Masquerade Lovers

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Entwined

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They managed to approach the cabin stealthily by sundown. Britney checked the area surrounding the cabin. Alex looked out for any coming villains. Sam checked the infra-red scanner. Clover – who had given up on murderous tendencies and bursting into waterworks – assisted Sam.

"They seem pretty far apart now," Clover said.

"Well, it could be because we are on the ground now, close to the cabin, or it could be because they are in different rooms," Sam reasoned

"There are five different rooms, I think, seeing as two of them are so close together," Clover replied. "Were you able to get the blueprints of the cabin?"

"Yeah, Britney was able to pull it off," Sam replied, absently. "You're right. Excluding the living room and the hall, as well as the kitchen and bathrooms, there are five – no wait, seven rooms. Perhaps two of the rooms are empty."

"All clear," Alex said, joining the two girls. "How is it, Britney? Any booby traps?"

"None that I can see."

"Does that make sense? To have a villain hidey-hole with no sensors? Or booby traps?"

"It's possible," Sam said. "If you're not expecting anyone."

"But it could just be a regular family vacation," Clover pointed out. She was suddenly hesitating.

Britney shook her head. "Better be safe than sorry. We have no sure way of knowing."

"I suppose if they're civilians they'll forgive us soon enough," Alex admitted.

The door to the cabin was locked. Of course, Britney groaned. Unless they exploded the door, they wouldn't be able to get in, and the plan to use Stealth to overcome whoever was in the cabin would go down the drain.

"Okay, guys, I need you to be very quiet," Britney said. "Like, super quiet."

"We get you," Alex hissed. "What are you going to do anyway?"

"The old-fashioned way of breaking and entering," Britney whispered back. "Picking the locks."

There was a soft clink as they lock fell into place. Britney quietly turned the doorknob and found the living room empty. With hand gestures, she told the other girls there were people in the rooms.

"Which ones have only one person?" Alex mouthed.

Sam checked the scanner, and pointed to the four rooms.

"We can take them out first, and when we're done, go for the second," she mouthed.

"Good idea," Clover nodded. "That one is mine," she added, pointing to one of the doors.

"I call dibs on that," Britney took the room opposite.

"So, which should we take?" Sam asked.

"Well, how about the colors of the rainbow? Richard of York Gave Battle In Vain. Since you're green, and I'm yellow, and Clover and Britney chose opposite ends of the spectrum, how about you take the room in the middle closer to Britney. I'll take the one with the people nearer to Clover."

"That would work. We'd better hurry. It's getting dark."

"It's already dark. I wouldn't be surprised if we spent the whole night here."

Sam nodded. This place gives me the creeps. Quietly, she turned open the door knob.

The room was dark. The only source of light was the dying rays of the sun.

It seemed to be empty. She walked to the room. No one around? That was weird. Someone had to be here besides her. She saw a single red rose on the bed. Her eyes widened. It can't be! What are the chances?

But it could. Quickly turning around, she saw a figure behind her.

"Well, well, Samantha. Seducing me in my own room now, are you?"

She'd chosen Tim Scam's room. Fate was working against her.

"You know, when I said expect me here, I didn't mean in this way."

The sky darkened, and the moon rose, and yet they stood there.

The silence became unbearable.

"Do you know why I'm here?" Her voice, unnecessarily hard, sliced through the heavy air of silence. One of his eyebrows lifted, and he bore an innocent expression.

"Now, how am I supposed to know that?" He began to approach her. Her arms moved up, ready to strike him, but he took them. "Are you trying to kill me, or are you trying to seduce me? I do not presume to know what goes on in that pretty little head of yours, Samantha," he said, running his had through her long, red-hair, and tracing the outlines of her face.

"Stop that!" She tried to yell, but it came out weak.

"Stop what?" She asked, innocently, almost absently.

"Stop playing with my head!"

"Samantha, are you telling me I have the power to control what goes through your mind?"

"N-no!" She stammered, hoping it sounded more forceful than it did to her ears.

He smirked.

She snapped, and tried to deliver a kick to his abdomen. He stumbled back a bit, his face impassive, but his eyebrows were raised. If Sam didn't know better, she would have thought he was shocked, or that it was a trick of the light. At any rate, he shook his head.

"Samantha, do you really want this to go down between us?"

"There is no us," she hissed, trying to deliver another kick, but he evaded her. "And don't try to lecture me on what I can or cannot do!"

"I'm not," Tim said, another smirk playing on his lips.

"Then don't act like a pansy. You have to go back to the WOOHP Detention Facility."

"Or what?" He said, just as she was prepared to land a blow on his torso. He grabbed her hands, and forced her to stare into his eyes.

"Or I'll put you there myself!" Sam said, angrily. She tried to yank her hands out, but only succeeded in stumbling onto the bed. It was easy for him to pin her down there.

Her eyes blazed with fury, like emerald fires, as he forced her still. There was something in the way that the light from the windows that escaped the curtains shone on her face, that instead of landing her a blow, one of his hands caressed her cheeks with the back of his hand.

"You don't know how much you tempt me, Samantha."

Sam could not bear it. That was it! How could he fight her and then make statements like that to her face? She hated him for playing with her mind. She was the one who was supposed to be in control, catching him and stuffing him into prison, which was where he belonged. She pushed him away.

"Stop it! Don't ruin it for me!" She said.

He was confused. "Ruin what?"

"You – you are despicable!"

"Do you really mean that?" Scam asked, with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course I do!"

She launched herself at him, delivering a few blows before he struck back and they were again fighting in earnest. Anger filled her eyes, his was full of frustration and –

He kissed her. Somehow, in the fight, they'd gotten so close, that he was able to kiss her. This was wrong, he knew. It was temptation, all over again. But a sweet surrender, he wouldn't mind –

"Samantha, I know you. You want what we have together. You don't care how wrong it is, it feels too right for you to resist," he whispered as he drew away from her lips, but was still close to her, so close they could hardly count as two separate people, but a single entity.

Sam didn't know how to answer to this. Still, he went on.

"I'll make you beg for it, if you still try to resist, until you need me, and cry my name –"

The kiss that came was more passionate than gentle. Sam tried to steel herself against it and for one minute – one crazy minute – she thought she was done for. He could have his wicked way with her (which was more than likely given the circumstances) and she would actually enjoy it. But that minute passed. She tried to push him, but in the proximity of his embrace, it was impossible. She gasped, and tried to claw him at his back (there would be scratches there the next morning), but he would not relent. His kisses turned harder, rougher, a battle for dominance, and she suddenly felt dizzy, sagging against him, her knees suddenly weak. They sank to the floor, his hands still around her, and she was unconscious, as she felt a dart of pain in her neck.

When she came to, he was not around. The suitcase nearby the bed had been taken. The windows to the balcony were open, showing that must have been how he escaped. She looked out of the window, but it was too dark to see anything but the moon and the room. She felt somewhat rejected, and had a sense of failure. She realized he must have knocked her out with some tranquilizers while taken off guard.

Little did she know that he was to the side of the window. He had to make his escape. Her eyes, her whole aura radiated fury when she approached him, and he needed a way out. He had a plan, but he could not help giving her a final, impulsive kiss, and the plan changed, which resulted in a tranquilizer dart hitting her on the neck, which wouldn't last long, but long enough to make his getaway.

But the sight of her, lying lifeless on the floor, was a source of pity and desire: pity because she was intelligent and yet fell for his conniving tricks, desire, because it was her who lay on the floor. He thought about it for a wicked moment, but he decided not to take advantage of her while she was in a faint, something a gentleman would never do, although he was sure that she (along with WOOHP and those other spies) was convinced he was not, but a devil (although she seemed no longer to care that she thought that). He took pride in knowing her lips were swollen and red from his kisses. Absentmindedly, he noticed her fingers rising to touch those lips. Good. He had an effect on her. It no longer seemed that she would be his downfall – the emotion he'd drawn from her made him suspect that she already belonged to him, body, heart and soul. She drew away from the window, and he heard the sound of a door closing. She had exited the room. He sighed, as frustrated and somewhat despaired, as much as Orpheus must have been when he lost Eurydice to the underworld.

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Author's Note

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He knows.

So that second encounter was an anticlimax. Jeez, how many are there? (Counts number of Sam/Scam moments, but refuses to tell).

Read, relax, review, and you'll find out! Sorry for the late update and the short last chapter! I'll try to be more regular! And remember to review, please, and make me happy… :)

Lianneharmony

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References

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Not much reference, just pure romance, although I know some of you are wondering who are Orpheus and Eurydice.

Orpheus was a skilled musician, and he was in love with Eurydice. Somehow, Eurydice died. Orpheus went to Hades (who ruled the Underworld, i.e. where the ancient Greeks believed the dead go to when they die) and begged for Eurydice, on one condition: he couldn't look back to see if Eurydice followed, or Eurydice would be lost to him forever. Suffice to say, he did. And she was lost to him for all his life, and they only met in the underworld, after his death.

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Shoutouts

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Redheaded Devil and Beth. You guys (especially Beth) = AWESOME! Chapter is for you guys!