then just stormed off."
"I'm ... I'm gonna go talk with him." Ilya's voice was flat and without emotion; she felt numb.
"No!" Xianghua protested. "He'll be so mad if he finds out I told you!"
"I won't mention it."
"Promise?"
"... I promise."
And as Ilya stood, dried herself and pulled on a robe, Xianghua gave her a sad smile. "Thanks, Ilya. You're a good friend."
Ilya left the room without replying or even looking back, and headed off to the room she'd shared with Maxi as the Chinese girl's face broke into a sly grin. ***
Maxi was already in the room, rummaging through his backpack. "Oh, hi," he greeted cheerily as Ilya came in. Noticing she wasn't wearing much, he blushed a bit and looked away. "Er ... I'll leave while you change."
"No, I'll go back and ...." Ilya's voiced trailed off into silence and she turned to leave. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted to be alone in a room with this man anymore.
"Wait," Maxi said, getting up and walking over to her. "Your clothes are here, I'll leave."
"No, really, it's ..."
Maxi grabbed her wrist gently, but Ilya spun round and slapped his hand away. Her eyes were full of fear, and he knew that fear was of him. "What ... what's wrong?"
"N-nothing," she stammered, and headed back into the room. "I'm okay, just a little jumpy because of the thunder." She gave a nervous laugh that he saw right through. "It hasn't let up yet. I'm still a little uneasy, I guess."
Unconvinced, Maxi started to leave the room. "No, wait," Ilya called after him. He turned to face her, and she forced a smile. "I wanted to tell you ... that I'm ready."
A very confused Maxi asked, "What? What are you talking about?"
"I'm ready ... to ... um, take our relationship to the next level." It hurt her to say the words; she wasn't ready, not in the least. But she loved Maxi, and she didn't want him to leave her.
"You're sure?" he questioned, frowning a bit.
A smile spread across her face that was realistic enough to fool him. "Yes, I'm sure."
Maxi drew her close and hugged her tightly. "I love you, Ilya."
She closed her eyes. "I love you, too."
He kissed her gently; she was at first unwilling, but then melted in his arms. She still didn't want to do it – she was scared, and nervous, but found it was true what her father had once said: "Love makes you do things you'll regret."
Maxi gently laid her on the bed and opened her robe, revealing her nude body. For a moment his eyes rested on her scar, and that made her extremely uncomfortable. He quickly caught himself and then leaned down to kiss her again. Straddling her body, he ran a hand down her chest and then to her stomach, stopping briefly before reaching even further down. His tongue entered her mouth about the same time his fingers entered her body; she had never felt such pleasure before, but she still wanted the situation to be over as soon as possible. When he pulled back from the kiss she raised herself off the bed enough to wrap her arms around his neck and put her face into his shoulder, where she knew he couldn't see her squeeze her eyes shut as tightly as possible and grit her teeth. 'Grin and bear it,' she repeated in her mind over and over like a mantra. 'Grin and bear it. Grin and bear it. Grin and bear it.'
A glorious yet unwanted warmth spread through her body as his fingers curled upward, ushering in a wetness and ecstasy in her. When his fingers left her body he put his muscular arm behind her back and lifted her up for "easy access"; he planted soft kisses on her neck, then her collarbone, and finally on one of her smallish breasts. As he suckled on it, she took a moment to gather her strength and keep herself from crying. It wasn't often that she cried, maybe six or seven times in her life since infancy, but this was one of the times she feared she would.
Her eyes burned badly, and she blinked rapidly to dispel the tears that were forming. God, she loved Maxi, but this was all wrong. She'd expected her first time to be much different, in particular the fact that she DIDN'T WANT TO. Maxi laid her back down on the bed, his hands on either side of her head, and gave her a look she couldn't quite decipher; was it concern, sorrow, or hurt?
"I'm sorry," he said sadly. "I can't do this."
The hell he couldn't; Maxi was a very well-endowed man and Ilya could feel he was willing, his body was so close and his ... well, suffice it to say he was obviously willing, at least in a physical sense.
"What?" Ilya asked, confused though greatly relieved.
"You're not ready," he explained with a pained smile. "I may be a pirate, a thief, a liar and a brute, but I'm not bad enough to take a woman that isn't willing."
Ilya was silent as Maxi gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and then got off the bed. He stood and stretched, cracked his neck, then turned back to her and smiled as if nothing had happened. "Well, then, should we find Kilik and Xianghua? Sounds like the storm is letting up and we have to discuss our travel plans."
Ilya sat up and looked at him with disbelief. "But Xianghua said ..." She quickly stopped talking. She was now quite certain that something was fishy, but she couldn't betray Xianghua's "trust," or whatever it was.
"What?" Maxi's smile faded and was replaced at once with a suspicious frown.
"I can't ... I promised I wouldn't tell you."
"Did Xianghua say something to you?"
"Well ..."
"Ilya, please tell me what she said. If she set this up, we have to do something about it." Maxi sat on the bed next to the still-naked Ilya and put his hands on her shoulders. "Ilya, did she say something odd to you?"
"She ..." It was very difficult for Ilya to go back on her word, but she wanted to make sure Xianghua was at all deserving of it. "She said you tried to force her to ... you know, because it had been so long since your last time and I wasn't sleeping with you."
He frowned at the revelation, but then smiled in an awkward sort of way. "And you believed her? Do you really think I'm that bad?"
Ilya looked as if he'd called her some horrendous name, she hadn't thought about how he'd react to something like that. Her eyes went wide and her jaw opened a little, and she appeared hurt as well as shocked. "No, I ... I didn't want to believe it. But, you know, I really love you and I just thought ..."
Maxi shook his head. "Don't worry about it, I'd question myself too. With my past, how could I expect you not too?" He gave her a playful grin, which she returned, albeit shyly.
"I'm sorry. But ... when you stopped and said you couldn't ... you don't know how much that meant to me. It made me realize that you're a good person, and I really want to be with you."
"What do you mean by that?"
She smiled and shook her head. "Nothing. Never mind."
"I'm going to have a frank talk with our friend Xianghua," Maxi said, with a shadow of a frown. "What are you gonna do?"
Ilya thought hard for a minute. "I ... guess I'll get dressed, for starters," she said with a shrug. She grabbed her robe and pulled it over her shoulders. "And ... Maxi?"
"Yes?"
"Thanks for ... you know. Not going through with it."
He smiled at her. "Don't worry about it. The last thing I'd ever want to do is hurt you."
Ilya thought hard about Maxi after he left. She sat on the bed, still wearing only the robe, and looked up at the ceiling. God, how she wanted him. When his body was pressed against hers ... her stomach had gone aflutter, and she'd felt as if she were floating. Now that she knew he wouldn't leave her if she abstained ... she felt differently about sleeping with him.
She giggled a little and decided to wait for him to get back. ***
"You don't understand, Maxi, I did it for you!" Xianghua protested as the pirate confronted her about the lie she'd told Ilya.
"You lied to Ilya and told her I'd forced myself on you! How, exactly, is that doing something for ME?" he demanded, fighting hard to keep himself from yelling.
"Because I love you!" she answered, bursting into tears. "I don't see why you love Ilya so much! I've loved you since we first met!"
"I don't care." His voice was cold and emotionless. "Love me all you like. I'll never forgive you for this."
Kilik, who was watching anxiously, decided to interject. "Look, let's ... just leave things as they are, and ... well, hope Xianghua gets over this soon. Maxi, I'm sorry, I tried to talk to her, but ..."
Maxi regarded Kilik with a frown, but then his expression softened. "Don't worry about it, kid. It's alright, it wasn't your fault."
Xianghua took off toward the room Ilya and Maxi shared, and before either of the men could stop her, she'd burst in, grabbed Ilya's knife from the bedside table, and taken a swipe at the Russian girl, who had her back to the door. A shallow gash opened up on the back of her shoulder; she turned to face Xianghua, thoroughly shocked.
Kilik tackled Xianghua and wrenched the knife from her grasp; Maxi was at Ilya's side in an instant, checking her wound. "What the hell are you doing?!" Kilik shouted, leaving the others in awe. He'd never spoken so harshly. He was holding her down on the floor, gripping her wrists. "Give it up! Maxi doesn't love you. I do!"
Ilya was astonished and nearly in shock but smiled nonetheless. 'He's finally told her!' she thought.
"You can't keep trying to get between them!" Kilik continued in a snarl. "They love each other. Can't you see that? Shouldn't you just be glad that Maxi's happy?"
Maxi held Ilya protectively and she rested her head gently on his shoulder. "Xianghua, just ... let's just leave them be, okay?" the younger man suggested, his voice returning to its normal calm, soothing tone. Xianghua nodded tearfully, and gave Ilya an apologetic look as she and Kilik left.
"I can't believe she attacked you," Maxi said moments later. He shifted positions so he could better inspect her shoulder. "Take your robe off."
Ilya let down the right sleeve of her robe to expose the back of her shoulder. "Ow," she hissed as Maxi checked it briefly.
He smiled. "Thank God she wasn't exactly thinking straight – it's really shallow. Probably hurts like hell, though, right?" She nodded. "Well, don't worry, I think Kilik might have little Xianghua under control."
Ilya looked at Maxi shyly. "Maxi ... I'm ready."
"Ready for what?"
She frowned and gave him a half-playful, half-irritated smack on the arm. "You know what for!" she growled.
"How am I supposed to know? Ten minutes ago you weren't ready, and now you suddenly are?"
"I thought about it a lot, and I changed my mind."
He sighed, albeit good-naturedly. "That's a woman for you – always changing her mind."
"You're a jerk."
"Yes, you've said so before. And you're a brat."
Ilya laughed. "You're really mean, you know?" She leaned in close so her forehead was resting against his and smiled. "But I love you anyway."
"I love you, too, Ilya." His lips met hers, and he kissed her passionately. Her hands slowly worked his shirt off and then caressed his muscular chest when he cast it aside. Her hands also found their way to his belt, which she promptly unbuckled. As he removed his remaining clothes, she ran her fingers up his hardness and felt him shudder slightly. "You're sure?"
She leaned forward, put her lips to his ear, and whispered, "Make love to me."
Maxi put a hand on the collar of her robe that remained on her body and slowly slid it off her shoulder; it fell to the bed, exposing, once again, her chest. Ilya's body stiffened at the touch of his hands upon her breasts, and she let out a long breath as he massaged them. As he kissed her again he pinched her nipples slightly, and then pushed her down on the bed so she was lying down. Maxi's hands ran themselves down her body, and he finally reached her sensitive spot. He fingered her gently at first, but then with increased fervor. Her juices soaked his fingers, and she felt as though something was building up inside of her.
Finally he pulled his fingers from her body, and then spread her legs open. "This is going to hurt a bit," he warned in a whisper, but Ilya just smiled up at him. She'd had many a friend gossip to her about the "first time"; they'd warned that it was at first an almost ripping sensation, then dull pain that persisted for days. They'd even said it would bleed - something Ilya was not looking forward to.
His hardness pushed itself into her slowly, pushing its way past her lips and into her soft, warm insides. Maxi nipped her earlobe to pull some focus away from the pain, a tactic he'd employed many times with virgins. Sure, it hurt, the initial entrance, but Ilya found it wasn't nearly as bad as she'd initially feared. The feeling was the same warmth that had spread through her body when he'd first put his fingers in her, but on a much grander scale. She felt her virginity give way with his first thrust, and her hands clutched at the white sheets on the bed. With each pump her sensitivity heightened, and she gripped the sheets until her knuckles were white. 'It feels so good,' she thought as she became wetter and wetter. 'I'd never thought it'd feel like this.'
After a few moments a strange feeling overcame Ilya, and then it felt as if something inside her had burst. A violent intake of breath and a loud moan made Maxi laugh. "Just had your first orgasm, eh?" he asked, bending down and kissing her forehead. "So how was it?"
"It was ... the greatest feeling in the world," she replied, slightly out of breath. And oh, God, was it ever. She wanted nothing more than to experience that again, sometime, with Maxi.
He wrapped his arms around her body and pulled her up so that she was sitting in his lap, legs on either side of his. "Was it, now?" he asked with a playful grin. Then he began thrusting again, while sucking on her left breast and groping her right. With each passing second he felt himself closer to climax, and within a few minutes he'd reached it. He let out a soft groan as he blew inside her, and she, too, was clearly aware of what had transpired.
Ilya's cheeks were flushed and her body exhausted from her orgasm. It was still early in the day, but Maxi decided it best to allow her to sleep. And he would sleep with her. Their bodies separated, although only for a moment, as Maxi hugged her from behind when she sat up. "I love you," he whispered in her ear.
"I love you too," she replied, and the two of them lay down together, falling into a near-blissful slumber in one another's arms.
Sansaku: (notices the chapter has ended and quickly gets off the couch and puts away her bag of popcorn) So there you have it, folks! Maxi and Ilya have finally done it!
Maxi: (lights cigarette) Oooooh yeah.
Sansaku: (grabs said cigarette from his mouth and puts it out on his shoulder) Stop that!
Maxi: ACK! What the hell did you do that for?!
Sansaku: THAT is for not giving Xianghua what-for! You shoulda kicked her arse!
Maxi: .... "Arse"?
Sansaku: (slaps hand to her forehead in disgust and shakes her head) God ... never mind. You're hopeless.
Maxi: "Arse" ..... hm, not in my vocabulary.
Sansaku: Whatever, just shut up. Anyway, I hope ya'll enjoyed that chapter. This will NOT be the only steamy one, however – Maxi and Ilya are bound to get it on again.
Maxi: MULTIPLE times. ^_^
Sansaku: Oh, for the love of God, stop being a pervert! Bye for now, hope to see you again soon! And give BillysLittleCowgirl some reviews; she loves them like she loves cake. And boy does she love cake. ^.^
(Sansaku and Maxi wave goodbye from the couch while Chobi drags Talim around by a pigtail in the distance)
Yo! Thanks for the reviews! They are my life-blood. So, here's the next chapter – I hope you like it! There is a bit of Xianghua-bashing here, but not a lot, and it's not because I hate her. Don't flame me if you get mad – I don't flame folks who ... wait, I don't flame folks at all. ^^
To Spider-Bear: Her left eye is brown, and her right is very pale blue, like a walleye. I explained it like in the very first chapter, when she was still a wolf. ^.^ Forever ago, huh?
Sansaku: (Appears in a ball of fire, a la Kasumi Karen from X – Yes, in fact, I am a fan of CLAMP!) Hi hi! It's nice to see you again!
Maxi: Woo-hoo! You know what this means! ^_^
Sansaku: Yup, that's right – things are gonna be a bit better for Maxi here. We all know he's been wanting a piece of Ilya for a while now. =P
Maxi: Hell yeah! She's one hot chick! ^o^
Sansaku: Well, since the feedback's been good, I suppose maybe you'll get a little.
Maxi: FINALLY!
Sansaku: Perv. Well, if this chapter seems really slow, don't worry and keep reading, it's fairly long. That being said, sit back and enjoy the show! ... Er, story!
"Hello," Maxi greeted in a cheerful tone as Ilya re-entered the room.
"Um, yeah, Kilik said I should stay in here."
"Well, good. Now we can have a nice long chat."
Her heart skipped a beat. "About what?"
He flashed her that charming smile of his. "About anything, really. I'd like to learn a bit more about you."
"Oh ... really?"
"Of course."
A million thoughts were racing through her mind. 'Why does he want to know so much about me?' 'I barely know anything about HIM!' 'I'm not that interesting.' 'Why the hell doesn't he talk about himself?' Finally, she sat down on the bed Kilik was supposed to have occupied and looked at him, where he still lay from when she'd been in there earlier. "Er ... what do you want to know?"
"Well, if it doesn't upset you, I'd like to know about your childhood."
She smiled. "It was pretty normal. I had parents, sisters and a brother. I never got along with my siblings that well, but I was still happy."
"That's pretty general, you know. Is there anything specific you remember?"
Ilya thought for a moment, and then grinned. "Well, once when I was about six I got into a huge fight with my mother. Being an idiot kid, I was ready to run away, and I started packing my bag, and she came in to help me. At first I was angry because she was teaching me the proper way to pack, and she kept adding things, but then I realized she was making it so heavy I couldn't lift it. I thought that was really sweet. She told me she never wanted me to leave, and that was the greatest feeling in the world." She had to stop then; she could feel her throat tighten and her eyes burn, as they always did before she started crying. "So, what was your childhood like?"
He shook his head. "If you can call it that. My parents died when I was very young, and I was adopted by a group of pirates, who put me through rigorous training exercises." When he saw the shocked look on Ilya's face, he smiled again. "Don't worry, it wasn't entirely unhappy, looking back – it turned me into the man I am today."
Ilya smiled and said, "Well, you certainly aren't suffering from a lack of character."
Maxi sat up on the edge of the bed; the two beds were so close that their knees were nearly touching. "Ilya, I think it's best if you don't confront Cervantes," he said, his voice low and serious.
Her eyes flashed. "What are you talking about?"
"I know you're strong and you can take care of yourself, but Cervantes has killed so many people ... and I know you've experienced that first-hand. I don't want you to get hurt. So please, don't go after him."
She shook her head angrily. "No. I'm going – I've already made up my mind."
He placed his large hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes; she quickly averted her gaze. "Listen to me. I love you, okay? I don't want anything to happen to you. Please, stay here. Or go back to Russia."
"No way, I'm not going back empty-handed."
His heart nearly stopped. "What? What are you talking about?" Maxi feared she was after Soul Edge itself, which would cause quite a bit of conflict between not only the two of them, but between her, Kilik and Xianghua.
"... I can't tell you."
"Tell me, are you after the sword? I can't let you get your hands on it."
"No, no, it's not that. It's just ... Cervantes took something from us ... and I need to get it back."
A wave of relief washed over the Ryukyu pirate. "Thank God ... I was afraid I'd have to fight you."
It was several moments before either spoke again. "Why ... why don't you want me to go with you?"
Maxi shook his head and smiled. "That's not it. I just want you to be safe. You've almost died twice on this trip already, and that was about as much as I could handle."
"So? Remember, you're the one who was poisoned. And besides, I don't have some crazy priest after me."
A feeling of combined dread and annoyance filled him. He'd completely forgotten about that. "But you're still young. You have so much life left in you ... I'd hate to see you throw that all away."
"Who says I'm throwing it away?" she retorted, frowning. "I'm not gonna die. I'll be fine."
A smile graced Maxi's handsome face. "I used to be a lot like that too. Then, after I went after Astaroth for the first time, I spent four years barely able to move. It's a miracle I can walk, even though I still limp a little. I nearly died; I was inches away from it. So please, think about this. You're not invincible, Ilya."
Truly touched by his concern for her but even more irritated by his hypocrisy, she just grumbled something completely inaudible and turned her head away. Maxi, however, was still somehow able to make it out as something along the lines of "Fine, I'll think about it." Smiling, he kissed her deeply, and within moments they were both in the same bed. The two were so consumed by passion that they had forgotten the seriousness of their situation; all that mattered was the moment they were sharing.
"Maxi?" Ilya whispered after a minute.
"Yeah?" He gave her a concerned look.
"I ... I love you."
Delighted that she'd finally been able to say those three words that were somehow so difficult, he kissed her again. "I love you, too."
It wasn't long before the two drifted off to sleep in each other's arms. ***
Ilya awoke the next morning to the sound of Maxi's steadily beating heart. She'd slept the entire night with her ear against his chest, and her neck was killing her. She saw, however, that Maxi was still asleep and decided not to stir – she wanted him to rest. Besides, he was so cute when he slept. The girl let out a soft giggle – he looked so young, so peaceful! Due to the intense pain in her neck, though, she decided to stir ever so slightly to get a bit more comfortable and closed her eyes, listening to his heart beat and feeling the gentle rise and fall of his chest.
Within moments he stirred a bit, and slowly opened his eyes. "Morning," he greeted with a sleepy smile.
"Good morning," she replied, beaming sunnily. She sat up and stretched her arms. "What time to you think it is?"
Maxi glanced over at the drawn shades and shrugged. "Probably early ... it looks like it's still dark outside."
Ilya cracked her neck in a decidedly un-feminine manner and lay back down next to him. "Good. I'm still tired."
It was at that precise moment that a deep rumble that rattled the window could be heard and sheets of rain began pouring down. The roar of thunder was so loud it shook the room and caused Ilya to let out a yelp. Maxi smiled. "What, you're afraid of thunder?"
She nodded meekly. "And spiders ... and small cramped places ... and a whole lot of other things ..."
He let out a laugh. "Don't worry, it's just thunder. It's not gonna hurt you."
"Hurts my ears well enough," she grumbled, eliciting a smile from him.
"Well, considering it's raining like nobody's business, we should wait until tomorrow to start going again."
Ilya yawned – she was very tired. But she knew sleep wouldn't come easily when there was a thunderstorm raging outdoors. "Come on, let's get something to eat," Maxi suggested, holding out a hand to her. She smiled and took it, and they left the room.
Needless to say, Xianghua was very upset to see the two of them holding hands. She was about to open her mouth and say something when a booming voice called out, "MAXI!"
Maxi and Ilya both turned around to find a scruffy man of about 30 or so smiling at them. "Maxi, long time, no see!" he said loudly.
"Er ... Kaida?" Maxi looked quite confused, as if he were randomly guessing a name, hoping it was the right one.
"Yep, that's right, it's me!" He let out a great bellow that was apparently a laugh. "Ah, never expected to see you again!"
Maxi's face broke into a smile. "It's nice to see you, too," he said cheerily.
"Ah, it's been ... what, four years? Wow, how time flies, eh? And who's this? Your latest squeeze?" The large man bent down and looked at Ilya, who'd moved herself so that she was half-hidden behind Maxi's considerably larger frame. "She's a beaut, that she is. Where'd ya find 'er?"
"This," Maxi said with a deep fondness in his voice, "is my lover, Ilya." He gave her a tender look, and she smiled up at him.
"Hmmm, lover? Never expected you'd settle down. What say we go have a drink?"
Ilya smiled at him. "Go on, I know you have a lot of catching up to do."
"R – Really?" He looked perplexed.
"Of course. Go on!" she urged.
As Maxi and Kaida settled down at the bar, Ilya headed off to take a bath – something she'd enjoy, considering how many aches and pains she had. The hot water would do wonders for them.
"That's one cute girl," Kaida said, smiling. "Nice body, too."
Maxi shifted in his chair uncomfortably. "I suppose."
Kaida laughed. "I guess you really have changed, huh? You must be serious about this one. I remember when we first met back in India, you had a different girl every night. How long were we both at that inn? Six, seven days?"
"Six," Maxi answered, taking a shot of bourbon.
"So how long have you two been together?"
"Well ... officially, about a week or so. But ... you know, we were sorta together before that."
"Oh, I understand. You bedded 'er yet?"
The younger pirate nearly choked on his whiskey. "Er ... no. It's not like that."
The big man slapped his knee as he roared with laughter. "Getting sensitive, huh? Well, love's bound to do that to you. Is she anything like ... you know ... Rafa?"
Maxi's shoulders hunched at the mention of the name. "I don't ... know. I never really thought about that."
"I know you really liked little Rafa. She was a sweetie, wasn't she? It's too bad what happened to her."
Maxi did not speak. He'd forgotten entirely about the only other woman he'd ever had such strong feelings for ... she, too, had been lost in India along with Kyam, Yagazzi, the rest of his crew and his ship as well. She was a beautiful girl, and so kind-hearted he felt she could make the world a better place.
"Still sensitive about that, aren't you?" Kaida clapped a hand on Maxi's back. "Don't worry; you've got that other girl now."
"You know ... I feel guilty whenever I'm with her. Because I'm a man. I just get so excited around her! I can't help it. I don't know what to do about it, either. She's not ready yet."
"You may know a lot about pleasuring a woman, but you sure as hell don't know anything about their feelings. I can't help you there, mate, but she'll let you know when she's ready. Who knows, maybe she'll be just like Rafa."
"But she knows about my past. I'm afraid that she'll think I'll leave her if she doesn't sleep with me." He shook his head. "I wouldn't be able to face her if she ... slept with me just for that reason."
"Do you think she would do that?"
He shook his head again. "I don't know. I hope not." Maxi paused and then laughed. "No, she's more the type to get mad and leave me if she thought that."
A few tables away, Xianghua smiled to herself. It was a small glimmer of hope, this revelation – even if Ilya didn't leave Maxi, even if they DID sleep together just because Ilya thought he'd leave her, it would hurt Ilya nonetheless. Xianghua had known too many women who'd lost their virginity under the same circumstance that had become depressed and withdrawn to pass up this opportunity. She took a sip of her tea and then left, knowing Ilya was taking a bath. ***
Ilya was humming quietly as she scrubbed the dirt and dead skin off of her elbows. Her knee was healing rapidly, she discovered, and would leave another battle scar. 'Oh, well,' she thought to herself, 'that's how it goes.'
A knock came to the bathroom door. "I'm IN here," Ilya said rudely, half-expecting it to be Maxi. To her surprise it was Xianghua's voice that responded.
"I know. Can I ... can I talk to you for a moment?" There was a lot of pain in her voice.
"Um ... sure, come on in."
Xianghua quickly entered the room and shut the door. Her eyes were puffy and red, and tears had left shining streaks on her cheeks. "What happened?" Ilya inquired.
"It's ... it's Maxi!"
'Oh great,' Ilya thought bitterly, 'she's gonna complain about us being together, I'll bet.'
"He tried to ... he tried to force himself on me!" She broke into loud sobs.
"What?" the Russian demanded in disbelief. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"He said ... it's been too long since he'd had a woman, and he couldn't wait anymore. He said he knew I loved him, and that you wouldn't sleep with him!"
Ilya was speechless. Gullible though she might be, she wasn't entirely sure the girl was telling the truth. Xianghua had been plenty upset that they were together, but she was truly shaken.
"Maxi grabbed my wrists and kissed me, and when I said no, he got really angry. He did this!" She pointed to an angry red welt on her cheek that had previously gone unnoticed by Ilya. "He slapped me and called me names, and then just stormed off."
"I'm ... I'm gonna go talk with him." Ilya's voice was flat and without emotion; she felt numb.
"No!" Xianghua protested. "He'll be so mad if he finds out I told you!"
"I won't mention it."
"Promise?"
"... I promise."
And as Ilya stood, dried herself and pulled on a robe, Xianghua gave her a sad smile. "Thanks, Ilya. You're a good friend."
Ilya left the room without replying or even looking back, and headed off to the room she'd shared with Maxi as the Chinese girl's face broke into a sly grin. ***
Maxi was already in the room, rummaging through his backpack. "Oh, hi," he greeted cheerily as Ilya came in. Noticing she wasn't wearing much, he blushed a bit and looked away. "Er ... I'll leave while you change."
"No, I'll go back and ...." Ilya's voiced trailed off into silence and she turned to leave. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted to be alone in a room with this man anymore.
"Wait," Maxi said, getting up and walking over to her. "Your clothes are here, I'll leave."
"No, really, it's ..."
Maxi grabbed her wrist gently, but Ilya spun round and slapped his hand away. Her eyes were full of fear, and he knew that fear was of him. "What ... what's wrong?"
"N-nothing," she stammered, and headed back into the room. "I'm okay, just a little jumpy because of the thunder." She gave a nervous laugh that he saw right through. "It hasn't let up yet. I'm still a little uneasy, I guess."
Unconvinced, Maxi started to leave the room. "No, wait," Ilya called after him. He turned to face her, and she forced a smile. "I wanted to tell you ... that I'm ready."
A very confused Maxi asked, "What? What are you talking about?"
"I'm ready ... to ... um, take our relationship to the next level." It hurt her to say the words; she wasn't ready, not in the least. But she loved Maxi, and she didn't want him to leave her.
"You're sure?" he questioned, frowning a bit.
A smile spread across her face that was realistic enough to fool him. "Yes, I'm sure."
Maxi drew her close and hugged her tightly. "I love you, Ilya."
She closed her eyes. "I love you, too."
He kissed her gently; she was at first unwilling, but then melted in his arms. She still didn't want to do it – she was scared, and nervous, but found it was true what her father had once said: "Love makes you do things you'll regret."
Maxi gently laid her on the bed and opened her robe, revealing her nude body. For a moment his eyes rested on her scar, and that made her extremely uncomfortable. He quickly caught himself and then leaned down to kiss her again. Straddling her body, he ran a hand down her chest and then to her stomach, stopping briefly before reaching even further down. His tongue entered her mouth about the same time his fingers entered her body; she had never felt such pleasure before, but she still wanted the situation to be over as soon as possible. When he pulled back from the kiss she raised herself off the bed enough to wrap her arms around his neck and put her face into his shoulder, where she knew he couldn't see her squeeze her eyes shut as tightly as possible and grit her teeth. 'Grin and bear it,' she repeated in her mind over and over like a mantra. 'Grin and bear it. Grin and bear it. Grin and bear it.'
A glorious yet unwanted warmth spread through her body as his fingers curled upward, ushering in a wetness and ecstasy in her. When his fingers left her body he put his muscular arm behind her back and lifted her up for "easy access"; he planted soft kisses on her neck, then her collarbone, and finally on one of her smallish breasts. As he suckled on it, she took a moment to gather her strength and keep herself from crying. It wasn't often that she cried, maybe six or seven times in her life since infancy, but this was one of the times she feared she would.
Her eyes burned badly, and she blinked rapidly to dispel the tears that were forming. God, she loved Maxi, but this was all wrong. She'd expected her first time to be much different, in particular the fact that she DIDN'T WANT TO. Maxi laid her back down on the bed, his hands on either side of her head, and gave her a look she couldn't quite decipher; was it concern, sorrow, or hurt?
"I'm sorry," he said sadly. "I can't do this."
The hell he couldn't; Maxi was a very well-endowed man and Ilya could feel he was willing, his body was so close and his ... well, suffice it to say he was obviously willing, at least in a physical sense.
"What?" Ilya asked, confused though greatly relieved.
"You're not ready," he explained with a pained smile. "I may be a pirate, a thief, a liar and a brute, but I'm not bad enough to take a woman that isn't willing."
Ilya was silent as Maxi gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and then got off the bed. He stood and stretched, cracked his neck, then turned back to her and smiled as if nothing had happened. "Well, then, should we find Kilik and Xianghua? Sounds like the storm is letting up and we have to discuss our travel plans."
Ilya sat up and looked at him with disbelief. "But Xianghua said ..." She quickly stopped talking. She was now quite certain that something was fishy, but she couldn't betray Xianghua's "trust," or whatever it was.
"What?" Maxi's smile faded and was replaced at once with a suspicious frown.
"I can't ... I promised I wouldn't tell you."
"Did Xianghua say something to you?"
"Well ..."
"Ilya, please tell me what she said. If she set this up, we have to do something about it." Maxi sat on the bed next to the still-naked Ilya and put his hands on her shoulders. "Ilya, did she say something odd to you?"
"She ..." It was very difficult for Ilya to go back on her word, but she wanted to make sure Xianghua was at all deserving of it. "She said you tried to force her to ... you know, because it had been so long since your last time and I wasn't sleeping with you."
He frowned at the revelation, but then smiled in an awkward sort of way. "And you believed her? Do you really think I'm that bad?"
Ilya looked as if he'd called her some horrendous name, she hadn't thought about how he'd react to something like that. Her eyes went wide and her jaw opened a little, and she appeared hurt as well as shocked. "No, I ... I didn't want to believe it. But, you know, I really love you and I just thought ..."
Maxi shook his head. "Don't worry about it, I'd question myself too. With my past, how could I expect you not too?" He gave her a playful grin, which she returned, albeit shyly.
"I'm sorry. But ... when you stopped and said you couldn't ... you don't know how much that meant to me. It made me realize that you're a good person, and I really want to be with you."
"What do you mean by that?"
She smiled and shook her head. "Nothing. Never mind."
"I'm going to have a frank talk with our friend Xianghua," Maxi said, with a shadow of a frown. "What are you gonna do?"
Ilya thought hard for a minute. "I ... guess I'll get dressed, for starters," she said with a shrug. She grabbed her robe and pulled it over her shoulders. "And ... Maxi?"
"Yes?"
"Thanks for ... you know. Not going through with it."
He smiled at her. "Don't worry about it. The last thing I'd ever want to do is hurt you."
Ilya thought hard about Maxi after he left. She sat on the bed, still wearing only the robe, and looked up at the ceiling. God, how she wanted him. When his body was pressed against hers ... her stomach had gone aflutter, and she'd felt as if she were floating. Now that she knew he wouldn't leave her if she abstained ... she felt differently about sleeping with him.
She giggled a little and decided to wait for him to get back. ***
"You don't understand, Maxi, I did it for you!" Xianghua protested as the pirate confronted her about the lie she'd told Ilya.
"You lied to Ilya and told her I'd forced myself on you! How, exactly, is that doing something for ME?" he demanded, fighting hard to keep himself from yelling.
"Because I love you!" she answered, bursting into tears. "I don't see why you love Ilya so much! I've loved you since we first met!"
"I don't care." His voice was cold and emotionless. "Love me all you like. I'll never forgive you for this."
Kilik, who was watching anxiously, decided to interject. "Look, let's ... just leave things as they are, and ... well, hope Xianghua gets over this soon. Maxi, I'm sorry, I tried to talk to her, but ..."
Maxi regarded Kilik with a frown, but then his expression softened. "Don't worry about it, kid. It's alright, it wasn't your fault."
Xianghua took off toward the room Ilya and Maxi shared, and before either of the men could stop her, she'd burst in, grabbed Ilya's knife from the bedside table, and taken a swipe at the Russian girl, who had her back to the door. A shallow gash opened up on the back of her shoulder; she turned to face Xianghua, thoroughly shocked.
Kilik tackled Xianghua and wrenched the knife from her grasp; Maxi was at Ilya's side in an instant, checking her wound. "What the hell are you doing?!" Kilik shouted, leaving the others in awe. He'd never spoken so harshly. He was holding her down on the floor, gripping her wrists. "Give it up! Maxi doesn't love you. I do!"
Ilya was astonished and nearly in shock but smiled nonetheless. 'He's finally told her!' she thought.
"You can't keep trying to get between them!" Kilik continued in a snarl. "They love each other. Can't you see that? Shouldn't you just be glad that Maxi's happy?"
Maxi held Ilya protectively and she rested her head gently on his shoulder. "Xianghua, just ... let's just leave them be, okay?" the younger man suggested, his voice returning to its normal calm, soothing tone. Xianghua nodded tearfully, and gave Ilya an apologetic look as she and Kilik left.
"I can't believe she attacked you," Maxi said moments later. He shifted positions so he could better inspect her shoulder. "Take your robe off."
Ilya let down the right sleeve of her robe to expose the back of her shoulder. "Ow," she hissed as Maxi checked it briefly.
He smiled. "Thank God she wasn't exactly thinking straight – it's really shallow. Probably hurts like hell, though, right?" She nodded. "Well, don't worry, I think Kilik might have little Xianghua under control."
Ilya looked at Maxi shyly. "Maxi ... I'm ready."
"Ready for what?"
She frowned and gave him a half-playful, half-irritated smack on the arm. "You know what for!" she growled.
"How am I supposed to know? Ten minutes ago you weren't ready, and now you suddenly are?"
"I thought about it a lot, and I changed my mind."
He sighed, albeit good-naturedly. "That's a woman for you – always changing her mind."
"You're a jerk."
"Yes, you've said so before. And you're a brat."
Ilya laughed. "You're really mean, you know?" She leaned in close so her forehead was resting against his and smiled. "But I love you anyway."
"I love you, too, Ilya." His lips met hers, and he kissed her passionately. Her hands slowly worked his shirt off and then caressed his muscular chest when he cast it aside. Her hands also found their way to his belt, which she promptly unbuckled. As he removed his remaining clothes, she ran her fingers up his hardness and felt him shudder slightly. "You're sure?"
She leaned forward, put her lips to his ear, and whispered, "Make love to me."
Maxi put a hand on the collar of her robe that remained on her body and slowly slid it off her shoulder; it fell to the bed, exposing, once again, her chest. Ilya's body stiffened at the touch of his hands upon her breasts, and she let out a long breath as he massaged them. As he kissed her again he pinched her nipples slightly, and then pushed her down on the bed so she was lying down. Maxi's hands ran themselves down her body, and he finally reached her sensitive spot. He fingered her gently at first, but then with increased fervor. Her juices soaked his fingers, and she felt as though something was building up inside of her.
Finally he pulled his fingers from her body, and then spread her legs open. "This is going to hurt a bit," he warned in a whisper, but Ilya just smiled up at him. She'd had many a friend gossip to her about the "first time"; they'd warned that it was at first an almost ripping sensation, then dull pain that persisted for days. They'd even said it would bleed - something Ilya was not looking forward to.
His hardness pushed itself into her slowly, pushing its way past her lips and into her soft, warm insides. Maxi nipped her earlobe to pull some focus away from the pain, a tactic he'd employed many times with virgins. Sure, it hurt, the initial entrance, but Ilya found it wasn't nearly as bad as she'd initially feared. The feeling was the same warmth that had spread through her body when he'd first put his fingers in her, but on a much grander scale. She felt her virginity give way with his first thrust, and her hands clutched at the white sheets on the bed. With each pump her sensitivity heightened, and she gripped the sheets until her knuckles were white. 'It feels so good,' she thought as she became wetter and wetter. 'I'd never thought it'd feel like this.'
After a few moments a strange feeling overcame Ilya, and then it felt as if something inside her had burst. A violent intake of breath and a loud moan made Maxi laugh. "Just had your first orgasm, eh?" he asked, bending down and kissing her forehead. "So how was it?"
"It was ... the greatest feeling in the world," she replied, slightly out of breath. And oh, God, was it ever. She wanted nothing more than to experience that again, sometime, with Maxi.
He wrapped his arms around her body and pulled her up so that she was sitting in his lap, legs on either side of his. "Was it, now?" he asked with a playful grin. Then he began thrusting again, while sucking on her left breast and groping her right. With each passing second he felt himself closer to climax, and within a few minutes he'd reached it. He let out a soft groan as he blew inside her, and she, too, was clearly aware of what had transpired.
Ilya's cheeks were flushed and her body exhausted from her orgasm. It was still early in the day, but Maxi decided it best to allow her to sleep. And he would sleep with her. Their bodies separated, although only for a moment, as Maxi hugged her from behind when she sat up. "I love you," he whispered in her ear.
"I love you too," she replied, and the two of them lay down together, falling into a near-blissful slumber in one another's arms.
Sansaku: (notices the chapter has ended and quickly gets off the couch and puts away her bag of popcorn) So there you have it, folks! Maxi and Ilya have finally done it!
Maxi: (lights cigarette) Oooooh yeah.
Sansaku: (grabs said cigarette from his mouth and puts it out on his shoulder) Stop that!
Maxi: ACK! What the hell did you do that for?!
Sansaku: THAT is for not giving Xianghua what-for! You shoulda kicked her arse!
Maxi: .... "Arse"?
Sansaku: (slaps hand to her forehead in disgust and shakes her head) God ... never mind. You're hopeless.
Maxi: "Arse" ..... hm, not in my vocabulary.
Sansaku: Whatever, just shut up. Anyway, I hope ya'll enjoyed that chapter. This will NOT be the only steamy one, however – Maxi and Ilya are bound to get it on again.
Maxi: MULTIPLE times. ^_^
Sansaku: Oh, for the love of God, stop being a pervert! Bye for now, hope to see you again soon! And give BillysLittleCowgirl some reviews; she loves them like she loves cake. And boy does she love cake. ^.^
(Sansaku and Maxi wave goodbye from the couch while Chobi drags Talim around by a pigtail in the distance)