Happy Christmas to everyone! Thank for undying devotion to this story! I
promise it isn't gone unnoticed and that a new chapter will be there for
the New Year ( I will wait only until I receive 3-4 reviews, I think)
Hugs
Sky Samuelle
|Chapter 11 | | | |After her unusual nocturnal activities, Nikita found relief from her | |persisting disorientation under a cold shower. Unfortunately, while the | |cold water did wake her up completely, it also forced her to deal with the | |more tedious consequences of her hangover. She felt terrible and was firmly| |convinced that she looked even worse. | | | |For all these reasons, she was hardly happy to find Michael making coffee | |and eggs in her kitchen. He was wearing the shirt he had left in her home | |two months ago when she'd offered to wash it for him and the black pants | |he'd worn the day before. | | | |Just the smell of food was enough to make her stomach turn and it wasn't | |because of nausea. Despite what felt like an ongoing bombardment taking | |place inside her head, she was almost hungry. | | | |No, the knots in her stomach had little to do with a lack of appetite and | |everything to do with the man cooking. | | | |She wasn't ready to see him, much less to talk with him. She didn't know | |what to do. | | | |Oh well, he had kissed her back while fully sober and seeing as she had | |been drinking, he should be the one to broach the matter and explain his | |actions if he wanted to discuss it so much. For once, she wouldn't be the | |one to talk out problems. | | | |Playing dumb sat perfectly with her. Moreover, he had no right to enter her| |home whenever he felt like it. | | | |''What are you doing here?'' | | | |Nikita felt that it was awfully redundant to ask, but she doubted that | |there was any use in having scruples when dealing with someone as | |maddeningly insolent as he was. | | | |Nonetheless, she collapsed on her couch with a deliberate effort not to | |glance at him and simply willed herself to figure out why her head was | |threatening to explode at that very moment. | | | |''Good morning to you too, sunshine,'' Michael chuckled, oblivious to her | |displeasure with him and appearing hugely bemused by her dejection. | | | |Being seen by him in such a pitiful state made her feel considerably worse.| |Nikita didn't push the issue, fearing that doing so would require them to | |deal with the matter of the previous night's tumultuous events. | | | |He approached her with a tray containing a mysterious steamy cup. | | | |"How are you?'' | | | |''I have a killer headache. I think I could die,'' she sighed, staring at a| |fixed point above his head. | | | |''Hangovers are a bitch. I've had my share,'' he nodded knowingly. | | | |Perhaps it was merely that French-Canadian accent of his, but the way he | |swore sent a delicious shiver down her spine. There was something | |inexorably tragic about her going into hormonal overload simply by | |listening to him talk, but this time she didn't feel as uncomfortable as | |she usually felt when being reminded of the force of her attraction to him.| |Right now, his eyes held a glint that she had seen somewhere else just a | |little while ago --- in her dream. In the dark eyes of another man. | | | |Michael didn't seem to mind her close observation of him, perhaps | |attributing it to her headache. | | | |''What have you there? '' Nikita inquired pointing at the cup that he had | |made no move to offer her. | | | |Michael shrugged. "A miraculous cure for hangovers. The recipe belongs to | |an old friend from the University. For all the times we made use of it, I | |can assure you that it works. You will be better faster than you can | |imagine if you drink it. '' | | | |''If I drink it.'' | | | |Just as Michael passed the steaming cup near her face, Nikita had the | |chance to sniff the 'brew' and immediately wrinkled her nose, snorting in | |disgust. | | | |''It smells vile.'' | | | |''It tastes worse. But as I said before, it 's extraordinarily effective.''| | | | | |''What is it?'' | | | |''If I told you, I would have to kill you. Now drink.'' He jokingly | |encouraged her. | | | |''I can't believe I'm doing this'' she muttered, taking the steaming cup | |from the tray and taking a tentative sip. | | | |"I would advise you to drink it all at once.'' | | | |Showing courage that even Nikita didn't think she possessed, she gulped | |down the entire cup in one shot while attempting not to taste the horrible | |liquid. | | | |''Pray it works.'' She mumbled, practically feeling her brain painfully | |contract. | | | |''It will. A scalp massage could help too.'' | | | |''Are you volunteering?'' | | | |Nikita tried hard not to squirm, thinking of her scalp being massaged by | |his long fingers with her head resting on his muscular thighs. She didn't | |doubt for one minute his skillfulness, quite the contrary actually. She | |halfheartedly hoped he wasn't offering. | | | |''I'm willing to let you take advantage of my talent.' | | | |Nikita bit her tongue so as not to curse at him since she instantly caught | |the double-entendre. In some way, she suspected he could make the simplest | |line sinful. If she didn't know better, she would think that he was teasing| |her on purpose. | | | |''Considering my devastating suffering, I accept your sacrifice.'' | | | |Nikita dismissed her previous assumption as the fruit of her imagination | |while Michael maneuvered her onto her back, her head lying on his legs, and| |began to massage her temples. Although she felt incredibly tense in finding| |herself in so intimate a position, she maintained her composure and was | |very glad that she was not blushing. | | | |''Relax'' he ordered her, his fingers magically easing her headache with | |their movements. His touch captured her full attention. She closed her | |eyes, half-disappointed and half-relieved that he didn't look at all | |embarrassed at the position they were in. | | | |''How does it feel?'' Michael asked her a few minutes after he had started.| | | | | |''Soooo gooood.'' She purred, but caught herself and said, "I would say it | |works.'' | | | |''Good.'' He smiled, pleased with her response. | | | |''Maybe you should go Michael. At least one of us has to be punctual '' She| |didn't want him to leave so soon but couldn't really make him stay and lose| |time because she was paying her dues for drinking too much. | | | |''If I can't show up fashionably late, what is the advantage in being the | |boss?'' | | | |Michael enjoyed being close to her and, after the bewilderment of last | |night, he couldn't leave her alone, not only because he wanted to help her,| |but because there was still something he needed to tell her. | | | |Nikita giggled, amused by his dry sense of humor. It was nice being with | |her like this. So nice that Michael paused before continuing with what he | |had to say. | | | |''Nikita, do you remember last night?'' | | | |Nikita sighed. She was sure that Michael heard her as it sounded loud to | |her own ears. | | | |''Little bits and pieces. I was really out of it.'' | | | |''Yes. You gave me an incensed lecture about the fine art of respect. | |'' | |''Mmm, I remember that part.'' Nikita closed her eyes, relaxing under the | |caress of his hands. He had slightly roughened fingertips and they felt | |good scraping on her skin. . To be utterly truthful, better than good, more| |along the lines of incredible! | | | |''Did you mean it?'' | | | |''Yes. For the most part. I could have forced my hand since I was tipsy and| |all.'' | | | |''I see.'' | | | |Michael was silent and just when she gave up on his responding, he did. | | | |''Nikita, I trust you. Even when it doesn't appear that I'm listening to | |you, I am. I cannot totally believe inwhat you do, but I believe in you. If| |I didn't, I wouldn't have asked you to be my partner. Don't ever think | |otherwise.'' | | | |''Okay.'' | | | |He was a unique man, able to switch from light-minded to serious in a | |matter of seconds. It left her unsettled but in a pleasant way. | | | |''Michael?'' | | | |''What?'' | | | |''How do you feel about your past lives?'' | | | |''I'm Catholic.'' He sighed, sounding fairly somber and anticipating to | |disagree with her on another absurd subject. | | | |Nikita laughed in that throaty, smoky way she had, the one he could | |identify with only her and got up. | | | |''I do feel better now. Thank you. We better go. You wouldn't want to leave| |Birkoff alone with Corinne Markali, now would you?'' | | | |''No,'' he agreed. | | | |''Birkoff has my car. If you give me five minutes to change, I'll come with| |you.'' | | | |''Fine. I'll wait for you in the car.'' | | | |He pretended to believe that it would be just five minutes, although she | |was the only woman he knew who could be ready in less than that if | |absolutely necessary. | | | |''Nikita?'' He called to her while she was starting up the stairs. '' What | |was it about reincarnation?'' | | | |''Let it alone. I was just teasing you.'' Nikita smiled secretly to herself| |while hurrying upstairs, feeling wholly optimistic about what had gone | |unsaid between them. After all, there was indeed a time for every purpose. | |If Michael wasn't ready for an us just yet, she could wait. He had loved | |her in another life much the same way she loved him now. | | | |She was by nature an impatient person, but for things that truly mattered | |to her such as him, yes she could definitely wait. | | |
|Chapter 11 | | | |After her unusual nocturnal activities, Nikita found relief from her | |persisting disorientation under a cold shower. Unfortunately, while the | |cold water did wake her up completely, it also forced her to deal with the | |more tedious consequences of her hangover. She felt terrible and was firmly| |convinced that she looked even worse. | | | |For all these reasons, she was hardly happy to find Michael making coffee | |and eggs in her kitchen. He was wearing the shirt he had left in her home | |two months ago when she'd offered to wash it for him and the black pants | |he'd worn the day before. | | | |Just the smell of food was enough to make her stomach turn and it wasn't | |because of nausea. Despite what felt like an ongoing bombardment taking | |place inside her head, she was almost hungry. | | | |No, the knots in her stomach had little to do with a lack of appetite and | |everything to do with the man cooking. | | | |She wasn't ready to see him, much less to talk with him. She didn't know | |what to do. | | | |Oh well, he had kissed her back while fully sober and seeing as she had | |been drinking, he should be the one to broach the matter and explain his | |actions if he wanted to discuss it so much. For once, she wouldn't be the | |one to talk out problems. | | | |Playing dumb sat perfectly with her. Moreover, he had no right to enter her| |home whenever he felt like it. | | | |''What are you doing here?'' | | | |Nikita felt that it was awfully redundant to ask, but she doubted that | |there was any use in having scruples when dealing with someone as | |maddeningly insolent as he was. | | | |Nonetheless, she collapsed on her couch with a deliberate effort not to | |glance at him and simply willed herself to figure out why her head was | |threatening to explode at that very moment. | | | |''Good morning to you too, sunshine,'' Michael chuckled, oblivious to her | |displeasure with him and appearing hugely bemused by her dejection. | | | |Being seen by him in such a pitiful state made her feel considerably worse.| |Nikita didn't push the issue, fearing that doing so would require them to | |deal with the matter of the previous night's tumultuous events. | | | |He approached her with a tray containing a mysterious steamy cup. | | | |"How are you?'' | | | |''I have a killer headache. I think I could die,'' she sighed, staring at a| |fixed point above his head. | | | |''Hangovers are a bitch. I've had my share,'' he nodded knowingly. | | | |Perhaps it was merely that French-Canadian accent of his, but the way he | |swore sent a delicious shiver down her spine. There was something | |inexorably tragic about her going into hormonal overload simply by | |listening to him talk, but this time she didn't feel as uncomfortable as | |she usually felt when being reminded of the force of her attraction to him.| |Right now, his eyes held a glint that she had seen somewhere else just a | |little while ago --- in her dream. In the dark eyes of another man. | | | |Michael didn't seem to mind her close observation of him, perhaps | |attributing it to her headache. | | | |''What have you there? '' Nikita inquired pointing at the cup that he had | |made no move to offer her. | | | |Michael shrugged. "A miraculous cure for hangovers. The recipe belongs to | |an old friend from the University. For all the times we made use of it, I | |can assure you that it works. You will be better faster than you can | |imagine if you drink it. '' | | | |''If I drink it.'' | | | |Just as Michael passed the steaming cup near her face, Nikita had the | |chance to sniff the 'brew' and immediately wrinkled her nose, snorting in | |disgust. | | | |''It smells vile.'' | | | |''It tastes worse. But as I said before, it 's extraordinarily effective.''| | | | | |''What is it?'' | | | |''If I told you, I would have to kill you. Now drink.'' He jokingly | |encouraged her. | | | |''I can't believe I'm doing this'' she muttered, taking the steaming cup | |from the tray and taking a tentative sip. | | | |"I would advise you to drink it all at once.'' | | | |Showing courage that even Nikita didn't think she possessed, she gulped | |down the entire cup in one shot while attempting not to taste the horrible | |liquid. | | | |''Pray it works.'' She mumbled, practically feeling her brain painfully | |contract. | | | |''It will. A scalp massage could help too.'' | | | |''Are you volunteering?'' | | | |Nikita tried hard not to squirm, thinking of her scalp being massaged by | |his long fingers with her head resting on his muscular thighs. She didn't | |doubt for one minute his skillfulness, quite the contrary actually. She | |halfheartedly hoped he wasn't offering. | | | |''I'm willing to let you take advantage of my talent.' | | | |Nikita bit her tongue so as not to curse at him since she instantly caught | |the double-entendre. In some way, she suspected he could make the simplest | |line sinful. If she didn't know better, she would think that he was teasing| |her on purpose. | | | |''Considering my devastating suffering, I accept your sacrifice.'' | | | |Nikita dismissed her previous assumption as the fruit of her imagination | |while Michael maneuvered her onto her back, her head lying on his legs, and| |began to massage her temples. Although she felt incredibly tense in finding| |herself in so intimate a position, she maintained her composure and was | |very glad that she was not blushing. | | | |''Relax'' he ordered her, his fingers magically easing her headache with | |their movements. His touch captured her full attention. She closed her | |eyes, half-disappointed and half-relieved that he didn't look at all | |embarrassed at the position they were in. | | | |''How does it feel?'' Michael asked her a few minutes after he had started.| | | | | |''Soooo gooood.'' She purred, but caught herself and said, "I would say it | |works.'' | | | |''Good.'' He smiled, pleased with her response. | | | |''Maybe you should go Michael. At least one of us has to be punctual '' She| |didn't want him to leave so soon but couldn't really make him stay and lose| |time because she was paying her dues for drinking too much. | | | |''If I can't show up fashionably late, what is the advantage in being the | |boss?'' | | | |Michael enjoyed being close to her and, after the bewilderment of last | |night, he couldn't leave her alone, not only because he wanted to help her,| |but because there was still something he needed to tell her. | | | |Nikita giggled, amused by his dry sense of humor. It was nice being with | |her like this. So nice that Michael paused before continuing with what he | |had to say. | | | |''Nikita, do you remember last night?'' | | | |Nikita sighed. She was sure that Michael heard her as it sounded loud to | |her own ears. | | | |''Little bits and pieces. I was really out of it.'' | | | |''Yes. You gave me an incensed lecture about the fine art of respect. | |'' | |''Mmm, I remember that part.'' Nikita closed her eyes, relaxing under the | |caress of his hands. He had slightly roughened fingertips and they felt | |good scraping on her skin. . To be utterly truthful, better than good, more| |along the lines of incredible! | | | |''Did you mean it?'' | | | |''Yes. For the most part. I could have forced my hand since I was tipsy and| |all.'' | | | |''I see.'' | | | |Michael was silent and just when she gave up on his responding, he did. | | | |''Nikita, I trust you. Even when it doesn't appear that I'm listening to | |you, I am. I cannot totally believe inwhat you do, but I believe in you. If| |I didn't, I wouldn't have asked you to be my partner. Don't ever think | |otherwise.'' | | | |''Okay.'' | | | |He was a unique man, able to switch from light-minded to serious in a | |matter of seconds. It left her unsettled but in a pleasant way. | | | |''Michael?'' | | | |''What?'' | | | |''How do you feel about your past lives?'' | | | |''I'm Catholic.'' He sighed, sounding fairly somber and anticipating to | |disagree with her on another absurd subject. | | | |Nikita laughed in that throaty, smoky way she had, the one he could | |identify with only her and got up. | | | |''I do feel better now. Thank you. We better go. You wouldn't want to leave| |Birkoff alone with Corinne Markali, now would you?'' | | | |''No,'' he agreed. | | | |''Birkoff has my car. If you give me five minutes to change, I'll come with| |you.'' | | | |''Fine. I'll wait for you in the car.'' | | | |He pretended to believe that it would be just five minutes, although she | |was the only woman he knew who could be ready in less than that if | |absolutely necessary. | | | |''Nikita?'' He called to her while she was starting up the stairs. '' What | |was it about reincarnation?'' | | | |''Let it alone. I was just teasing you.'' Nikita smiled secretly to herself| |while hurrying upstairs, feeling wholly optimistic about what had gone | |unsaid between them. After all, there was indeed a time for every purpose. | |If Michael wasn't ready for an us just yet, she could wait. He had loved | |her in another life much the same way she loved him now. | | | |She was by nature an impatient person, but for things that truly mattered | |to her such as him, yes she could definitely wait. | | |