EJ stomped out of the lounge, propelled by his emotions. He hesitated on the curb of the sidewalk, a fine mist shrouding the street in a gloomy grey. At least the deluge of rain stopped. The idle thought passed as he turned his face up toward the sky. Cars passed. Headlights and taillights reflected off from the wet surfaces surrounding him. Halos of light shining through the fog thickened air. The honking of horns and splashing of disturbed puddles, as much a cadence to city life as the hawking of street vendors and bustle of the end of a work week all around him. The city had a living, breathing pulse, one that he felt compelled to try and connect with at that moment. So he did. EJ hovered, caught between his anger-fueled flight and the instinct to calm and recenter himself before he made matters worse.
How long he stood there, face turned to the clouds, he couldn't be sure. Waging an internal battle with his subconscious, EJ used every meditative skill he'd learned from his Granny as a boy. For Christ's sake, he should have been able to Namaste himself directly into Nirvana. Yet an undercurrent of heightened awareness, kept him on edge and fuck if that didn't piss him off almost as much as she had. He directed a fresh burst of anger inward at the niggling feeling of being torn between escaping and rushing back just to get a glimpse of her.
Three years. Thirty-six long, excruciatingly painful months. One phone call requesting his presence. Followed by their brief, two minute encounter and he was ready to pull his dark hair out from the roots. So much for meditation. Samantha Horton. The epitome of every wet dream and erotic nightmare he'd ever had.
A cab screeched to a halt in front of him, the driver barking at him from a half cracked passenger window, asking if he needed a lift. EJ didn't trust himself to waver any longer. Tossing his long, six-foot-four-inch frame in the rear, he slammed the door behind him with much more force than necessary. Throwing the crook of his right arm over his eyes, EJ bounced his head on the cracked vinyl seat behind him, wishing it a concrete wall that would knock some sense into him.
What did you think was going to happen? The time for self recrimination had arrived and he successfully berated himself, stewing in his own misery. Why on Earth did you agree to a meeting, away from the safety net of the Salem Police Department? Away from the protective eyes of the fellow officers, not to mention Father. You're nothing but a sodding fool!
"Where to?"
"Just drive." A mumbled answer as he tried to follow his twisted logic. Suddenly, the door to his side wrenched open, a blast of cold damp air hitting him just as the cab seemed poised to rejoin traffic. "Occupied!" EJ shouted, not bothering to look at the new arrival, chill bumps racing across his skin.
"Get out."
Bloody Hell! He kept his eyes pinched closed, his arm an added barrier as he blatantly ignored her.
"In or out, lady!" The driver's arm stretched across the back of the front seat, watching with thinly veiled irritation.
"Get. Out." She repeated, pounding her hand on the roof of the car.
"Drive!" EJ ordered the driver, reaching for the door, intent on yanking it shut. She had the wherewithal to predict his plan stepping into the opening, wedging her body in the space between the frame of the car and its door.
"Don't run away from me, EJ."
"I am not running away from you!" He argued, an obvious lie. "I have a meeting to get to. I have neither the time, nor the inclination to deal with you right now." Or ever.
"Tough." Sami grabbed at EJ's forearm, which he started to pull away, but in doing so, he made the mistake of looking at her. She stood, one hand on him, one on the top of the door, the top half of her body leaning into the interior of the car. She looked incensed. Not to mention drop-dead sexy, her darker blonde eyebrows drawn together, her plush lips pressed tightly together. "Get out or move over."
"Oh no!" EJ growled, twisting his arm away while sliding his body along the bench seat closer to her, taking up every inch of space that she could have sat down on. "Mrs. Horton is leaving. She is not getting in this car!"
"You sound very sure about that." She purred, putting one high heeled foot onto the floorboard. "Surely you don't think that I won't just climb right on top of you." Her words landed another lethal blow as the lurid image of her crawling on top of him in the confines of a back seat set fire to his libido. EJ sucked a deep breath in over his clenched teeth.
"Not in my cab!" The cabbie smacked his hand on the steering wheel for emphasis. "Make up your mind, lady, I don't have time for this. In or out!"
"She's leaving." EJ made another gross miscalculation putting his hand out. A hasty decision to push her away quickly morphing into something else entirely as his hand connected with her upper abdomen, his fingertips splayed over the underside of her breast.
A breathy hitch echoed as her breath caught in her throat, her body arching into his touch. He yanked his hand back, wiping his hand on his thigh, curling his fingers into the fabric of his trousers. She chuckled, a husky vibrato reverberating around them. "It's like that then?"
"Samantha, please." He swallowed, his entire body on high alert.
"So you do remember my name," her voice was pure sex. "I love the sound of my name in your mouth. Say it again."
EJ swallowed a groan, feeling like he was drowning in the seductive quality of her words.
"I'll do anything you ask." She murmured, walking her hand along his upper arm, the heat from her body warming him despite the chill of the air.
EJ flashed back to the last time they'd been alone together before tonight. When he'd begged her to stay with him and in response, she'd crushed his heart beneath the point of her stilettos and married another man. His best friend's half brother. Lucas Horton. The damnable half-wit troll.
"Leave me alone." His plea demonstrating just how broken he was. How broken she'd made him.
"Anything but that." She amended, her fingers sliding across his shoulder, tracing over his collar. "You have to let me explain."
"No, I really don't." EJ shook his head, trying to shrug her off. Refusing to be so easily dislodged, she swept her hand up, threading her fingers in the silky strands at the nape of his neck.
"Just five minutes…" A throaty whisper, a tender tug, the press of her chest into his side.
He shook his head, biting down on the inside of his cheek to remind himself of the pain this woman had the potential to wield.
"Get out! The both of you. I don't have time for this. Time is money!"
"No! Please, she's leaving. I need you to drive. I have a meeting I must get to." EJ forcibly removed her hand from the back of his head, pressing it back into her side.
"No, I'm not. If he's not getting out. I'm getting in." Sami chimed in simultaneously.
"For the love of God, Samantha. I can't do this with you right now." A hint of something colored his words. A reedy note of vulnerability that made her all the more determined to get what she wanted. Him. EJ DiMera. The same thing she'd always wanted. Even if her actions didn't always support it. It was a fact, as solid as the ground beneath their feet. EJ would always belong to her.
"Just five minutes." She reiterated.
"What the hell is going on here?" Philip's voice came from the sidewalk behind her.
"Shit!" She swore softly, her opposite hand releasing the doorframe to cover where he still held onto her. "EJ, please."
"Damn it." EJ grumbled. "I have a meeting I need to get to."
"Sami, what are you doing here?" Philip asked, clamping his fingers down on his sister-in-law's shoulder. His face tightened as he looked down at where EJ's fingers were locked around her slim wrist, accompanied by the ashen color of his face. "EJ?"
"I need five minutes of his time." Sami explained, relishing the moment of EJ voluntarily touching her, even to the point of pain. Almost as if he sensed her inner thoughts, he jerked his hand back, recoiling into the seat.
"I think you've done enough damage." Philip bit out, pulling her back against him.
"Philip! Let me go!" Sami struggled in his arms, fear that her chance was being snatched when it was so close, had her shouting out the first thing that came to mind. Philip dragged her backwards, kicking the door closed behind him. "EJ! It's a matter of life and death!"
The cab sped off as soon as the door had latched, EJ safely tucked inside.
"Goddamn it Philip! NO!" Sami shouted, red-faced and furious as she watched the love of her life becoming a pair of shrinking taillights. She screamed in rage, stomping on the instep of his foot with the heel of her shoe with malicious intent. Philip roared, shoving her as he hopped on the opposite foot, pain rendering him useless for a moment. As was her way, Sami took full advantage of his distraction, quickly regaining her footing and taking off like a shot.
"Sami!" Philip called, watching her coattails fly behind her as she bolted. "Damn it, don't do this!" She didn't look back, her compact frame darting around and through the thick mob of pedestrian foot traffic that clogged the Friday evening streets.
EJ stepped off the elevator into the sleek reception area of Black International, a multifaceted corporation taking up the top floor of the most secure building in the city, if not the state. The address that had been given as the rendezvous place for a meeting with his reclusive, yet trusted informants. Completely deserted, save for the nondescript mouse sitting behind the large marble dividing wall, EJ couldn't shake the niggling sense of something being off. Mathasan Darby had given him solid intel on several previous cases, however, he had never before agreed to a face-to-face meeting.
"EJ DiMera for Mathasan Darby, please." His custom and years of police training ensured that EJ was polite to a fault, even though his emotional stability was in a free fall.
"Right this way." She stood, gesturing to a minimally lit hallway off to their left. Their footsteps silent on the carpet as they walked to the very end of the corridor, entering an office as deserted as the rest of this freakishly quiet establishment. "I apologize but Mathasan has been delayed, it will be a few minutes, please help yourself to the minibar."
EJ blinked as the Salem skyline winked from the floor to ceiling windows opposite the door, not even registering the departure of the secretary. The clouds had lifted, the view now crisp, clear and riveting. The entire city was laid before him, demanding his attention. He found himself drawn to the glass, staring out, admiring the picturesque quality of the scene.
A short time later, EJ startled, realizing he was no longer alone.
"Breath-taking, isn't it?" Sami's voice stole his breath. He pivoted on his heel, jaw set, fists clenched.
"Samantha, you can't do this. You can't be here! I have a meeting." EJ hissed, registering the large sparsely furnished office that he'd neglected to catalog on his arrival. Damn her, she's going to get me killed! Get us killed.
She leaned against the now closed door, barring the only viable method of escape, her palms flat against the heavy wooden door at her back. A wry smirk tilted her lips. Pushing off, she began to prowl toward him. "Hi."
"Stop. Just please. Stop." He held his hand up, tucking his chin to his chest and inhaling deep through his nose.
"Why?" She asked, nonetheless ceding to his request.
EJ swallowed over the knot in his throat, shaking his head back and forth as he pinned his eyes to her. "I. You. Not now. I… We… I can't." His innate eloquence having left him high and dry in the face of certain danger, now when he would have used any advantage available.
"Shhh." She smiled, a look of such bliss on her features that he couldn't help but be dazed into obeying. "It's okay."
Separated by a dozen feet, they each feasted their eyes on the other. Updating the subtle differences that three years had stolen from their memories.
"I need you to go." EJ held her eyes, watching the flicker of pain convert to amusement. He shook his head, misunderstanding her grin. "Samantha, this is not a joke. This is business. Surely you can understand the importance of business. I need you to go, I have a meeting."
"With Mathasan Darby, yes I know." She resumed her forward trek toward him, holding her hand out to him in greeting.
He sighed, pulling his fingers through his hair in an agitated huff. "If you know, then what are you doing here? We've managed to stay out of each other's business for a long time now, surely you have more pressing things to attend to. Corporate espionage your cup of tea now? Have you grown tired of spoon feeding Lucas or perhaps kissing Kate's arse isn't to your liking?"
"Funny. You're a regular comedian these days. Do you really want to know what business I've been up to? I kiss no one's ass, I can tell you that. However..." The air between them grew heavy as the implications of her words settled. "I would make an exception for you. I'll kiss your ass, along with any other part of you that you'll let me."
"Samantha, please." He paused, staring at her hand like it was going to bite him. "My meeting with Mr. Darby is quite important."
"Ms. And yes, it is. Now about the kissing. The worshiping." She nodded in agreement, curling her finger and beckoning him closer, running her tongue slowly across her upper lip.
"What?" Exasperation had him two seconds away from shaking her.
"What, what?" she blinked with a coy flair, dropping her hand.
"Mr. Darby…" he gestured to the office around them.
"Oh, that." She grinned. "I told you, it's not Mr. Darby, it's Ms." She stuck her hand back out.
"Okay, Ms. Darby, whatever. It matters not what their gender is. What is important is that I have a very important meeting and you cannot be here."
"I'm afraid you're wrong on a couple of counts there. First off, gender is extremely important." With lascivious intent, her eyes drifted south of his waist, lingering on the bulge that so blatantly announced his maleness. EJ forced himself not to react to her obvious attempts to rile him, waiting until she'd returned her eyes to his. "And two, I most certainly am going to be here for your meeting, because," she paused again for dramatic effect. Closing the distance between them to an arms length, she grabbed for his hand. "I am Ms. Darby. Mathasan Darby. Otherwise known as Samantha Brady. I am your informant."