Ok, this wasn't what I planned for this part, but oh well. We need some fun.
Thanks to Jen for the beta and the encouragement to post this on its own.
And thanks to all who have commented. It really means a lot!
Becky
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I look out the window and gaze at the moon's reflection on the bay. There is barely a ripple on the water. It's so calm. So peaceful. I wish desperately for that same sense of calm, of peace, but it isn't possible. Not tonight.
I turn away from the window, choosing to wander around the room. I glance over at the bed and the woman sleeping in it. I realize I want nothing more than to curl up next to her and drift into a blissful, dreamless sleep, but I know that won't happen. Sleep, peaceful or not, won't come easy tonight.
I'm tempted to turn on the TV, but I resist the urge. I know she wasn't drunk enough to pass out and I know she's a light sleeper so I don't want to risk waking her. But it isn't waking her that I'm truly afraid of. I'm afraid of the questions she might have. Questions for which I have no answers. Or worse yet, the lies that will come from the ones I do have.
I plop down in a chair, thumbing mindlessly through the hotel's brochure. Before long, I'm back on my feet and pacing once again. I glance at the clock beside the bed, surprised that it's just past ten. And then my gaze passes over Francie. And our eyes meet. "Fran?" I ask as I make my way to her side.
"Yeah," she answers quietly.
I sit on the edge of the bed, my hand resting lightly on her shoulder. "I thought you were asleep."
"No." She rolls onto her side, turning away from me as she hugs a pillow to her. "I'm sorry. So so sorry."
"Fran," I sigh as I gently force her to roll back over. "How many times do I have to tell you? There's nothing to be sorry for."
"But…"
I silence her protest with a light kiss. I start to pull back, but she doesn't let me. Finally, I break away. "Fran, no."
She scoots to the other side of the bed. "See, I told you. I've ruined everything."
I shake my head and for the briefest second I wish she would have passed out. And then I want to kick myself for thinking it. "Fran, you haven't ruined anything. And maybe if you hadn't had a little too much wine, we wouldn't be talking right now. Or maybe we would. Who knows?"
I scoot further on to the bed and turn her so that she's facing me again. "But because you had a little too much to drink tonight, I'm not going to take advantage of that. I won't take advantage of you."
For the first time since I noticed she was awake, she smiles. "You're going to be a gentleman then?" she asks as she begins slowly running her hand lightly up and down my arm.
I remove her hand, setting it back on the bed. Unfortunately for me and my good intentions, it doesn't stay there. "I'm trying," I answer as her fingers creep leisurely up my leg.
"I see." She scoots a bit closer and sits up just enough to drape one arm around my shoulder, pulling me down next to her, as the hand on my leg reaches my thigh. The inside of my thigh. "So you won't take advantage of me?"
"Um, no." I'm trying to think of something, anything, that will distract me from thinking about what her hand is doing right now. But as my luck would have it, the only thing that's coming to mind is that time I walked in on Fran right after she got out of the shower. And while the towel did its job, it's not helping me in the least right now.
"You're sure?"
Damn she's got talented fingers. ENOUGH! Okay, um let's see. That wacked out freak of a dentist in Taipei. Fran in a towel. Captured and tortured by Sark. Water beading on Fran's naked body. Being kidnapped and warned off the investigation of Danny's murder. Fran, wrapped in a towel, putting lotion on her legs and…
I suddenly find myself on my back with Fran nibbling my earlobe and working on the button on my jeans. Shit! Think Will, think! Jenny picking me up after being kidnapped and dumping me beside the road. Damn, her fingers were just about as talented as Fran's…
Suddenly, she stops teasing me and I breathe a sigh of relief. That is until I peel my eyes from the ceiling and find Francie, blouse unbuttoned, bra straps hanging around her elbows, and wicked smile about to straddle me. How the hell did she get her blouse undone one handed?
I grab her waist before she has a chance to settle and sit her back on the bed. "No. I'm not going to do this. And I won't let you do this either. When I make love to you the first time, you're going to remember it clearly. It's not going to be…"
I don't have a chance to say another word because she leans over and kisses me. And she doesn't stop. When I finally give in and try to deepen the kiss, she turns her head and begins nibbling on my ear again. "Make love to me some other time," she whispers.
"What?"
"Tonight, let's just have sex."
