Night 4 part 2

Without any warning, Sands pulled the SUV over to the side of the road and let his hands fall to his sides, his head down.

Victoria sat quietly for a moment, not sure what to make of the situation. "Sands?" she questioned as she slid across the seat. "Is everything alright?" She reached to brush the tangled hair from his eyes. His forehead was resting against the steering wheel, which was beginning to leave a large red welt.

"You drive," he said, his voice muffled. He turned his head and looked at her, the hair veiling most of his features. "This crappy silver..." He sighed.

Victoria smoothed her hand across the back of his head. Worry crept into the back of her mind. "No problem."

He straightened and slid over into her seat, reaching to pull her hips onto his as they traded places and their legs tangled for a moment before she slipped in behind the wheel. "Put on your seat belt," she told him. "We don't need the highway patrol pulling us over because you're not wearing one."

"Yes, mother," he said, moving slowly as he reached to pull it across his slim hips. "Doesn't feel very good without a shirt," he mumbled.

Victoria followed suit, belting herself in before she put both hands on the wheel. The seat was in a good position for her, so she checked the mirrors, put the vehicle into drive, and drove back onto the tarmac and suddenly stopped the vehicle.

Sands eyes popped open. "What are you doing?" he asked. She held her hand out in a hushing motion as she unbelted herself. Victoria reached under her coat and began squirming around behind the wheel. "Hold this." she asked as she produced her shoulder holster and weapon. Sands had a skeptical look in his eyes. "The seat belt rubs it in a funny way." She shrugged her shoulders and smiled in a most charming way.

He looked at her puzzled, then put the holster down on the storage compartment between the two seats. "Go. Go." He waved a hand. "You know, I need a shower so bad."

Victoria smirked and put the car into drive. Soon they were on the interstate. Traffic was surprisingly light, considering the time of day. "Your place, right?" she asked glancing over at the body hunched against the window.

"That's where my clothes are. Unfortunately." He squirmed in the seat, putting his hand under the shoulder strap of the seat belt. "You know what they say: Life's a bitch, then you don't die." He smiled at her with a wide silly grin.

She laughed. "What's that supposed to mean?" hearing his voice made her feel better about his condition.

He tilted his head sideways. "Where have you been, girl? The humans say, 'Life's a bitch and then you die.' Well, we don't, do we?"

Victoria's attention was drawn back to the road . "No I guess we don't, do we?" At that moment many thoughts ran through her head. Thoughts of the many people she had known, whom she had long out lived. Thoughts of the many times she was hurt so bad, physically and mentally, that she just wanted to end it all. Maybe humans were luckier than they were in that way.

"Oh," he groaned. "The lovely sound of the wipers is not music enough for me." He reached for the radio. "Let's find something easy."

She heard the radio go from station to station until he landed on an old Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young song from the sixties. "That's good," he said contentedly, sitting back and letting his head lean against the head rest. "I liked the sixties."

She smiled. "We'll be home soon." Victoria started to edge the vehicle over to the side of the expressway. "I missed most of the sixties," she said quietly. The music was nice and easy. The simple melody filled the air and she found her fingers tapping out the rhythm against the steering wheel.

Despite the flurries of snow, the city's skyline glowed around and above them as they exited the expressway and she drove south toward Sands' apartment.

"Shit."

"What?" she asked.

"I don't have the parking key for the garage." He shifted in his seat. "Is there a phone in here?" He began to rifle through the glove compartment. In a moment, a cell phone appeared in his hand and he punched in a number. She could easily hear both sides of the conversation as he spoke. "Hi, Al, it's Sands."

"Good evening, Mr. Sands."

"I'm coming in with a friend and without my key card. Can you watch for a black Hummer and let us in when we arrive?"

"No problem, Mr. Sands."

"Great. Our ETA is about ten minutes," Sands told him. "I'll see you then."

"You got it, Mr. Sands."

Sands ended the call and threw the phone back in the glove compartment.

Victoria noticed the stiffness of his movements. "You'll feel a lot better once you're clean and in your own bed." She smiled and looked to see if he was looking at her. " Then I can rub your sore muscles with that hot oil you were talking about."

His response was to raise a dark brow in her direction and make a purring noise that struck her at once as sexual and suggestive. She smiled, turning onto another snow-covered street.

"You're amazing." she stated.

He held his hand toward her, palm up, and moved the fingers to suggest she continue with the praise.

She laughed. It felt good to laugh. "No really, you are." She shifted her eyes between the road and the man at her right. "I know how much the silver hurts, and yet you never stopped fighting, or worrying about me. You just keep going on, it's like you're unstoppable."

"I eat energizer bunnies for breakfast," he told her with a grin. Yet she could see he was fatigued.

"Oh, do you now?"

"Yep." He looked out the windows. "We're almost there."

She nodded, making the turn onto his street. "Is Al a thrall?" she asked out of the blue.

"No. I have none. Don't like 'em." He looked at her. "You can control them without making them thralls, you know."

A sly grin appeared. "I know. But I thought that was just a womanly thing." She slowed the car as Sands' building came into view. "Do I go around to the back?" she asked.

"Yes, into the alley." He pointed. "What do you mean a womanly thing? Are you saying I'm feminine?" He tossed his hair back provocatively as he turned to look at her.

Victoria laughed. "You...poop," she said.

"If that's the best you can come up with."

"Shithead."

"Much better. I know you're just jealous." He smiled at her.

Victoria shook her head. "You know, you're a real nutcase."

As expected, Al was waited at the front gate of the parking garage. He smiled and waved as the black Hummer slowed its approach. "Honey we're home," she sang out happily.

"Good." He sounded sincere.

They parked behind his car. Al came over as they got out of the car.

"You look like you've had quite an adventure," Al said to him. "Is there anything I can do, Mr. Sands?" Al's glance darted to Victoria and he nodded his greeting to her.

Victoria regarded him with an air of suspicion. She was always uncomfortable in the presence of humans. "No thank you," she interjected. "Nothing a hot shower and a good stiff drink won't cure." She walked around towards Sands, wrapped her arms around his torso and kissed his lips.

"Right you are," he said to her. He turned his face towards Al. "Thanks, man." He held out his hand and shook the man's.

"You're welcome, Mr. Sands." Al walked ahead of them and pushed the button for the elevator. The doors slid open as the bell rang softly and with her arm still around Sands, Victoria and he walked onto the elevator and Al joined them. "I have the key," he told them, putting it into the slot for the penthouse, then stepping out before the doors closed.

They rode up in silence.

"He's okay," Sands said, perhaps sensing her insecurity around the human. "I've known him for years."

"Does he know about you?" she asked, as the elevator silently whisked they to the top floor.

"Hell no!" he retorted. "I'm not totally nuts."

"Sometimes you are," she teased and gently squeezed him around the middle. "I can wait to get out of these clothes." She twisted uncomfortably. "Especially this body armor Jackson made me wear," she sighed.

"It's the smart thing," he told her, leaning towards her. "Maybe we heal from bullets pretty quickly, but they hurt like hell."

The elevator rang softly again as it came to a stop and the doors swished open. "Here we are." He moved eagerly out and to the touch-pad key board. His fingerprints opened the door. He gestured her in ahead of him, then followed her inside, closing and locking the door behind them.

"Home sweet home," Victoria said, as she stepped into the apartment, slipping the black jacket from her shoulders and dropping it on the back of the couch. She smiled and flushed when she saw the couch. She started fiddling with the buckles on the Kevlar vest. "How do you get out of this thing?" she asked looking up at Sands who was now leaning with his back against the front door. Victoria took a few steps forward and arched her eyebrows. "After all, the sooner I'm out of this, the sooner you'll be into a hot shower and a thorough rub down."

He nodded, reaching to help her find the Velcro tabs that held the vest. His lips quirked up in a smile. "Pretty complicated, eh?" Before she could answer, he leaned forward and kissed her lips in a light kiss. "You know what?"

"What?" she asked, smiling back, expecting him to suggest something sexual."

"I'm going to call for pizza." He let her go and moved toward the phone.

Puzzled she turned as she unfastened the last tabs on the vest. "Pizza! You want pizza? Now?" She yanked the vest off over her head and dropped it on top of the black jacket following him to the phone and pulling loose her hair from the pony tail it had been in. She ran her fingers across her scalp tilting her head to the side.

"Heck no," he told her. "I want the pizza boy." He picked up the receiver and dialed in a number.

She rolled her eyes as he ordered a pizza. Making her way across the spacious living room, she looked at the dark windows and the snow falling outside. She could hear him confirming his order, then he hung up.

"Forty minutes," he said. "If we're lucky. It helps that they're just around the corner."

She put her hands on her hips. "Won't they get suspicious when their pizza delivery men keep disappearing after delivering here?"

"I don't kill them!" His eyes opened wide that the thought. "I don't need much, you know."

He saw the question in her eyes.

"Oh, that girl in the park?" His grin was lop-sided. "I was angry and she was there. Tonight I'm just hungry." He moved toward her, his eyes suddenly focused on her mouth. "Unless you can think of another way to slake my thirst."

Her eyes went to his mouth and watched as he ran the tip of his tongue across his lower lip. Victoria raised her hands palms up and motioned for him to come closer. Sands gladly stepped forward. As he did she pulled at her shirt popping the buttons and exposing the creamy white flesh below.

"Yum," he said, putting his hands at her waist and bending forward to nuzzle the delicate skin at the base of her throat.

Victoria put her hands around his waist and began to fondle his ear lob with her tongue. "So, Mr. Sands," she purred between nibles, "What will it be first? Shower? Pizza?" Her hands began exploring the rather loose waist ban of the slacks he was wearing.

"First we eat, so we can actually have fun later," he told her. "Or, first we have a little fun, then eat, then shower, then have more fun." His mouth moved down and he put his mouth on her bra, wetting the material.

Victoria arched her back, lifting her breasts. "Well, we have to find something to occupy our time waiting for the pizza man. After all it is snowing, and we do live in New York. It could be forever."

He mumbled something unintelligible as his mouth moved up to the crook of her neck and his hands moved behind her. Warm tingles ran up her spine has his mouth tickled her and his tongue flicked out to lick the side of her neck.

Victoria moaned with pleasure, but put her hands between the two of them and gently began to push on his chest. "You know, I'm the one who should be taking care of you," she protested.

He blinked, looking into her eyes, let go of her, then swiveled and fell back onto the couch. "Take care of me, then, woman," he urged her, his arms flung out wide.

She laughed at the sight of him sprawled out on the couch. He was crazy, but oh god did she like it!

Stepping forward Victoria removed the blouse she was wearing exposing the lacey black push up bra below. Coming to the couch she dropped to her knees before him and began lavishing his upper body with light, lingering kisses. Her hands spread out to massage his forearms and shoulders while she work. She was practically purring as she moved over him.

"Feel free to remove articles of clothing that are keeping you from your pleasure," he said in a husky voice.

"What will the Pizza man say?" she teased as she focused her kisses along the waistband of his trousers.

"He will say 'thank you' when I give him a big tip. Of course, he will have donated some blood before he leaves and have no memory of his donation, but he will be in a very good mood," Sands told her as her mouth moved over his flat stomach and her finger toyed with the treasure trail of dark hair that ran from just below his navel into the waistband of his trousers.

"In that case." Victoria looked up at him with her big green eyes and began to untie the knotted waist band that held the unbearably oversized garment in place. Once it was loose it was easy to remove. She tugged on the legs and he instinctively lifted his hips to allow the fabric to pass. She smiled as his eager cooperation and then resumed her gentle kissing, all the time, slowly working her way downward, until she heard him moan in pleasure.

His hands moved to lightly touch her arms, her hair. She looked up at his face. He wore a blissful expression.