Model Beast
By Thomas Mc

Chapter 9 : The Romance

Shortly after supper time all the boxes had been unpacked and the entire apartment arranged the way she wanted it. Emily looked around at her apartment. It would have taken her days to accomplish this on her own. She looked over at the balcony doors where Devin was now standing and staring out at the city, then went over to join him.

She stood next to him and gazed out at the view. "Thank-you for your help. It would have taken me forever without it."

"That's OK. I enjoyed helping you . . . and I got pizza for lunch and dinner in the bargain." He responded.

For a while they just stood there quietly gazing out at the city. Emily became aware that they were standing so close that their arms were touching. Then she felt his arm go around her sending a tingling up her spine. Then she felt something else stirring within her. There were emotions there that she knew were not her own. She looks up at him in surprise as he looked down at her just as surprised. She was sensing his feelings. The warm gentle desire she felt from him perfectly complimented the warm desire she had been feeling grow within herself over the last twelve hours. She looked down suddenly feeling very shy as his arm tightened around her.

Softly Devin spoke, the wonder she could now feel coming from him, echoed in his voice. "That is the bond."

They turned to face each other as they each felt the others growing emotions. She felt drawn to him like they were two magnets. Almost without conscious volition they leaned in toward each other and their lips met. A delicious warmth spread through her and she could feel a similar reaction spreading through him. At the edge of her perceptions she heard the song that had begun playing on her audio system.

" It's too late to turn back now.
I believe, I believe, I believe
I'm falling in love . . ."

"Too right." She breathed softly as they parted and the song continued to play.

"Huh?" Devin responded as the refrain repeated.

The refrain came back around the third time and Emily began to sing along as comprehension dawned for Devin. Then as the songs final notes faded away her eyes grew wide as she gazed into his. "Oh, Devin. How can this ever work between us? Our lives are so totally incompatible. You could never live in my world and I don't know if I could really be happy for long in yours. The wanderlust has always been far too strong in me to ever settle in one place for very long."

Devin gazed into her eyes for a moment, then he shook his head. "No . . . I don't think you would be able to stay very long in my world. You really do enjoy the time you spend Below but you couldn't live there. Even New York is not big enough to contain you for long." He smiled and kissed her forehead. "You're a woman of the world and that is where you belong."

She pulled him close as he tightened his arms around her and again they kissed. For a while all considerations faded and the only thing that mattered was the feel of the kisses and their need to be close. Finally they again parted and gazed into each other's eyes. "Devin, how can this possibly work when I am always traveling around the world? You know what my life is like. We would have so little time together."

Devin smiled as he responded. "Our bond joins us together now. We will never be truly parted as long as we have this link, and every time you come home, I'll be here for you." He looked deeply into her eyes. "Whatever the difficulties, the love we have just found, and our bond, will see us through." He cocked his head. "I think this thing between us has been building for a while without our conscious knowledge. I know that I've been fascinated by you since that day I saw you being painted for that photo shoot at the castle." He paused a moment. "I know you were aware of my presence and I think it was your uninhibited attitude that first drew me in . . ." A devilish smile spread across his face. "That and your incredible beauty."

Emily found herself uncharacteristically blushing. The thought of other men seeing her nude body had never affected her like this, but with Devin it mattered. Finally she spoke again. "That is also a part of what I am. There are many pictures like that of me out there, including a few that are totally in the nude, and there will surely be more. Will that become a problem?"

Devin gazed at her as he thought about it for a moment, then he smiled. "Surprisingly, I find that it does not seem to bother me. What matters to me is how we feel about each other." He pulled her in and again they were kissing. They stood there together quietly holding each other close and occasionally kissing while watching the shadows lengthen until the light of day had disappeared. "Why don't you come below for the night? The chamber you stayed in is still available."

She thought a while. "That sounds fine to me. I'll meet you in the park?"

"See you there." He gave her a quick kiss then disappeared over the balcony wall.

Emily quickly made her way down to the lobby of the building where she ran into a problem. There were a half dozen people with cameras lounging just outside the front doors. She had already found the two emergency exits from this building. She turned on the charm and sweet talked the front desk guard into turning off the alarm just long enough for her to make her escape through the back emergency exit. She had just crossed the street and was about to enter the park when they spotted her and gave chase. She easily outran them and with the help of her dark cloak vanished into the more heavily wooded area.

She felt Devin's approach seconds before she saw him. "Devin, there's a problem . . ." She blurted out.

"I already know about your pursuers." He cut off what she was about to say. "You've lost them. Let's get below before they find us." He sensed the worry and turmoil growing within her as he led her the short distance to the culvert entrance.

"Devin, I'm worried." She remarked as he closed the hidden entrance. "I've just realized that my paparazzi problem could pose a very real danger to both you and the tunnels. All it would take is one of those idiots getting a picture of you or following me to this doorway to ruin everything." She shook her head. "I could never forgive myself if I were to bring harm to any of your family or to your wonderful tunnel community."

Devin felt her growing despair and responded. "That can be easily dealt with. What do you have planned for tomorrow?"

She blinked as she mentally shifted gears. "I originally planned to unpack more boxes but that's already finished, thanks to you. I don't have to show up for work 'til day after tomorrow." She replied.

"We have direct tunnel access through many of the buildings around Manhattan. Tomorrow I'll show you several that are close to where you live. As long as you don't use any one of them too often, everything will be fine."

Devin led her to the dining chamber where they were able to forage a light bedtime snack. Then he escorted her to the chamber she had stayed in before, where he kissed her goodnight. She was soon falling asleep to the music of the tunnel pipes.

~ o ~

The next morning they met in the dining chamber for breakfast. "Good morning Devin." She greeted him cheerfully. "Did you have a good night?"

Devin smiled back. "I got a few pointed questions from my parents when I got to my chamber."

"Oh, no. What happened?" She asked a bit worriedly.

"Well they wanted to know just what had happened in your apartment. Then I told them that we were bonded and that pretty much ended any objections on their part." He grabbed her hand. "At that point they knew that the die had already been cast and it was up to us to try to work things out." He could almost hear her mind working, based on the flow of her emotions. "They don't blame you for our situation. They don't understand how we can possibly make this work and they worry that I might get hurt before this is settled. But they don't blame you." He kissed her hand, sending those now familiar tingles up her spine. "Personally I'm happy with the way things are turning out. Our time together may be very limited but people in the military often have it much worse. At least I don't have to worry about you getting shot at." He chuckled as he placed his hand over the area where her bullet wound scars were located. "Most of the time." He finished with a kiss that was curiously observed by the rest of those there for breakfast. "Now let's get something to eat.

~ o ~

After breakfast Devin led her to several places where she could gain access to the tunnels. At each place he introduced her to the helpers that were found there, and the helpers would take her outside so she could become familiar with the neighborhood. One of the buildings turned out to be the other apartment building on Central Park West that she had been considering when she first decided to move to New York. She was introduced to the three helpers and one family member that lived in that building. She was added to the list of guests with full access to the building. She was also shown how to work the Belvedere Castle access. They spent the evening exploring their bond and he taught her how to project emotions over the link.

~ x x x x x ~

Fall 2035

Emily listened closely as the director gave her instructions. Her short TV show stint had been so successful that they had asked her back. This time she was again playing herself and they had her basically recreating the incident of the bio-agent canisters. It was a two episode cliffhanger ratings gimmick and it had worked quite well last time. The first part ended with her unconscious body lying in the park as one of the terrorists was closing in on her location. The second part would start with the show's stars accompanied by two police officers showing up just in time to chase the terrorist away before he could finish her off. Not quite the way it had really happened, but then again, it was, after all, fiction.

Near the middle of the day they were shooting a new scene and she flubbed her line the first time through because she had picked-up extreme humor from Devin and broke into a fit of the giggles. With some effort she got herself under control and was able to deliver her lines to the director's satisfaction. Later, after she had finished the scene and they were setting up for the next one, she was thinking that she really liked being able to feel Devin's presence, but it could sometimes cause problems.

~ x x x x x ~

A month later she was in Australia shooting a series of commercials and a music video for a currently popular pop music group. By now she had mastered the techniques of lobbing emotional bombs at Devin and of damping down her end of the link when she needed to concentrate on her work. When she was out exploring on her own she would open the link as wide as she could so that he could share in her joy of discovery. Everywhere she went, she took lots of pictures so that, when she returned to New York, she could share with him the images that had produced the emotions she had shared with him. Sometimes she would sketch out some scene that particularly caught her fancy or moved her emotionally.

Two weeks later she was in Egypt where the Sphinx and the Pyramids served as the background for an advertising campaign. The security was tight because of her very public involvement in foiling that terrorist plot against New York. There was one attempt on her life but they never got close and the only ones killed were the suicide bombers themselves.

A week and a half later she was back in Paris on another major fashion show.

~ x x x x x ~

Emily stepped off the plane on a cool early December morning. It had been a long tiring overnight flight from South Africa, where she had spent a hot sticky grueling week on the annual swimsuit edition. Yet her grin nearly split her face in half. She was back in New York and eager to get back to Devin. Last week she had called Elizabeth and told her that she would be in town 'til late January. Elizabeth was pleased and told her that Devin would be ecstatic.

As she exited the departure lounge, she was immediately surrounded by the media. She swept back the hood of her signature cloak and greeted them saying how glad she was to be back in her adopted home of New York. She sparred verbally with the reporters for a while before admitting that she was going to be doing another couple of episodes on the same TV show that she had already been on. She also admitted that she had been offered her own series based on a very old show called 'Moonlighting' but she had turned it down.

Finally she made her escape and headed into Manhattan. She had the cab driver drop her off at a small deli next to Central Park. Fifteen minutes later she was in Devin's arms. "Welcome home, Emily." Then he kissed her very thoroughly.

"Mmmm. It's good to be home." She replied after they broke.

They headed to the central tunnels as she told him about her latest travels. Soon they were in the dining chamber where most of the residents stopped by to welcome her back while she ate a late breakfast. Then Devin took her to what had become 'her' chamber so that she could get some rest.

~ x x x x x ~

Emily stared around at the great hall in undisguised wonder. This was her first Winterfest and she was overwhelmed by the experience. They had just finished clearing the central area of the chamber and Devin drew her out to the dance floor. The tunnel musicians launched into a waltz. Emily reveled in the new sensation of dancing in Devin's arms. It was a feeling that she did not think she could ever tire of.

The next dance was a slow romantic tune. Devin pulled her in close and she laid her head on his shoulder soaking up the warmth of his body and the love radiating from his heart. After a moment she spoke. "Devin?"

"Humm." He responded.

"Do you think it's possible, with our incompatible lives, we could ever make a go of a more permanent relationship?"

"What type of more permanent relationship?" She could feel a hint of amusement mixed with a dash of curiosity and anticipation from him

"Well, you know, like marriage . . . or something like that." She replied, a little bit of a flush growing in her cheeks.

There was a long pause as the anticipation got a little stronger along with the beginnings of hope and desire before he finally responded. "I don't know how successful it would turn out to be . . . but it would be a blast finding out." He felt her heart leap at his response and felt his own heart respond in kind as he held his breath in anticipation.

Emily lifted her head from his shoulder and looked into his eyes. "Devin, will you marry me?"

They stopped dancing as they gazed into each others eyes. "I would love to marry you, Emily." He grinned wide enough to clearly display his fangs. Then they were kissing in the middle of the dance floor, oblivious of the others around them. Those around them quickly became aware of what was happening and there were smiles and giggles all around. Then they finally broke from their kiss. "Everybody." Devin announced loudly. "Emily and I are officially engaged." The announcement was greeted by surprise and cheers as they moved off to the side.

A pretty young strawberry blond that Emily had not seen before came up to congratulate them and Devin gave her a big hug. "So you are finally leaving me for another woman." She smacked him on his chest. Then faced Emily. "You know I was engaged to him first." She stated matter-of-factly as she grinned back at Emily.

Emily raised her eyebrows as she looked quizzically at Devin. She could clearly feel his amusement.

"I was eleven and she was five." He remarked. "She left me shortly afterwards for Perry, then it was Peter, then it was, ah, Charles. He was already taken so she moved on to Henry. She was a very fickle five-year-old." He gave the girl another hug. "Emily this is Cherry. She was born and raised in the tunnels and last year she abandoned us to make a life Above."

"Glad to meet you, Cherry." Emily greeted her.

"It's a pleasure meeting you, too." Cherry responded.

"So how are things going for you Above?" Emily asked.

Cherry grinned. "I've been taken on by the taxi company as a dispatcher and I'm training to become a driver."

Another lion-man, named Peter, came up and claimed Cherry for the next dance. As they moved away, Devin chuckled. "I think Cherry and Peter have become a little sweet each other lately." He put his arm around Emily's waist. "Let's dance." And they moved back onto the dance floor as he drew her in close for a slow dance. With a shiver of delight Emily melted against him.

Continued in Part 10

'Beauty and the Beast' and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.