A/N: Thanks to Niffer01 for the review! Where have my other lovely reviewers gone? I know, it's my own fault for taking so long!
This chapter hasn't got a single person from the movie in it. Sorry. It's all Will and Maya, and I'm already writing the rest but this one scene became an entire chapter on it's own so...here ya go. I'll post the next one today or tomorrow.
Review and Enjoy!
Maya slept through her alarm, cursing when she woke at the time on the readout. Throwing back the blankets on her bed, she grabbed some random clothes and rushed into the en-suite bathroom. Exiting a few minutes later, her hair still damp from the shower she ran downstairs, wanting to miss as little as possible.
Not that flipping through the same books again and again for weeks on end was thrilling stuff, but she was also there to observe them, and she didn't want to miss a thing.
But when she got downstairs to the study, it was empty. The books were still in their customary stacks, with notebooks and Post-Its scattered across the remaining surfaces. Frowning, she went back into the hallway, listening for any sounds. She peeked her head into the surrounding rooms, the drawing room, entertainment room – all of them were empty. She stopped and briefly struggled with the rules concerning Reading the minds of allies, then decided a quick sweep to find their location would be allowed, as long as she didn't dig any deeper.
Taking a deep breath, she let her mind reach out, like gossamer tendrils, feeling through the house for other minds. She encountered someone relatively quickly, and from the taste of Shifter and the instant increase in her heartbeat, she didn't even need to guess at who the mind belonged too. Pulling back, she completed her search, hoping there was someone else in the house she could talk to, but found it empty. Sighing, she followed Will's mind towards the large kitchen, and stood in the doorway, allowing herself a moment to admire the view.
He was standing over the cooker, dressed in faded plaid pyjama bottoms and not much else. His back was to her, the play of muscles under his pale tanned skin hypnotizing her as he moved gracefully in front of the hob. She felt the now-familiar clenching in her stomach at the sight of him, and tried to push it down and focus on her job. She was about to make her presence know when he spoke, scaring the shit out of her.
"Are you going to stare at me all day, or are you coming in? Not that I mind you looking," he added, and she could just imagine his grin, "but you seem determined to ignore me, and getting caught ogling me like a school-girl might blow your cover."
She swallowed down the burst of adrenaline from the fright, and it took her a second to register his words, thanks to the slow, morning rumble of his voice that did funny things to her thought patterns. "I was not! I was just—Uggh! Your are such a, a…" she spluttered, trying in vain to reclaim some of the internal composure she always lost around him.
"A what? Genius? Charmer? Stud? Hot piece of ass? Why thank you," he replied, reaching for a bowl on the counter beside him and tipping its contents into the pan he was working with.
She stood there for a moment, all ready to fluster and deny, when she realized he was once again trying to bait her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then stepped into the room. "Where is everyone?"
"School, as usual," he answered.
"What about Jess and Ms. Danvers? I scanned the house, we're the only ones here," she persisted. She couldn't understand why he was acting like everything was okay, when something had obviously changed. Usually they'd all have been working for hours, trying to find something of value. She couldn't figure out why he was so relaxed.
But even in her distracted state, she didn't miss the way his strong shoulders tensed when she mentioned scanning the house and she cursed herself for letting that little piece of information slip. She was supposed to be gathering information about them, not the other way around.
"Scanned the house, huh?" he said over his shoulder, then he shook his head, chuckling as he reached down to turn off the hob. "Jess had some stuff to do in Gloucester, don't ask me what, and Ms. D. has some committee-function-gala-ceremony-thing tonight that she has to set up for, also don't ask me what. So I figured we could take it easy today, starting with breakfast," he finished with a flourish, proudly displaying the two plates of food he had prepared.
She had to admit, it looked good. Scrambled eggs with what looked like onions and chorizo mixed in, warm tortillas, crisp bacon and a huge mound of fresh fruit graced both plates. He moved towards the kitchen table and she saw he'd already set it with rich smelling coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice. She looked from him to the plates he was setting down and back again.
"You can cook?" she asked in disbelief.
"When I need to. Shifters like their food, remember?" he sat down and sighed as she continued to stare. "Are you going to sit, or do we have to wait 'till the food gets cold?"
She glared at him and sat. "I'm not stopping you," she snapped, pushing her hair back from her face. "I'm just surprised you can cook, that's all."
He picked up his fork, but waited until she was settled before scooping up some eggs. "My mom taught me to wait 'till everyone is sitting before starting." She was momentarily startled at his politeness, right up until he took a huge bite and continued with his mouth full, "And there a lot of things I'm good at that you don't know about." He swallowed, then flashed a lopsided grin. "Yet."
She should have been pissed at him for the obvious assumption in his voice, the way he was always so cocky and sure of himself, but the mention of his mother and the way his hair was sticking up at odd angles from sleep made him seem…sweet. Cute even. For a few seconds, Maya imagined she had caught a glimpse of the boy he used to be before he became this over-sexed super-agent.
So instead, she just shook her head and dug in to the delicious food, praying that she could survive one day with him. Alone. In the same building. Alone. And him walking around all shirtless.
"Well?" he asked looking at her expectantly.
"Well what?" she asked, pretty sure she hadn't missed anything.
"Can I cook?"
"It'll do," she replied, trying to stop the smile tugging at her lips. There was something about Will's playful nature that made her want to tease him right back, or do something fun and liberating like playing in the rain and jumping in puddles.
He huffed, but they finished breakfast in a comfortable silence, and the next time she spoke, he was pushing his plate back and leaning back in his chair.
"So tell me Sarka, why are we so relaxed today? I thought it was 'all hands to battle stations' about Vargssen," she asked, trying not to focus on the well-muscled expanse of his chest in front of her. Or the light trail of dark hair that started at his belly button and lead down to his…
"We're just going over the same stuff as before, and I figured since Jess is getting a change of scenery and the others are in school, we should take the chance for a little R&R. Do something other that stare at books all day." He stretched, bending his arms and putting his hands on the back of his neck. She had to hold back a groan.
"Other things like what?" she asked suspiciously. She'd been in his mind before, and she knew exactly the kind of things he normally did to relax.
He smiled slowly, his eyes tracing her up and down, and she suddenly knew what people meant by 'undressing with his eyes'.
"No. No way. I know what you're thinking and the answer is no," she snapped, folding her arms across her chest defensively.
His smile turned into a grin. "I thought you weren't supposed to read allies?"
"I'm not. I'm also not an idiot. And you, Mr. Sarka, are not subtle," she replied, pointing a finger at him.
He threw his head back and laughed, and the low rumble sent shivers up her spine. "You can read me now if you want."
She just bit her lower lip and shook her head, not trusting her own voice.
"Too bad," he said, shrugging. He looked at her a moment, and although the seduction was still there in his grey eyes, there was an unfamiliar edge of seriousness, too. "I want you. I want you in my bed. Under me, on top of me, I don't care where we start, because I can guarantee we will try everything before we're finished. I want to taste you. I want to hear you scream."
She didn't move, didn't say a single thing, because she suddenly remembered that what ever else he was, Willem Sarka was a predator at heart, and he was looking every inch of it right now.
"However," he continued, "I understand that you are somewhat…reluctant…to admit how much you want me right now, so I figured we can start with getting to know each other a little better, that way you'll feel more comfortable when I fuck your brains out."
She blinked. Then shook her head. Then blinked again.
Then she laughed, and suddenly she couldn't stop laughing. She couldn't tell if it was amusement at his over-the-top statement, or a slightly hysterical response to the intense arousal he had sparked in her, but she laughed so hard her stomach hurt.
Wiping her eyes and sitting back, she found him watching her. "What?"
He shrugged again. "That's not the response I usually get."
"Sorry to disappoint you," she said, feeling very smug that she had successfully resisted him.
"Oh, I'm not disappointed," he replied, smiling. "I like it. I find you…fascinating. And nothing like I expected."
And just like that, she knew she was sunk. He was never going to give up. He'd keep coming at her, keep trying seduce her. And just as sure as she knew that, she also knew that she was going to let him. She was going to sleep with him.
But she'd be damned if she made it easy for him.
"What do you mean?" she asked, slightly puzzled by his remark.
He gave her a knowing look. "Oh, come on. What were you expecting of us when we first met? A bunch of savage beasts, right? Mindless thugs."
Maya shrugged, not denying his assumption. "What did you expect?"
His mouth twisted slightly with embarrassment, but he answered anyway. "Before we came here, the only Witches we'd ever met were cold, ruthless and power-hungry. Alex and Ophelia were different, of course, but they're not exactly mainstream. You and your fellow Agents didn't do much to counter that impression when you abducted us."
"So you were expecting me to be a cold, heartless bitch?" she asked, mildly insulted.
"No," he grinned. "I knew as soon as you Read me the first time that you'd be fun to play with." He leaned forward across the small kitchen table. "So," he continued, licking his lips. "Wanna play?"
She sat back, and gave him the same slow perusal that he had giving her a few moments ago. She wanted to scream "Hell Yeah!" and jump across the table at him, but she suspected the might not be dignified. She felt the need, not just personally, but professionally, to keep a certain distance from him. Straight-out admitting that he drove her crazy wouldn't help, so she needed to stay in control.
"That's not why I'm here," she said, pleased that her voice sounded even.
He watched again with those inscrutable grey eyes. "Why are you here, Maya Ndefo? Alex is already working as the liaison, so what's your purpose?"
"To protect the Clan Council's interests, to help Alex settle into her role," she replied. It wasn't exactly a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either.
"And keep an eye on us, right? Learn what you can about the Sons and their pesky friends?" he grinned, and she could have kicked him. Should have, even. Not that it was a huge leap, but it was clear he hadn't just guessed, he'd known all along. He'd just been playing with her. She should have known better by now.
"Yes," she answered, figuring that at this point it was better to come clean. "To study you all and gather as much information about the Sons, the Shifters, and the relationships between you all."
"And then what? Use it against us? Find away to control us?" he asked, lean across the table, his expression not angry, but…intense.
She shrugged. "I don't know, I wasn't told the purpose."
He watched he closely, his nostrils flaring, and it suddenly hit her that he was smelling her. He relied on his sense of smell as much, if not more that his eyesight to tell if she was lying.
"You're telling the truth," he nodded, settling back a little. "You can just blindly follow orders like that, regardless of the consequences?"
"Not blindly," she snapped, insulted. He made her sound like some mindless stooge. "I trust my superiors, and I follow their orders. If your Alpha gave you an order, wouldn't you follow it? And don't try to tell me that you've not been gathering intel too, because if you haven't been, you're just crappy Agents."
He laughed at that, and she felt some of the tension in her shoulders melt away at the sound of his deep voice. "Tell me, Little Witch. Just how…detailed…is your information supposed to get?"
She didn't miss the implication, and she almost jumped for joy! He'd just given her the in she wanted! She kept her face expressionless when she answered, "Anything I can. Relationships, culture, tactics, general and specific."
"Really?" he said and she knew exactly what he was going to say next. "So that that would cover something really specific, like oh, say, sexual practises?"
She pretended to look a little shocked and flustered. "Well, I uh…I guess…I suppose so…"
He grinned again, white teeth flashing. "Earlier, when I asked you if you wanted to play, you didn't say no."
She blushed then, and it wasn't a trick.
"So if it's your job to gather information, and you're not personally opposed to it, what's the problem?" he reasoned.
She pretended to look thoughtful, as though she was actually thinking it through, before she looked him straight in the eye.
"Okay."