A/N: After a 9-month drought the star-crossed crossed lovers are finally alone together, and more than makeup for the lost time 😉
Chapter Forty-One: Almost Paradise
Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey
Edgeworth Master Bedroom (AKA Love Shack)
September 17, 2020, 7:05 PM
Maya couldn't help but admire the understated but unmistakable opulence of the luxe penthouse as she and Phoenix plodded across the living room and down the hallway to where the sleeping quarters were.
Looking like something straight out of the pages of a refined home-inspiration magazine, the barrister's posh, Italian style décor was garnished with gold gilt trim, inlaid everywhere from the mahogany furnishings to the terrazzo flooring, as well as the frames on the mirrors and the fresco-inspired murals. The condo also featured two large bedrooms, each separated at either end of the suite, both featuring a sitting area, a walk-in closet, and a full bathroom.
The restrooms boasted an oversized, walk-in rain shower that doubled as a steam room that was made of sleek glass tiles and was separate from the sunken marble, deep-soaking tub. Vintage black and white film photography brought iconic and historic cultural moments to life on the walls. The psychic poked her head into both, marveling at how the splendor of it all, before at last following her beau into Edgeworth and Franziska's boudoir.
The master bedroom was Classic European décor with rich, vibrant color tones, teak flooring, and an expansive walk-in closet. Its en-suite bathroom had exotic stones and custom-designed, marble mosaic flooring. The focal point of the room, however, was the enormous, immaculately made, California king-sized bed, which looked large enough to accommodate ten people.
Bedroom. Giant bed. Phoenix. Maya. Alone. At last.
That's when the reality finally sunk in for the two of them – they were finally alone together, just as they'd been longing to be for far too long. But now that the time was there … now what?
The pianist regarded his swain with the same bashful expression in his eyes that she'd glimpsed earlier that evening, and she suddenly felt every bit the quivering, timid virgin she'd been on the night of her 21st birthday a year and a half ago … excited, but so uncertain, and so unsure how to proceed…
They approached one another timidly, hesitantly, as though the other were breakable. It had been so long since they'd been alone together, that the bond between them seemed fragile just then, both apprehensive about the future and the wounds they could inflict with all their jagged edges.
After staring at each other for what seemed like ages, tentatively, almost shyly, Phoenix leaned forward, tugged Maya's wrist, and pulled her toward him until she collided, somewhat startled, against his body, with her parted lips barely an inch apart from his. She put her hands on the back of his neck and pulled him closer until there they were standing in each other's arms. His lips were soft against her temple as he wrapped his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her against his chest as if he'd been waiting for this forever and he wasn't going to let her escape.
"Hey," he whispered after a while. His warm breath felt like heaven against her skin.
She turned and tilted her head up to meet his gaze, his nose now touching hers, his lips one breath away, his eyes already devouring her, and she was a puddle with no arms or no legs. She could smell him everywhere; she could feel every point of his physique pressed against hers – his hands at her waist, gripping her hips, his legs flush against her own, his chest overpowering her with strength, his muscular frame built by bricks of desire.
She had never felt this secure. At last, in the middle of Edgeworth's bedroom, in her lover's long-coveted embrace, everything else faded away, and she was completely safe. She wrapped her arms around his waist beneath his shirt, luxuriating in his strength. His breath wafted against the top of her head, and his heart was beating steadily beneath her cheek. The soft cotton of his thin black T-shirt felt comforting against her face. She closed her eyes and let herself enjoy how he made everything feel so right.
Suddenly overcome with the urge to touch him, she drew back slightly and ran her fingers over his sculpted chest, rippling abs, and the ridges of his hipbones. Maya loved his narrow hips, especially when they were nestled between her thighs. She slid both hands up his back, over his shoulders, and down his toned biceps, relishing her freedom to do so. She stroked his hips up and down with the palms of her hand, then shifted her touch to his granite pecs, lightly brushing her lips against his chest. His back muscles tightened beneath her hands and she knew he'd felt her kiss. Her gaze returned to his eyes, her breath catching at the desire simmering there. A shiver ran through him.
Phoenix pulled her back toward him, quickly, fiercely, and lowered his mouth to hers. With the first taste, he moaned. Maya's lips were sweet, soft…perfect. She exhaled, a contented sigh, and his body melted into hers. As if flawlessly harmonized, their mouths moved in the same rhythm, lips drawing in, hands learning curves and muscles, breaths coming out at faster rates. And when Maya knotted her hands in his hair, his self-control ruptured.
His arms became steel bands around her waist as he lifted her, basking in how perfectly she fit against him. She latched her arms around his neck and joined him as the kiss raced past innocent and into heated—bordering on out of control.
You and I, it's as though we have been taught to kiss in heaven and sent down to earth together, to see if we know what we were taught.
He kissed her harder, deeper, with a fervent urgent need he'd never known before. He broke for air only to bury his lips in her beckoning neck, along her collarbone, up her chin and cheeks.
The spinning in his head spiraled toward delirium as Maya shifted her legs, one thigh moving and the other one following to wrap around his hips. He relished her warm weight and the delectable feeling of her curves pressing into his body. Heat surged through his bloodstream and his fingers dug into her skin.
Maya's body lit up, an explosion of sensory awareness that set her ablaze. She wanted to draw him closer and rip his clothes right off him at that very instant. She wanted to strip naked and have him take her, right there in the middle of the bedroom floor.
Strong hands anchored on her backside, fingers hot and demanding, searing through her clothes. She ground against him encouragingly and he responded with a deep growl, yanking her against his rock-hard body while his mouth greedily feasted on hers.
She returned his kiss, opening her mouth and inviting him inside. It had been so long since they'd kissed, but she didn't ever remember feeling it down to her toes. She poured all that she'd been feeling for the past torturous nine months into that kiss – from the initial agony she'd been experiencing since the day he'd left Kurain, to the despair she'd felt the entire time they'd been apart, to the joyous relief she felt that they were finally together now – as she pressed against him. Lifting her hands to his hair, she ran her fingers through the familiar spikes in the back.
The gentle friction of even your fully clothed body rubbing against mine is enough to strike a match inside me. I lean into your lips as the fire blossoms and spreads.
She heard a moan but wasn't sure if it was his or her own. He surrounded her, consumed her, and she wanted to give him more to take.
But instead of getting closer, Phoenix unexpectedly set her back down and minutely pulled back, allowing room for a hand to travel under her shirt, fingertips brushing the underside of one breast. He explored her with tender caresses so at odds with the frantic tension exploding between them, palming the heaving mounds, rubbing his thumb over her tingling buds through the thin material covering them until they blossomed, begging to be sucked deep into the warm recesses of his mouth.
"Take this off," she begged between kisses. "I need to see you…to feel you against me."
She reached for the bottom of his T-shirt and pushed it higher. Phoenix stopped and watched her with passionate, sapphire orbs. They were exquisite, luminous, and full of love and longing … she revealed that this gorgeous, amazing man could want her so much. Thrumming liquid heat swelled low in her belly, threatening to boil over.
He raised his arms, pulling the fabric over his head and flinging it aside. She stared at him in awe; as always, he was so sculpted … so damn beautiful to her. She'd felt his solid muscles working as he'd held her, and finally, she could feast her eyes upon him unabashedly.
Anyone can be handsome, but you are rare.
He swallowed, as his eyes trailed down to her mouth. His fingers began working on the buttons of her blouse, slowly exposing her black, lacy bra and creamy flesh as his lips left a hot path from her jaw down her neck to her collarbone.
"This is finally going to happen." He bent and ran a trail of hot, open-mouthed kisses to the curve of her shoulder. His fingers were soft, brushing over her skin and giving goosebumps as he pushed the blouse down her arms. "God help me, my love. You're so beautiful. I've missed touching you like this. I've missed my mouth on yours, missed my hands on your body … missed being deep inside of you."
He was making love to her with his words even though he was barely touching her, and her body came alive. Every inch of skin burned for his touch, her nether regions hot and pulsing, and her breathing was shallow and rapid. His hands tangled in her hair, gently tugging her face closer to his. She stared up into his smoldering gaze, and this time she answered him the way she couldn't before.
"Let's forget this past year of hell we've gone through, being apart," she breathed into his mouth. "Make me forget, Nick. Make us forget."
"Maya." Her skin was amazingly warm and the scents of her, the perfume at her throat, and the exotic, unnamable aroma of her hair, made blood beat at his temples. "How I've hungered for your taste, your smell, the feel of your soul touching mine."
"I've been aching for this." She closed her eyes and offered up her mouth, silently begging to end her torture. "I can't wait for you to put your hands on my knees and think of me as a book you've been dying to read."
"Then let's continue this conversation in bed," he whispered. "My legs can't wait to hear what your hands have to say, either."
His fingers traced over the top swells of her bosoms, visible above the delicate edge of her bra. He peeled off her remaining clothing with deft, knowing movements. She was similarly frantic in undressing him, her hands clumsily reaching out to find the drawstring waistband of his jogging pants, which was tied shut, and she desperately worked the knot, her breathing nearly at a fevered pitch.
After what seemed like ages, their clothing was finally discarded and they fell back onto the bed, frantically clawing at each other with wild urgency.
Phoenix's fervent hands and lips roamed her body insistently, expertly. She closed her eyes blissfully as his mouth ran along her cheekbone and then back toward her mouth, gasping as his lips wrapped around the crests of her bosoms, his tongue lapping at the engorged tips before surrounding it with wet heat and suction, making her gasp and writhe beneath him. He caressed her side from bust to hip and back again, over and over, gentling her as her heart raced wildly. He trailed kisses across her chest to the other breast, murmuring words of apology and need in a voice broken by love and the tormented misery they'd had to endure to finally get to this juncture.
"Nick." The erotic pull of his skillful lips on her heated skin coaxed desire through her restless mind. Her body was already lost in him, greedily seeking the rapture and beauty that was uniquely his.
"I breathe you," he whispered. "You're everything. You're the air."
SORRY FOLKS!
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Finally, with sweat drenching both their skins, she collapsed on top of him, breathing heavily for several moments before she felt his arms wrap around her waist, holding her against his glistening, chest, which was rapidly rising and falling. He rolled them over so she was lying cradled against his side on the bed now, both struggling to catch their breaths.
Phoenix reached over and smoothly tucked an errant strand of hair back behind her ear.
"I love you," he murmured, brushing her lips with his. Gently he explored her face with his fingers as a blind man might; as if he had never seen it before and might never again. "I love you so much, Maya."
"I love you too, Nick." She smoothed the damp hair from his temples and smiled at him mischievously.
"But don't you get too comfortable now, Buster! This was merely an intermission, not the final curtain call! There are nine whole months of making up that you've got to do here!"
"Have mercy, woman!" He half laughed, half pleaded, although putting up no resistance as her tiny hands pinned his broad shoulders down then. She flashed a vixenish grin that made her intentions quite clear.
"It's been nearly a year for me, too! You'll be the death of me, Maya Fey!"
"Then you'll die the happiest old man on earth." She winked lasciviously. "Giddy-up, cowboy."
Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey
Edgeworth Master Bedroom (AKA Love Shack)
September 18, 2020, 7:05 AM
The next morning, a still exhausted but happily sated Maya awoke with her head on Phoenix's chest, with his arms wrapped around her. He stirred slightly and stroked her satiny hair, down to her smooth back, and then back up again, eyes still closed.
Placing a kiss on his warm, bare chest, she leaned up on one elbow.
"Can we talk a bit now?"
"Not until I've had my coffee," he mumbled.
"Nick!" She playfully hit him over the head with her pillow. He still didn't stir or open his eyes.
"Woman, I am spent! You made me ravage you three times last night, you insatiable wanton seductress! You're lucky all my necessary parts are still attached to my body!"
"I didn't hear you complaining at the time!" Maya swallowed back a giggle and leaned over to kiss him. "But fine, how about I talk, you listen?"
"Deal." Phoenix dropped his arm over his eyes.
And so the Master then proceeded to tell him about what she'd faced back in Kurain when she and her cousin had returned. When she got to the part about The Dragon Lady nearly hitting her cousin, Phoenix jolted up in the bed, his eyes ablaze, now fully alert. Even after reassuring him that her sister had stopped Mildew before she'd ever laid a hand on Pearl, she could still sense his anger at hearing that part of the story. However, he let out a shout of laughter when he heard about Mia's merciless tirade, along with the pseudo-banishment of Mildred to the outskirts of the village to oversee the cabin rental project with Bikini, and how despite having Fey Manor restored to its former glory, the harrowing memories of the shagadelic 70's décor remained etched into her mind.
"I almost wish I'd taken photos to show you, but that would mean never getting the images of paisley out of my head!" She shuddered.
"Thanks for sparing me the sight, although rest assured, my love, your depictions are most vivid," he assured her, twirling a strand of her long hair around his fingers.
"I'm so glad Mia and Edgy came through with their legal stuff!" She enthused. "It honestly was what I needed to attack that Dragon Lady and stuff her back into her cave!"
"I wish I could have helped you out more in that department," he stated quietly. "I'm sure you could have greatly benefited from a local attorney's services to have assisted you with that whole Kurain mess."
Maya looked up at him, although in the dark, shady room, with the drapes closed, it was difficult to make out his expression. She hoped he wasn't about to get depressed about his plight again. She decided to change the subject.
"I hope the Elders – the non-mean ones, don't think I was too brutal with Mildew," she fretted. "Or worse, are disappointed in my inabilities which led to my collapse, and see me as a failure of a Master."
"I don't think anybody is disappointed in you," he reassured her. "I'm sure they're pleased to have you back. They're not telling you to quit, are they?"
"Well, no, I don't think so anyway…"
"See? You're not a failure. Not like me."
"Oh, Nick! You're not a failure," she implored unequivocally, immediately engaging herself with his problems. "Don't beat yourself up over this again! You know that's exactly what the person who framed you wants!"
"Yeah, I guess. But I can't help it! And I know everyone thinks I forged that evidence."
"But I know you didn't do it. If anyone thinks you did, then they obviously didn't really know you and aren't worth your time, anyway."
"Thanks," mumbled the hobo, a gross understatement of the immense gratitude he felt for her unwavering loyalty. "But it completely ruins any career prospects. For example, this poker job is terrible. I'm always paranoid I'll lose and be fired."
"Poker?" She asked blankly. "I thought you played the piano?"
The clandestine poker champion cursed his slip of the tongue and chose his next words carefully, still loathe to confide to his unassuming lover that his pianist position was a thinly veiled front for being that of a card shark.
"Um, they have me playing cards at this place too now. But they only keep me so long as I keep winning."
"Does it matter?" Maya demanded. "If you were smart enough to pass law school, I'm sure you can find something else to do..."
"Well … I'm sticking around mostly to see if Trucy's father is ever going to turn up. If he does, it will probably be on the poker circuit."
The diviner squizzed at him quizzically and he carefully stretched the truth as much as he could without flat-out lying.
"We have a ... card room downstairs where patrons can play poker from time to time and Zak was obsessed with the game. Therefore, hanging about might be the only way to find him!" He cried out in exasperation. "I just can't seem to stop obsessing over this though, Maya! I've got to find out who did this, and what actually happened. I don't know how much longer I can take this, any more than I know what the future will bring..."
"It'll be okay, Nick," she whispered. "Know that I'll always be here for you, whatever happens."
Phoenix only nodded in agreement and moved down for a kiss.
"You know, since we sort of rushed straight here into the bedroom, you skimped out on giving me that promised tour, so we never did get a chance to check out all the bells and whistles this place has!"
The exuberant necromancer suddenly realized, hopping out of the bed and flicking on the bedside lamp. He smiled with amused admiration as he watched his swain's flawless, bare form bounce around the room, long raven waves floating behind her, running her fingers over everything she could get her hands on, like a kid in a candy store.
"Hey Nick, check this out!" She grabbed a small remote from the dresser table and started to randomly punch some buttons. "I wonder what this does?"
"Maya stop touching stuff if you don't know what it is!"
"Why not? This is an adventure, and for the next two days, I'm on vacation, Old Man!" She hit another button, and suddenly the wood panel in front of the bed began to flip over, exposing an enormous, 60-inch flat-screen TV.
"Wow, Edgy's like Batman!" Her eyes were wide. "I'll bet he even gets the foreign cartoon channels on this thing!"
"That is a pretty sweet setup," the DILF admitted. "I think this is the TV remote here on my bedside table..."
He busied himself flicking through the channels while Maya kept pushing the buttons on the magical mystery remote.
"Awesome!" She exclaimed, as the drapes on the floor-to-ceiling windows suddenly began to be drawn back, as if on their own. She walked over to the glass and pressed her nose against it. "Nick, you should come and see the view from up here! It's incredible!"
"Not as incredible as the view I'm sure you're giving the people in the penthouse across the courtyard, Maya," Phoenix admonished. "Can you please get your naked behind away from the window now?"
"You're such a stick in the mud!" Maya turned away from the window and casually pulled her long hair down the front of her shoulders, arranging it so it draped over her chest in some semblance of modesty. "And if you're so worried about my decency, maybe you should turn off the light then!"
"What?" Phoenix raised an eyebrow suggestively. "And interrupt my viewing pleasure, then?"
Maya giggled and then headed over to the bathroom.
"Man, this john is huge! The tub is a whirlpool one! We should take a bubble bath together later!" She called out to him. "The toilets are even made of marble! Aw! This is so cute, Nick! Edgy's even got a little drinking fountain here set up for Pess!"
"Maya, that's a bidet!"
"Oops!" The Master poked her head of the room and grinned sheepishly. "Hey, what's this weird paper bag poking out of your overnight bag in the corner?"
She walked over to it; her eyes bright with curiosity.
"Oh yeah, that's for you. You need to make sure you wear that stuff every single time you come here from now on, going forward."
Maya examined herself in front of the full-length mirror behind the door before twirling around so her boyfriend could see the transformative effect of the long golden blonde wig, oversized sunglasses, and black trench coat.
"Coolio!" She exclaimed, making exaggerated duck faces at her reflection in front of the glass. "I look like a movie star trying to be undercover from the prying eyes of the paparazzi!"
The key thing is, you also won't look anything like you if noticed by the spying, stalker eyes of Kristoph Gavin, Phoenix was beyond relieved that the costume had the desired effect of making his girlfriend look completely unrecognizable. Thank Christ for small miracles.
"Why the flaxen hair, Nick?" Maya teased. "Do gentlemen truly prefer blondes? Or is this just your way of saying you want to do some kinky role-playing?"
"This gentleman doesn't," he chuckled. "But while I wouldn't kick you out of my bed if you were to keep that wig on, the key thing is you don't look like the Master of Kurain anymore, which is the whole point. Please, Maya, just trust me on this one, OK? I don't want to take any chances."
"Whatever you say!" Maya pulled off the coat, hat, and glasses and continued to poke around the room, while Phoenix kept staring at the TV screen, still flipping channels. "Your quirky fetish wish is my command!"
Suddenly, the spirit medium squealed with delight.
"Omigod, Nick! Check this out! Edgy has the original film print from the actual movie reel of the first Steel Samurai flick mounted in a case on the wall here!" She crowed excitedly.
"Put it back, Maya," Phoenix instructed, without even turning his head.
"What the –" the diviner gawked at him, wide-eyed, her hand on the small, framed item, wondering how her boyfriend had known what she was up to when he hadn't even once taken his eyes off the screen. "How did you know I going to take it off the wall?!"
"Because after all these years of enduring your attempted and successful endeavors of helping yourself to various coveted items from crime scenes by exercising your 'five-finger discounts' MO, I know you, my little kleptomaniac."
The ex-lawyer finally swiveled his head towards her with a knowing smirk.
"And knowing Edgeworth, he's probably got an alarm rigged to that thing. Unless you want the heat busting in here at any moment, I suggest you take your hot little hands off that thing and step away from the merchandise."
"He does not have an alarm on this thing!" The Master triumphantly removed the film print from the wall. "And he's got so much Steel Samurai stuff already, I'm sure he'll never miss this teeny thing…wait, there was a note behind it on the wall. What the heck…?!"
Her tone was incredulous as she read the reprimanding message aloud.
"Miss Fey. Put. It. Back. Now."
The diviner scowled, hung the framed item back up, and hurled herself back onto the bed beside her sniggering boyfriend.
"Stop laughing, Nick!" She swatted him on the arm. "You're all a bunch of big ol' meanies!"
"Come here, my sticky-fingered lady," the pianist coaxed, pulling her sulky form against him and dropping a kiss atop her head. "We shouldn't be spending the rest of your vacation with you pouting!"
"You're right, Nick." She brightened up then and leaned over to peck him on the lips. "So, tell me, how did the channeling go with Pearls yesterday at the conference? Was it as successful as you'd hoped?"
"It went better than I could have hoped! The audience was mesmerized, watching a little girl transform into a grown woman right before their very eyes. This will be so great for business! And of course, you know it's always a bittersweet joy for me to visit with Sis, however briefly."
"I owe that woman so much," Phoenix reflected. "Even in the afterlife, she's there for me when I need her. Pearls channeled her for me, that first night you were in a coma, and honestly, Maya, talking to Mia was just what I needed, though I'm glad you didn't see me fall apart on her. I think the scariest part of my disbarment was having her find out."
"Did she have some miraculous answer that saved the day, as always?"
He sighed and wrapped his arms around Maya, resting his head on hers. "I don't think this one's going to be that easy, but she did remind me of something very important."
"What's that?"
"I'm not doing this by myself. I think I lost sight of that, but this is no different from when I was still practicing. You and me, my love, with friends like Gumshoe and Edgeworth…there's nothing we can't achieve."
"And as long as you and I have each other," Maya added, looking up at him with loving eyes. "The sky's the limit. We can do anything."
Phoenix nodded and simply held his girlfriend close to him.
"Let's get back to your next move. Nick. What do you have going on in the pipeline?"
"Well, I have Edgeworth overseas, keeping an eye out for any information on the Gavins. I have Trucy at home to keep me sane. I have an eternal mentor now to push me along and," he smiled lovingly down at Maya. "I have the love of my life in my arms right now, giving me a reason to fight."
"We'll figure this out," Maya promised, scooting closer to her boyfriend and nuzzling into him. "But while we're together right now, let's just please take a break from all that. Today, and again tonight, it's just us."
"Sounds like a plan," Phoenix agreed amiably and lowered his lips down to hers in a tender kiss.
I am your moon and your moonlight. I am your flower garden and your water too. I have come all this way, eager for you. Without shoes or a shawl. I want you to laugh. To kill all your worries. To love you. To nourish you.
Yes, his future was still uncertain and he still had zero plan of attack, but he felt far better about it now. It was only a matter of time and, if that time was spent like this, with the woman he loved in his arms, then he really could get through anything.
There may be more beautiful times, but this one is ours.
Maya wrapped her arms around her soulmate's neck, pulling him closer as their kiss deepened. She had never imagined how wonderful it could be to awaken in the morning and find herself wrapped in the arms of someone he loved. Such a peaceful feeling, a safe feeling. It made the prospect of her coming day so much brighter, knowing she'd have Phoenix to share it with when she came home again that evening, as well as tomorrow. And she knew that someday, somehow, in the future, the day would eventually come when all her tomorrows would be his.
Mood music from this chapter - full video and lyrics on thejordanphoenix dot com:
Mike Reno & Ann Wilson – Almost Paradise
Feb 14, 2022: This story is now being uploaded to be more family-friendly as the previous version was removed for being too steamy and setting off the site smoke alarms, and for having song lyrics. No harm, no foul. Seriously, I'm not worried - who the heck only reads a story for song lyrics and like, TEN chapters of canoodling out of 196? That's grossly underestimating my amazing and loyal readers, wouldn't you agree?
In the meantime, as I go through the painstaking task of ensuring my new version complies with regulations per the admin's advising, the full uncut version of Turnabout Everlasting, and Filling The Void (the other far too sexy for this site previous casualty, which I've started reposting in a less risqué format) plus all 100+ chapters of Singing In The Courtroom can be found on THEJORDANPHOENIX dot com
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