PART 9: "Letting pride aside"
It was only half past nine in the evening when Lara decided to go to bed. It had been one of those boring and depressing days, mostly because of the rain that began pouring down ever since the crack of dawn and stopped only around nine o'clock in the evening. It was not like her to go to sleep so early but she couldn't find any other alternative to make the day pass quicker.
Lying in bed half-asleep, her mind began to wonder and she found herself thinking at all that had happened the previous night, especially the incident with Bullseye. When she was awake and thinking clearly she didn't pay too much attention to that but now, her subconscious seemed to have a different opinion.
The scene that came unwillingly on and on before her eyes was the one where he grabbed her by surprise and kissed her passionately. Remembering that she smiled and somehow unconscious of her actions she began to trace her thumb against her lips, the same way he had done. Although she was not fully asleep, she felt like she was in a dream, a dream that seemed so real because she thought she was actually feeling his warm body against hers.
Slowly opening her eyes, she realized that that sensation was caused by a pillow she had been holding tightly in her arms. This made her snap back to reality all of a sudden and throw the pillow aside. she thought. Laughing at herself in her mind for what she was thinking and the way she was acting, she laid her head back on the pillow and tried to force herself to fall asleep and not to think too much at such nonsense. Shifting from one side to the other she realized it was impossible for her to fall asleep as long as the same thoughts came unwillingly into her mind. But suddenly she was distracted by the telephone ringing on the night table.
"Yes? .. Who is it?" she asked noticing that the person who called seemed to hesitate in answering.
"Lara?" the caller finally spoke.
"Colin? She asked a bit surprised after a couple of seconds when she recognized the voice. "How come it is not 'baby' or 'sweetheart' or whatever else you usually call me?"
"Well, 'cause I didn't thought it would be too appropriate after .. last night."
Lara was amused and intrigued by what he was telling her but also by the way he was saying it, the words barely escaping his mouth, as if he was being forced to say something he didn't like to say, something that was against his usual self.
"So why did you call?"
A big paused followed.
"Are you still there?"
"Yeah, yeah ..I called because I thought about .. what happened last night and I wanted to tell you that .. I got a little carried away and .. uh .. maybe I .. shouldn't have .. done .. that."
Lara chuckled.
"What?"
"Are you trying to tell me that you are sorry?"
"No, I just wanna say that maybe that was not the most appropriate thing to do at the moment because .. well, because .. "
"Because what?" she asked chuckling again.
"Ok, yes."
"Yes what?"
"Yes I 'm .. sorry." The last word was muttered and barely hearable. "So, are ya still mad on me?"
"Did it seemed to you that I was mad when I left last night?"
"How should I know? I was kinda dizzy at the moment. By the way, you almost broke my nose."
"Almost? Damn, I am loosing my touch," she joked but tried to use a serious tone.
"Oh, that's very encouraging, thank you."
"Why exactly did you call? Because I do not believe you did it only to apologize."
"As a matter of fact I did call just to .. do .. that .. "
Apparently, for Bullseye it was quite difficult to apologize and Lara could barely stop herself from bursting into laughter when she heard him babbling like that.
" .. but I was also thinking that .. maybe, if you want, I could .. make it up to you?" He began the phrase like a statement but ended it like question because he was not sure how she would react.
"You don't say! And what exactly are you trying to get at?"
" I was thinking that maybe we could .. go for a walk or something like that .. you know, like friends .. and we could .. talk, 'cause we didn't see each other for more than ten years and so far we never had a chance to just sit and talk."
"Hmm, sounds interesting. Where do you want to go?"
At about ten o'clock that evening Lara and Bullseye met in a park somewhere at the outskirts of Manhattan, in an apparently peaceful and quiet neighborhood. Outside it was cold and wet and luckily for them there were almost no people on the streets. Bullseye was wearing his usual outfit and Lara was wearing a purple sweater, a pair of dark blue jeans, dark brown boots and a short cream-colored jacket, with a fur collar. As much as she liked to be always elegant, this time she chose to put on more ordinary clothes, as not to drag too much attention on herself.
"What?" she asked Bullseye while they were walking through the park, noticing he had been gazing at her with a smile on his face for quite a while.
"Nothing. I was wondering you might be cold. Do you mind if I hold you?" he asked softly as if fearing of being rejected.
"No," she murmured and he gently put his right arm around her, laying his hand on her shoulder.
After they traversed the alleys of that small park a couple of times, they stopped in the same place they met.
"Do you know what's your problem baby?" he suddenly changed the topic of their conversation, possibly irritated by something she said. "You're too proud. Just because you're rich and famous and you've got all this power you think nothing's good enough for you."
"Where the hell did you get that from?" she burst out furiously, pushing his hand away from her shoulder and coming up in front of him.
"C'mon, it's so obvious .. darling." He said the last word on an ironical tone. At first we were good friends and all that but now you keep on rejecting me and criticizing everything I do. Frankly I don't understand what's with you. I would say that maybe it's the way I am or the way I look, but that's funny 'cause I remember you were the one who wanted me to be this way."
He paused for a minute waiting her to react but as he suspected, she just turned her head, not wanting to meet his gaze, knowing that he was right.
"And didn't you always brag about how you live life to the full and don't think twice about doing something 'cause you might not get a second chance? Where's all that now?"
He put his hands on her upper-arms to keep her still and make her look at him.
"C'mon baby, be like before. Take a chance .. "
As he spoke he came closer and closer to her and she, somehow unconscious of her actions, put her hands on his chest. She was looking him straight in the eyes, like she was being hypnotized by them and in the end she totally lost the power to reject him and gave in.
" .. I know you want this."
When he spoke the last words on such a tender voice and looked at her so caring, with such a sweet expression on his face, she just couldn't resist anymore. Wrapping her arms around his neck she pressed her lips against his while he grabbed her by the waist and kept her tight in his arms. The two of them stayed like that for a couple of minutes, until Bullseye paused to speak, noticing she was really enjoying it.
"See baby, I told ya you wanted this."
"Yes," she moaned, trying to reach his lips again. Although so far she had tried to be indifferent to his approaches, this proved to him how much she had actually craved for it deep inside. He tightened her more in his arms and kissed her again, this time not so gentle, but with more passion, almost violently.
"Now what?" she asked when their lips finally broke contact.
"I rented an apartment near by and I was thinking we could go there and .. "
She suddenly gave him an annoyed and disapproving look, but he understood what she was thinking at and didn't let her respond.
" .. have dinner."
"Dinner?" she asked surprised, almost amused.
"Yeah. What's wrong with that? I figured you might be hungry and you know how I hate restaurants."
"So, what did you bought?"
"Ah .. nothing, but I have some thing in the fridge and I think I can cook you up a delicious meal."
"You .. cook?"
"Well, I had to learn to take care of myself. Don't have anybody do that for me, ya know."
"You are definitely fool of surprises. Let's go then. You really got me intrigued."
A couple of minutes later, after crossing the street in front of the entrance to the park and going through some back alleys, they finally reached the block where Bullseye rented apartment was. Taking an old elevator to the 5th floor and walking through a dusty corridor, Lara and Bullseye arrived in front of the door to his flat. He took out the key from one of his pockets, unlocked the door and held it open for Lara to enter.
On the right there was the bedroom, but there was no wall separating it from the living room. In the bedroom there was a double bed with one nightstand on each side and there was a window on the wall opposite to the one where the entrance door was. Also, the door to the bathroom was on the same wall as the entrance door.
The living room had a window (on the wall in front of the entrance) in front of which there was a simple couch and a coffee table. To the left there was a TV set that faced the couch and a door that led to a small kitchen.
The apartment in general was crowded and quite dusty, as if there haven't been people living in it for years. There were some cracks on the walls, the wooden floor was creaking in some places and the curtains looked like some rags. To be honest, the place wasn't that bad. It just needed to be cleaned a little bit, but Lara seemed to be quite disgusted by it.
"Here we are, baby. What d' ya think? Quite nice, no?"
"Yes, if you are dead. Sincerely, if you are suppose to be one of the highly paid assassins, why don't you find a more decent place to live in?"
"Don't start bugging me with that crap again. I live however I like, Ok?" Bullseye almost shouted, giving Lara a menacing look.
"Chill out, I did not mean to upset you."
"Go sit on the couch. I'll see what I can find in the fridge," he said trying to change the subject and calm himself down.
On his way to the kitchen, Bullseye took off his cap and coat and threw them onto a nearby armchair. Lara took off her coat as well, sat down on the couch and turned on the television in front. After 15 minutes of checking up almost a dozen time each channel and finding nothing interesting to watch, Lara went to the kitchen to see what Bullseye was doing.
"Hey!" she called to get his attention, on a low and sweet voice. "Can I help you with anything?"
"Relax baby, I ain't cooking no specialties here. Just some fries. It's all I have. Sorry!"
"Don't worry, I love fries."
"Good. Than go make yourself comfortable; watch TV or something. I'll be with you in a minute."
Lara went back to the couch, leaving Bullseye to make the fries. Soon after, he came out of the kitchen, holding two opened bottles of beer, one of which he gave to her."
"Here ya go. Hope you like it. It's that or water."
"It's fine, thank you," she said taking the bottle, drinking a little from it and then laying it on the table. Bullseye drank almost half of his bottle, while sitting down on the couch next to her and propping up his right foot against the edge of the table.
"Man, this shit is good," he said looking at the bottle and then at Lara, who answered with a smile. "You know, there's something I want to ask you, something I've been thinking of ever since last night."
"What is it?" she asked intrigued.
"When you were surrounded by all those vampires and fighting them off you had some sort of knives or something like that. I didn't see clearly but you had about five of them in each hand and it looked like they were glued to your fingers. Did you have some specials gloves or what?"
Lara giggled.
"Remember when I told you that the Lin Kuei gave me an adamantium skeleton so that I never brake a bone from my body?"
Bullseye nodded.
"Well, they also gave me some extra parts to match my powers."
Saying this, Lara raised her hands in front of her and let the ten adamantium claws slid out of the tips of her fingers.
"Holly shit!" he exclaimed, almost dropping the bottle from his hand.
Without taking his eyes off the claws, he stretched out his right arm and laid the bottle on the table, after which he took Lara's hands into his and began examining the claws. He reached out to touch one claw with one finger but he quickly withdrew it when the sharp edge cut his shin.
"This things are sharp, no kidding."
He then looked instinctively at his wounded finger and noticed that the cut was gone.
"What the .. ?"
"I told you the blood I gave you will come in handy."
"Oh, yeah .. " he smiled at her and raised his eyebrows in a sign that he remembered what she was talking about. "So, doesn't it hurt?" he asked when she began pulling them back in.
"Well, practically they are very sharp blades that rip through my flesh every time they come out. But thanks to my healing powers and to the fact that I've spent my entire childhood training to endure any pain, in time I got used to it and now I almost do not feel a thing."
"That's nice baby but I'd better go check on those fries. Mutants and vampires are still kinda disturbing to me."
About ten minutes later Bullseye returned with two plates of French fries.
"Madame, dinner is served," he said putting the plates on the table.
"Thanks," she replied, amused by his comment.
He sat down besides her and they both began eating from their plates while watching TV and chatting about all sorts of things.
"That was delicious. You really have a way of surprising me. Now I don't suppose you have any desert, have you?"
"You want desert?" he asked, a devilish kind of smile forming on his face. "C'me here, I'll give you desert."
Before she could realize what he had said, she found herself lying on the couch, with him on top of her, kissing her lips with desire. She placed her hands on his upper arms as if preparing to push him away, if necessary, but instead of grabbing him tight, she began caressing his skin gently. A soft moan of pleasure escaped her throat as she flung her head backwards, allowing him to move his lips from her mouth to her chin and then down to her neck. Feeling his lips on her skin made her shiver and all this excitement, as well as her loud beating heart prevented her from realizing that while his lips were moving on her neck from behind one earlobe to the other, his hands, that had been resting on her waist, slowly raised up her sweater till under her breast.
All of a sudden, as she was lying underneath him on the couch with her eyes closed, feeling like she had broken any contact with the real world, she was surprised not to feel anymore his lips on hers or his hot breath against her neck. But she didn't want to open her eyes, as not to ruin the magic of the moment. She waited and seconds later a smile appeared on her face when she felt his lips touching her skin once again. However, this time they were exploring another part of her body, moving along her exposed abdomen from under her breasts to the buttons of her pants. She loved the sensation and at first she didn't try to stop him, but then she suddenly opened her eyes in shock when she felt his fingers unbuttoning her jeans.
"No, no. None of that," she said smiling while gently pushing him aside and pulling her sweater back on.
"Baby, c'mon, don't make a scene now. We're both adults with experience here .. " he responded obviously irritated by her behavior, trying to take her in his arms again, but being pushed away.
"Precisely because I am an adult with experience I do not hurry to jump in bed with a guy, like some desperate teenager," she responded resuming a sitting position on the couch.
"Who said anything about a bed? We can do it right here."
He stretched out his left arm and put it behind her back, pulling her next to him before she could indent to push him away, while his right hand grabbed hold of her left thigh, in order to have a more firm grasp on her.
"You know baby .. " he whispered into her ear, between short kisses around that area " .. I could very well force you to be mine, 'cause I know you'll end up liking it, but I wanna see ya coming to me willingly, asking me for it and afterwards, begging me for more."
His words, as well as his face rubbing against her neck and his lips touching her sensually, sent a wave of pleasure through her entire body and she could hardly control herself as not to throw herself into his arms.
He waited a short while for a response on her behalf but she simply kept her head turned in the opposite direction, trying to avoid meeting his gaze, just as she did while he spoke. Finally, irritated by the situation, he let go of her and turned his attention to the TV set and to a bottle of beer that he quickly emptied.
Lara watched him how he just starred at the TV, with a serious expression on his face, obviously upset. At first the sight amused her, because he was acting like a spoiled child who didn't get what he wanted, but then she felt a bit sorry for bringing him into this state. However, it couldn't have happened any other way, as his request wasn't exactly that of a child and she didn't want to give in so soon either. She felt the need to make him fell better so she came closer and wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her chin on his shoulder.
"Hey, don't get upset now. We did a lot of progress this evening. Isn't that what you wanted?"
He slightly turned his head and glanced at her, his facial expression unchanged, and then quickly redirected his attention to the TV set. She started to give him quick pecks on his left chick and delicately bit his earlobe, using more her lips than her teeth, while her hands were rubbing back and forth his biceps.
"I did not say we will never do it. It will just not be tonight," she continued.
He turned his head to look at her, still upset though, and slightly annoyed. She cupped his right cheek into her hand to prevent him from turning away from her and then leaned forward to taste his lips again. She had been waiting for a very long time to do it and now, when she finally had the opportunity, she wanted to take advantage of every moment.
"It is more exciting this way, believe me. The more we wait, the more we desire it and when the moment comes, it will be .. the most intense and sensual experience you ever had," she spoke again.
"You do know how to drive me crazy love," he smirked, returning to his usual self again and afterwards taking her face in his palms to give her a short peck on the lips. "But don't you think we waited long enough? And besides, all the things you said only made me want you more."
"You know what, it is kind of late and I bet you are really tired .. " she responded smiling, trying to change the subject completely all of a sudden " .. so why don't you come here and rest?"
She took a pillow that was near her on the couch, placed it on her lap and invited him to lay his head there. Almost dragged by her he laid his head on her lap, afterwards raising his legs and laying them on the couch as well. They stood like that for a while, watching TV, until both of them fell asleep.
When Bullseye woke up in the morning Lara was no longer there, but there was a note on the table:
'I am sorry for leaving like this but there are some things I have to take care off, things that are in your interest as well. I will call you later. ~Lara~ '
It was only half past nine in the evening when Lara decided to go to bed. It had been one of those boring and depressing days, mostly because of the rain that began pouring down ever since the crack of dawn and stopped only around nine o'clock in the evening. It was not like her to go to sleep so early but she couldn't find any other alternative to make the day pass quicker.
Lying in bed half-asleep, her mind began to wonder and she found herself thinking at all that had happened the previous night, especially the incident with Bullseye. When she was awake and thinking clearly she didn't pay too much attention to that but now, her subconscious seemed to have a different opinion.
The scene that came unwillingly on and on before her eyes was the one where he grabbed her by surprise and kissed her passionately. Remembering that she smiled and somehow unconscious of her actions she began to trace her thumb against her lips, the same way he had done. Although she was not fully asleep, she felt like she was in a dream, a dream that seemed so real because she thought she was actually feeling his warm body against hers.
Slowly opening her eyes, she realized that that sensation was caused by a pillow she had been holding tightly in her arms. This made her snap back to reality all of a sudden and throw the pillow aside. she thought. Laughing at herself in her mind for what she was thinking and the way she was acting, she laid her head back on the pillow and tried to force herself to fall asleep and not to think too much at such nonsense. Shifting from one side to the other she realized it was impossible for her to fall asleep as long as the same thoughts came unwillingly into her mind. But suddenly she was distracted by the telephone ringing on the night table.
"Yes? .. Who is it?" she asked noticing that the person who called seemed to hesitate in answering.
"Lara?" the caller finally spoke.
"Colin? She asked a bit surprised after a couple of seconds when she recognized the voice. "How come it is not 'baby' or 'sweetheart' or whatever else you usually call me?"
"Well, 'cause I didn't thought it would be too appropriate after .. last night."
Lara was amused and intrigued by what he was telling her but also by the way he was saying it, the words barely escaping his mouth, as if he was being forced to say something he didn't like to say, something that was against his usual self.
"So why did you call?"
A big paused followed.
"Are you still there?"
"Yeah, yeah ..I called because I thought about .. what happened last night and I wanted to tell you that .. I got a little carried away and .. uh .. maybe I .. shouldn't have .. done .. that."
Lara chuckled.
"What?"
"Are you trying to tell me that you are sorry?"
"No, I just wanna say that maybe that was not the most appropriate thing to do at the moment because .. well, because .. "
"Because what?" she asked chuckling again.
"Ok, yes."
"Yes what?"
"Yes I 'm .. sorry." The last word was muttered and barely hearable. "So, are ya still mad on me?"
"Did it seemed to you that I was mad when I left last night?"
"How should I know? I was kinda dizzy at the moment. By the way, you almost broke my nose."
"Almost? Damn, I am loosing my touch," she joked but tried to use a serious tone.
"Oh, that's very encouraging, thank you."
"Why exactly did you call? Because I do not believe you did it only to apologize."
"As a matter of fact I did call just to .. do .. that .. "
Apparently, for Bullseye it was quite difficult to apologize and Lara could barely stop herself from bursting into laughter when she heard him babbling like that.
" .. but I was also thinking that .. maybe, if you want, I could .. make it up to you?" He began the phrase like a statement but ended it like question because he was not sure how she would react.
"You don't say! And what exactly are you trying to get at?"
" I was thinking that maybe we could .. go for a walk or something like that .. you know, like friends .. and we could .. talk, 'cause we didn't see each other for more than ten years and so far we never had a chance to just sit and talk."
"Hmm, sounds interesting. Where do you want to go?"
At about ten o'clock that evening Lara and Bullseye met in a park somewhere at the outskirts of Manhattan, in an apparently peaceful and quiet neighborhood. Outside it was cold and wet and luckily for them there were almost no people on the streets. Bullseye was wearing his usual outfit and Lara was wearing a purple sweater, a pair of dark blue jeans, dark brown boots and a short cream-colored jacket, with a fur collar. As much as she liked to be always elegant, this time she chose to put on more ordinary clothes, as not to drag too much attention on herself.
"What?" she asked Bullseye while they were walking through the park, noticing he had been gazing at her with a smile on his face for quite a while.
"Nothing. I was wondering you might be cold. Do you mind if I hold you?" he asked softly as if fearing of being rejected.
"No," she murmured and he gently put his right arm around her, laying his hand on her shoulder.
After they traversed the alleys of that small park a couple of times, they stopped in the same place they met.
"Do you know what's your problem baby?" he suddenly changed the topic of their conversation, possibly irritated by something she said. "You're too proud. Just because you're rich and famous and you've got all this power you think nothing's good enough for you."
"Where the hell did you get that from?" she burst out furiously, pushing his hand away from her shoulder and coming up in front of him.
"C'mon, it's so obvious .. darling." He said the last word on an ironical tone. At first we were good friends and all that but now you keep on rejecting me and criticizing everything I do. Frankly I don't understand what's with you. I would say that maybe it's the way I am or the way I look, but that's funny 'cause I remember you were the one who wanted me to be this way."
He paused for a minute waiting her to react but as he suspected, she just turned her head, not wanting to meet his gaze, knowing that he was right.
"And didn't you always brag about how you live life to the full and don't think twice about doing something 'cause you might not get a second chance? Where's all that now?"
He put his hands on her upper-arms to keep her still and make her look at him.
"C'mon baby, be like before. Take a chance .. "
As he spoke he came closer and closer to her and she, somehow unconscious of her actions, put her hands on his chest. She was looking him straight in the eyes, like she was being hypnotized by them and in the end she totally lost the power to reject him and gave in.
" .. I know you want this."
When he spoke the last words on such a tender voice and looked at her so caring, with such a sweet expression on his face, she just couldn't resist anymore. Wrapping her arms around his neck she pressed her lips against his while he grabbed her by the waist and kept her tight in his arms. The two of them stayed like that for a couple of minutes, until Bullseye paused to speak, noticing she was really enjoying it.
"See baby, I told ya you wanted this."
"Yes," she moaned, trying to reach his lips again. Although so far she had tried to be indifferent to his approaches, this proved to him how much she had actually craved for it deep inside. He tightened her more in his arms and kissed her again, this time not so gentle, but with more passion, almost violently.
"Now what?" she asked when their lips finally broke contact.
"I rented an apartment near by and I was thinking we could go there and .. "
She suddenly gave him an annoyed and disapproving look, but he understood what she was thinking at and didn't let her respond.
" .. have dinner."
"Dinner?" she asked surprised, almost amused.
"Yeah. What's wrong with that? I figured you might be hungry and you know how I hate restaurants."
"So, what did you bought?"
"Ah .. nothing, but I have some thing in the fridge and I think I can cook you up a delicious meal."
"You .. cook?"
"Well, I had to learn to take care of myself. Don't have anybody do that for me, ya know."
"You are definitely fool of surprises. Let's go then. You really got me intrigued."
A couple of minutes later, after crossing the street in front of the entrance to the park and going through some back alleys, they finally reached the block where Bullseye rented apartment was. Taking an old elevator to the 5th floor and walking through a dusty corridor, Lara and Bullseye arrived in front of the door to his flat. He took out the key from one of his pockets, unlocked the door and held it open for Lara to enter.
On the right there was the bedroom, but there was no wall separating it from the living room. In the bedroom there was a double bed with one nightstand on each side and there was a window on the wall opposite to the one where the entrance door was. Also, the door to the bathroom was on the same wall as the entrance door.
The living room had a window (on the wall in front of the entrance) in front of which there was a simple couch and a coffee table. To the left there was a TV set that faced the couch and a door that led to a small kitchen.
The apartment in general was crowded and quite dusty, as if there haven't been people living in it for years. There were some cracks on the walls, the wooden floor was creaking in some places and the curtains looked like some rags. To be honest, the place wasn't that bad. It just needed to be cleaned a little bit, but Lara seemed to be quite disgusted by it.
"Here we are, baby. What d' ya think? Quite nice, no?"
"Yes, if you are dead. Sincerely, if you are suppose to be one of the highly paid assassins, why don't you find a more decent place to live in?"
"Don't start bugging me with that crap again. I live however I like, Ok?" Bullseye almost shouted, giving Lara a menacing look.
"Chill out, I did not mean to upset you."
"Go sit on the couch. I'll see what I can find in the fridge," he said trying to change the subject and calm himself down.
On his way to the kitchen, Bullseye took off his cap and coat and threw them onto a nearby armchair. Lara took off her coat as well, sat down on the couch and turned on the television in front. After 15 minutes of checking up almost a dozen time each channel and finding nothing interesting to watch, Lara went to the kitchen to see what Bullseye was doing.
"Hey!" she called to get his attention, on a low and sweet voice. "Can I help you with anything?"
"Relax baby, I ain't cooking no specialties here. Just some fries. It's all I have. Sorry!"
"Don't worry, I love fries."
"Good. Than go make yourself comfortable; watch TV or something. I'll be with you in a minute."
Lara went back to the couch, leaving Bullseye to make the fries. Soon after, he came out of the kitchen, holding two opened bottles of beer, one of which he gave to her."
"Here ya go. Hope you like it. It's that or water."
"It's fine, thank you," she said taking the bottle, drinking a little from it and then laying it on the table. Bullseye drank almost half of his bottle, while sitting down on the couch next to her and propping up his right foot against the edge of the table.
"Man, this shit is good," he said looking at the bottle and then at Lara, who answered with a smile. "You know, there's something I want to ask you, something I've been thinking of ever since last night."
"What is it?" she asked intrigued.
"When you were surrounded by all those vampires and fighting them off you had some sort of knives or something like that. I didn't see clearly but you had about five of them in each hand and it looked like they were glued to your fingers. Did you have some specials gloves or what?"
Lara giggled.
"Remember when I told you that the Lin Kuei gave me an adamantium skeleton so that I never brake a bone from my body?"
Bullseye nodded.
"Well, they also gave me some extra parts to match my powers."
Saying this, Lara raised her hands in front of her and let the ten adamantium claws slid out of the tips of her fingers.
"Holly shit!" he exclaimed, almost dropping the bottle from his hand.
Without taking his eyes off the claws, he stretched out his right arm and laid the bottle on the table, after which he took Lara's hands into his and began examining the claws. He reached out to touch one claw with one finger but he quickly withdrew it when the sharp edge cut his shin.
"This things are sharp, no kidding."
He then looked instinctively at his wounded finger and noticed that the cut was gone.
"What the .. ?"
"I told you the blood I gave you will come in handy."
"Oh, yeah .. " he smiled at her and raised his eyebrows in a sign that he remembered what she was talking about. "So, doesn't it hurt?" he asked when she began pulling them back in.
"Well, practically they are very sharp blades that rip through my flesh every time they come out. But thanks to my healing powers and to the fact that I've spent my entire childhood training to endure any pain, in time I got used to it and now I almost do not feel a thing."
"That's nice baby but I'd better go check on those fries. Mutants and vampires are still kinda disturbing to me."
About ten minutes later Bullseye returned with two plates of French fries.
"Madame, dinner is served," he said putting the plates on the table.
"Thanks," she replied, amused by his comment.
He sat down besides her and they both began eating from their plates while watching TV and chatting about all sorts of things.
"That was delicious. You really have a way of surprising me. Now I don't suppose you have any desert, have you?"
"You want desert?" he asked, a devilish kind of smile forming on his face. "C'me here, I'll give you desert."
Before she could realize what he had said, she found herself lying on the couch, with him on top of her, kissing her lips with desire. She placed her hands on his upper arms as if preparing to push him away, if necessary, but instead of grabbing him tight, she began caressing his skin gently. A soft moan of pleasure escaped her throat as she flung her head backwards, allowing him to move his lips from her mouth to her chin and then down to her neck. Feeling his lips on her skin made her shiver and all this excitement, as well as her loud beating heart prevented her from realizing that while his lips were moving on her neck from behind one earlobe to the other, his hands, that had been resting on her waist, slowly raised up her sweater till under her breast.
All of a sudden, as she was lying underneath him on the couch with her eyes closed, feeling like she had broken any contact with the real world, she was surprised not to feel anymore his lips on hers or his hot breath against her neck. But she didn't want to open her eyes, as not to ruin the magic of the moment. She waited and seconds later a smile appeared on her face when she felt his lips touching her skin once again. However, this time they were exploring another part of her body, moving along her exposed abdomen from under her breasts to the buttons of her pants. She loved the sensation and at first she didn't try to stop him, but then she suddenly opened her eyes in shock when she felt his fingers unbuttoning her jeans.
"No, no. None of that," she said smiling while gently pushing him aside and pulling her sweater back on.
"Baby, c'mon, don't make a scene now. We're both adults with experience here .. " he responded obviously irritated by her behavior, trying to take her in his arms again, but being pushed away.
"Precisely because I am an adult with experience I do not hurry to jump in bed with a guy, like some desperate teenager," she responded resuming a sitting position on the couch.
"Who said anything about a bed? We can do it right here."
He stretched out his left arm and put it behind her back, pulling her next to him before she could indent to push him away, while his right hand grabbed hold of her left thigh, in order to have a more firm grasp on her.
"You know baby .. " he whispered into her ear, between short kisses around that area " .. I could very well force you to be mine, 'cause I know you'll end up liking it, but I wanna see ya coming to me willingly, asking me for it and afterwards, begging me for more."
His words, as well as his face rubbing against her neck and his lips touching her sensually, sent a wave of pleasure through her entire body and she could hardly control herself as not to throw herself into his arms.
He waited a short while for a response on her behalf but she simply kept her head turned in the opposite direction, trying to avoid meeting his gaze, just as she did while he spoke. Finally, irritated by the situation, he let go of her and turned his attention to the TV set and to a bottle of beer that he quickly emptied.
Lara watched him how he just starred at the TV, with a serious expression on his face, obviously upset. At first the sight amused her, because he was acting like a spoiled child who didn't get what he wanted, but then she felt a bit sorry for bringing him into this state. However, it couldn't have happened any other way, as his request wasn't exactly that of a child and she didn't want to give in so soon either. She felt the need to make him fell better so she came closer and wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her chin on his shoulder.
"Hey, don't get upset now. We did a lot of progress this evening. Isn't that what you wanted?"
He slightly turned his head and glanced at her, his facial expression unchanged, and then quickly redirected his attention to the TV set. She started to give him quick pecks on his left chick and delicately bit his earlobe, using more her lips than her teeth, while her hands were rubbing back and forth his biceps.
"I did not say we will never do it. It will just not be tonight," she continued.
He turned his head to look at her, still upset though, and slightly annoyed. She cupped his right cheek into her hand to prevent him from turning away from her and then leaned forward to taste his lips again. She had been waiting for a very long time to do it and now, when she finally had the opportunity, she wanted to take advantage of every moment.
"It is more exciting this way, believe me. The more we wait, the more we desire it and when the moment comes, it will be .. the most intense and sensual experience you ever had," she spoke again.
"You do know how to drive me crazy love," he smirked, returning to his usual self again and afterwards taking her face in his palms to give her a short peck on the lips. "But don't you think we waited long enough? And besides, all the things you said only made me want you more."
"You know what, it is kind of late and I bet you are really tired .. " she responded smiling, trying to change the subject completely all of a sudden " .. so why don't you come here and rest?"
She took a pillow that was near her on the couch, placed it on her lap and invited him to lay his head there. Almost dragged by her he laid his head on her lap, afterwards raising his legs and laying them on the couch as well. They stood like that for a while, watching TV, until both of them fell asleep.
When Bullseye woke up in the morning Lara was no longer there, but there was a note on the table:
'I am sorry for leaving like this but there are some things I have to take care off, things that are in your interest as well. I will call you later. ~Lara~ '