Hello to my lovely readers! Thank you for following this story. No I am not done yet. But I hope you like the new chapter. I do read every single review I receive, so please read and REVIEW. Do you love it? Hate it? What do you think? Reviews really do encourage me. :)
I will admit it's been hard for me to update my stories. I have had so much real life drama going on, it's just crazy and takes away my time from writing. Unfortunately real life has to come first. Having said all of that, I'll shut up now and hope you enjoy this next installment. Kat - you're the best beta reader EVER, especially how you encourage me to expand on my writing and challenge me to reach new heights. THANK YOU!
"Damn!" Alec muttered as he checked himself in the mirror after his shower. "That mofo with the police baton sure left behind a nasty surprise." Raising his chin a bit more and sighing with resignation, he examined the livid bruise that crossed his throat. While he knew it would heal quickly enough, in the meantime he'd be living in turtlenecks.
As Alec wrapped his lower body in a towel, he made sure there were no further injuries. But other than a few bruises on his knuckles and the one on his throat, he seemed to be fine.
It was a small price to pay for Cindy's safety.
He grabbed a hand-held mirror and turned with his back to the wall mirror, using it to check how visible his barcode was. As much as he hated to admit it, he knew now that Max was right. He had been too careless about it. Sighing yet again, he realized that he really needed to get his "freak brand" lasered off or grow his hair out to cover it better, one or the other. It was just too damned risky not to anymore.
Catching his own gaze in the mirror, he promised quietly, "Never again. That's the last time I put any of my friends in danger, simply for being around me. I'll get the fricken' thing lasered off tomorrow and be done with it for a little while."
He had just opened his bathroom door and stepped out when a pissed off female whirlwind flew in through his front door.
Max slammed the door loudly behind her and marched over to him with pure rage and determination.
"You son of a bitch!" was the only warning he got before she clocked him with a fist to his jaw. Cursing, he used his fingers to touch his split lip as he sputtered, "Max, what the hell?"
He had to duck when she swung again, then as he came back up, he blocked another punch, then a kick. Tired of her abuse, he grabbed her arm, twisted it behind her and slammed her into the wall face first, pinning her with his body. When he felt her adjusting her stance, he quickly jerked her other arm behind her as well and stepped between her legs to keep her from kicking him in the jewels.
Panting from her exertions as well as her anger, she realized that Alec was practically naked. She could smell the shampoo and soap he had used in his recent shower and his hair was still damp.
Leaning forward, he shoved her again for good measure into the wall and growled close to her ear, "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Let me go and I'll tell you." She struggled against him furiously and he pushed her into the wall yet again.
"I am not letting you go until I'm sure you've calmed down. Now get a grip on yourself Max. What's got you all riled up?"
At that moment he smelled it, her pheromones… she was in the first stages of heat. And true to form, his body reacted. Of all the times for her to pop in, it had to be when he'd just gotten out of the shower and was only wearing a towel while she was in heat. There was no way in hell he could hide his response.
"Okay, I'm going to let you go… but I'm warning you… get out of here. You're in the first stages of heat. This fight or fuck response of yours should be proof enough. So go home and call me instead. We can't talk face-to-face while your pheromones are permeating the air like this." He pushed her aside and stepped back but continued to keep a wary eye on her.
He really wanted to go to his room and get a pair of jeans on before she saw his reaction to her, but he accepted it for what it was. They needed to deal with this situation before it got out of hand. As in, get her out of his apartment as soon as possible. Because handling it the X-5 way and satisfying their animalistic needs, while tempting, was pretty much out of the question right now.
When Max turned back to face him, she saw the bulge tenting his towel then glanced back up to meet his eyes. Narrowing her gaze, she hissed and pointed in his direction, jabbing the air as if she was poking him, "You are such a liar. I'm not in heat. I'm just pissed off because of this!"
She tossed something at him and he caught it with one hand. When he realized what he was holding, he grimaced as she advanced on him, her eyes burning in incandescent rage as she hissed. "You basically drugged me Alec! I can't believe you'd do something like that to me! I thought we were supposed to be friends!"
Not only did she sound angry, he could also hear the hurt in her voice, which raised the guilt meter yet again.
"No Max, you've got it all wrong. It wasn't like that."
"Oh no? Not like that huh?" Stomping across the living room, she shoved him as hard as she could causing him to stumble back a few steps, "What do you call synthetic pheromones that cause women to get all hot and bothered around you?" He raised his hands up to ward possible blows but she just shoved him again. "Or how about telling me about male heat surges again? They're not even real are they?"
"Okay, Max? Let's get a few facts straight. I didn't tell you that story, that's something Biggs cooked up all on his own, and yes you're right, there is no such thing as male heat. We are just naturally full of stamina. Thank Manticore for cooking us up that way."
She started to punch him again, but he ducked and dodged, and hurriedly tried to explain, "Listen! Biggs dumped a whole vial of that crap on me. I didn't know what it was nor the reaction I was going to get from the female populace. Not until I stepped out of the truck we were in and suddenly I was being hit on right and left. Every female I came in contact with was strangely more attracted to me than normal…"
He shrugged, unable to help the small wry smirk that tilted his lips. "I mean I'm used to the occasional female glance, but THIS… it was like I had all the nearby females spellbound and drawn to me. Finally I just had to escape and evade. Then later Biggs called me, laughing it up, and he suggested if this green stuff was that potent on ordinary females, maybe it might work on you."
Max stopped advancing at that admission, standing stock still and slightly wide-eyed as Alec rolled his eyes and sighed, his fingers nervously combing through his damp hair again. "He knew of my attraction to you, okay? And he said to leave it to him and he'd find a way to have you come to me willingly. I really had no idea how far he'd go."
"You don't get it do you? YOU went along with Biggs' story! You didn't tell me any different Alec." The pain in her eyes was almost his undoing as she lectured, "That makes you a co-conspirator and you're just as guilty!"
Her ire clouded her judgment as she shook her head back in forth, trying to wrap her mind around the whole situation, "What, you couldn't get into my pants any other way so you decide to use synthetic pheromones instead? And have your buddy co-pilot for you? You DISGUST me!"
"Look…" Spearing his fingers through his damp hair again, he tried his best to think of the right words to explain, but her freaking pheromones were making it hard. When she started to approach him, he jumped back with a hand up like a traffic cop, "Max, don't move another step. Please. You're in heat, come any closer and I won't be responsible for my actions!"
"Huh, yeah! Heat, my ass! And I intend to kick yours from here to the next century!"
She didn't feel one bit of lust, damn it! All she wanted at this moment was to use him as a punching bag, to beat the absolute crap out of him. And he so totally deserved it.
She glanced down again, not quite able to help herself as she saw the evidence of his arousal pressing so determinedly against the towel. His body still slightly damp from the shower, all those lean muscles glistening and gleaming at her… just begging to be licked… yum!
I did NOT just think that… I'm not horny, I just want to beat the hell out of him! Tamping down any desire she might possibly feel, she turned it into white hot rage instead as she advanced again, and he backed away in response.
"Max I'm warning you one last time, stay back!"
"Nope, I'd rather kick your ass!" She pivoted, almost completing a spin kick when Alec grabbed her leg and held it in place in the air, causing her to balance on one foot. She jumped, bringing up her other leg and clocking him under the chin which caused him to bite his own tongue as she completed her somersault. He let go of her leg as he stumbled back a few steps and she landed on her feet. Following up, she raised a fist, aiming for his nose. He barely had time to duck as her fist punched through the wall instead. Grabbing her around the waist, he hauled her up over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes, carrying her into his bedroom and plopping her down on the bed with a bounce. Before she had time to process what had happened, he was already back out the door and securing it behind him.
Infuriated by his manhandling, she jumped up and checked the door, finding it locked. Yanking hard on the doorknob, it fell apart in her hands, the momentum causing her to fall back on her ass. Positively livid now, she jumped up and threw herself at the door. She ran into it, using her shoulder to break open the door. And when that didn't work, she began kicking at the spot where the knob had been.
Finally, she successfully busted the door wide open with a crash, before stomping back out to hunt him down again, her deadly stare promising bloodshed within the next few minutes.
Alec had just enough time to at least put on a pair of sweat pants before she found him in the living room, but they still didn't hide his raging hard-on. Resigned, he sighed, determined to do the best he could not to screw this up. He needed to get her to listen to what he had to say, even though he knew he really didn't have a good excuse for his behavior, AND that he probably deserved the ass whooping she wanted to give him.
Just not while she was in THIS condition.
Careful to maintain some distance by keeping several feet and at least one piece of furniture between them at all times, Alec watched her warily as she stalked him around the living room.
Narrowing her gaze on him as her hands clenched in and out of fists, she snarled, "You and Biggs… God! I can't believe how you two cooked this up. You're both completely despicable."
"Max, really, you have to believe me, I'm sorry. I know it's no consolation to you, but I felt horrible about the deception. I had no idea how to come clean with you without…"
"Without sounding like a complete jerk? Is that it? I can see the dilemma, except…" she stopped and tilted her head for a second in thought. "Except for the fact that you really are a jerk of the highest order. You used me Alec! And I don't know if I can ever forgive that!"
He stood several feet behind the couch and she stood in front of it. Suddenly, she completed a flip over that piece of furniture and just as quickly Alec flipped away from her in response, now standing in her original position while she took his former position.
"What can I do to make it up to you Max?" His hazel green eyes wide and pleading. "I can't explain this; there is nothing on God's green Earth that can explain away what I did. I was stupid okay? You wanna beat me up?" he offered, more than willing to atone for his sins, arms spread wide in supplication. "Fine, I'll let you… after your heat is over in about three days. I'll meet you in the gym in Terminal City and I'll let you pummel me all you want to, I swear. I totally deserve it. But not now! Don't you get it?" he asked a bit desperately. "Max, I'm trying to do the right thing NOW even though I screwed it up last night. You're in heat and if you stay in my apartment much longer, you know what will happen. So get out and go home."
"Not until I beat you to a pulp, you bastard!"
She vaulted over the couch after him and this time, tired of trying to make her see reason with words, he decided action might be better. And frankly, he was weary of running from her. That wasn't like him. He'd never run from a fight before and now, he'd prove it.
He turned, caught her in mid-air around the waist from behind and brought her down face first onto the couch as he sat on her legs and pinned her arms behind her again. Instead of the wall, this time it was the same position on the couch. And it all happened so fast that she barely registered what had happened, before she realized she couldn't move.
She struggled in vain and Alec kept her pinned down. Sighing, he tried to appeal to her, "Listen to me damn it! There's more to this story, and by God you're going to hear it. Straight up, I've been attracted to you since day one at Manticore. But I respected your relationship with Logan, although I still don't totally understand it. You're wasting your life Max!"
His voice became husky with emotion as he continued, "I don't know, maybe it's the same problem I have of 'wanting what I can't have'… but for the last year I have watched you risk your life numerous times on Eyes Only missions, and I have watched you stare at Logan from afar even though it doesn't look like a cure is on the horizon. Can't you see that you need to let go of him and LIVE?"
"My relationship with Logan is none of your business!" She growled as she tried to wriggle out of his grip, he simply tightened his hold, keeping her in place. He felt he had to make her understand, but how can he explain it when he really didn't understand it himself?
"I am just asking you to think about this okay? You're wasting your life pining away after an Ordinary that is nothing like you. He grew up in wealth and he's technically paralyzed Max; the ONLY thing keeping him on his feet is that exo-skeleton. You, on the other hand, grew up in a lab, and then escaped into a world where you had to fend for yourself, developing the kind of street smarts that even I can't imagine." She stopped struggling for a moment, surprised by what sounded like admiration in his voice. Hoping he was getting through to her, he continued, "Logan's never had to do that. Not by any stretch of the imagination. And in a fight, you'd win against him with one hand tied behind your back!"
Max heaved out a heavy breath and seemed to sag as Alec leaned forward, driving his point home. "And the virus? Come on, what kind of life is it when you torture yourself and each other by staring and longing for one another? Having to dodge his touch all the time, and freaking out that he might die if you accidentally get too close and brush up against him. Why would you want to do that to yourself and him? It's not fair to either one of you."
His voice a little quieter, he asserted, "But you know what? You can decide to move on. You can remain friends if you want, but both of you need to find a life with someone that you CAN touch, that you can definitely build a relationship with."
"And you think that should be you, huh?" Max interjected sarcastically over her shoulder, glaring daggers at him.
The visual daggers disappeared as she gulped at the sight of longing in his eyes, "I would love for it to be me… "His voice had that husky inflection again that almost tugged her heartstrings… ALMOST but not quite. He shrugged, "But I'm a realist and I know that until you make the choice yourself to let Logan go, I'd only be a Logan stand-in. And I have no desire to play second fiddle to someone else."
He smirked a little at her, the little upturn of his mouth sexy as hell. "You don't seem to realize that there are guys practically lining up for you, just hoping you'll notice them. I can name five just off the top of my head. And yes, I admit, I would be at the top of that list."
Hoping that maybe he got through to her, he announced, "Now…" He quickly released her and stood up, putting a good bit of distance between them again. She raised herself up but kept a wary eye on him as he continued walking across the living room and talking, not looking back at her. "Your pheromones are at least tolerable at the moment, even if they do make me edgy. But you need to go home Max. Lock yourself in your apartment and we'll talk again when your heat is over. I will not have you hating me over a hormone driven screw that neither one of us can fight. At least if we put some distance between us and you're safe in your apartment from all males, we can discuss this later with clearer minds."
He opened the door, stood by it with his arms folded and now faced her with determination, "For the last time, go home. My willpower can only hold out for so long. So please don't tempt me."