Chapter 3
In the hotel suite.
After entering the room, we both were at awe. This must cost a fortune. It was a typical Mediterranean design, but a high-end one. This room was huge. High ceilings, broad windows, a balcony that looked directly to the Colosseum, a huge four-poster-bed with red drapes hanging from the posters, elegant closets, lovely mahogany doors and a beautiful cozy seating group with a love-seat, a wooden coffee table and two chairs. There also was a minibar and a desk, as well made of mahogany wood. I stood there with my eyes and mouth wide open. Mulder just had the same expression on his face. Walking over to the love-seat and letting himself glide down to sit, he just said "Well, that's some hotel room. And the view is breathtaking."
I realized, that he couldn't see the view at all. He looked only at me! Oh no, not again. I was blushing. A full body blush. Thank god, he couldn't see through my clothes. Damn him.
To get me out of that situation, I cleared my voice and said "Mulder, stop it. I need a shower. Would you be so kind and unpack?"
Smiling he replied "Sure. Whatever you need, DANA." He emphasized my name trying to get another reaction, like the blush. Smug bastard.
I decided to ignore it, grabbed my bathroom kit and vanished into the bathroom. But before I could catch my breath, I was taken aback by that bathroom. It was half as big as the suite. A huge round bathtub with golden faucets, looking like lion's heads, making me gap. Right of it, was a huge walk-in shower with enough space for two, as well as the tub. Oh no, don't go there Dana!
Walking closer, I recognized that the tub was also a whirlpool. I gonna have it good here. Well, well, let's try the shower first.
While I was undressing, I saw a big mirror above a very nice basin with a cabinet underneath it. On the left of the tub was the most exquisite toilet I have ever seen. Is that marble? Oh yes it is, as well as the tiles on the floor and the walls. Wow! That's some bathroom!
I quickly went into the shower, closing my eyes as the cool water ran over my heated skin. I tried to calm myself, because being quartered with Mulder in such surroundings was going to be tough. Oh boy, I hope I can keep my composure. Who am I kidding?
Drying myself with a very soft, very fluffy towel, I realized that I forgot to bring a fresh set of clothes in here. Fortunately, there were two terry-cloth bathrobes hanging at the back of the door. A small and a big one. Funny, that gave me a warm feeling, thinking about Mulder again. Oh no. STOP IT, DANA!
I slipped into the robe and opened the door carefully, knowing that he could figure out, that I wasn't wearing anything but the robe. But as I came into the main room, I saw him standing at the foot of the bed, still unpacking, with his back to me. I rushed to my suitcase, but it was empty. Following logic, I went to the closet.
Mulder stopped me in my tracks before I could reach the closet by saying "I already laid something out for you on the bed, if you don't mind. But it is just a suggestion. While you were in the shower, Enzo called again and said, it would be better to speak tomorrow, after we got rid of our jetlag. I agreed and he recommended a good place to eat tonight, if you're up to it."
I turned around and saw a pleading look escaping his posture. I can't refuse him anything. Before I could answer he moved towards the bathroom and said "I just want you to feel comfortable. I'll hit the shower and then we can get going. It's already five pm." While he passed my position in the room, I just nodded and let him go ahead.
Curious what he picked, I moved to the bed and saw my white-yellow sundress fanned out at the end of the bed. He even picked my comfy shoes to fit them and my bottle of sunscreen. How thoughtful of him. Of course, he didn't pick underwear. But what would he do if I didn't wear any? That would be a surprise for him, wouldn't it? Damn, I won't get that lucky tonight, will I? So, I slipped on a nice set of white lace bra and matching panties. Better be prepared, right? I slipped on the dress and was about to apply the sunscreen, when I heard the door to the bathroom open.
And there he stood, only wearing a fluffy towel. He walked with his head down, so I couldn't see his eyes. Oh boy, what a chest! He is just perfect. Muscles glistening from lingering wetness of the shower. I wanted to lick it away, but composed myself with a deep breath.
He went to the closet picking out clothes. I don't know where the courage came from, but I walked over to him, laid my hand on his arm, to stop him taking out a shirt. He looked at me and blushed. Yes, now I gave him a bit of his own medicine. "Let me pick something for you, too, please." He nodded and I found him a white Henley shirt and black worn-out jeans, that I loved on him. He smiled, took the things and went back into the bathroom to change.
Smiling to myself, I went back to applying sunscreen, standing with my back to the bathroom door. I was so deep in thought about what that night might bring, that I didn't recognizing him approaching me. I felt his hands on my shoulders as he tried to help me rub in the cream. His breath hit my hair in my neck and I shivered. He whispered in my ear "Come on, sunshine. Let's explore Rome."
Oh my. He does that on purpose, the leering bastard. Wanting to make him feel as frustrated as I am right now, I took his hand from my shoulder, stepped away from him, tugging at his hand to move closer. I cocked my head saying "Before I explore other things…" letting the rest stand in the room and biting my lower lip. My best seductive look reduced him to mere grunts and he followed me like a puppy.
All right. That can be fun.
And we left the motel hand in hand.
In the city
Strolling through this labyrinth of back streets and alleys, I was again taken aback by the beauty of that city. It seems it never lost its appeal through its hundreds of years of existence. Built on the grounds of love for art and life, of curiosity for exploring new worlds within and without the city-borders, as well as on greediness and hunger for unending power, you could feel that wherever you look. The people here evolved as much as the city itself. Driven by the ancient men and developing into modern human beings with new believes and steady stoicism, they still honored their past. In every house, every path you could feel the changes of time, humanism and art, but never letting go of the founder's spirits. Impressive. I absorbed every ounce of it. I am falling in love with Rome.
I think there have been many poets, writers and artists trying to capture that feeling. As an adolescent, I read a lot of those stories and poems, or stared with awe at the paintings of this beautiful place, but you can only really get it, when you have the experience firsthand.
Walking in silence with my hand held by the only important person in my life, I knew I fell. I fell for this place, but I fell even deeper for him. I leaned in closer, hugging his arm of the hand that held mine. He looked into my eyes and gave me that smile that melted me since that hearing.
"I think this is the most beautiful town I have ever seen. Nothing in the States can be compared to that, not even London or Oxford. I can feel the history so much, that I think I can grab it. It is breathtaking." He said and shortly stopped our movements, shifted till he stood right in front of me. "We are here."
"Yes, we are." I replied dreamily.
"No, we are at the place Enzo told me about." He told me, bringing me back to reality with a short cute chuckle.
I looked around and found us standing right in front of the Pantheon, the best-preserved ancient building in the city. I was just staring at it, admiring it.
Mulder tugged at my hand. "Look, there is that restaurant. Wanna go there?"
I looked in the direction he was pointing at and just said "Sure. Looks good."
A waiter saw us walking in their direction and greeted us in Italian first, recognizing that we didn't speak Italian, he switched to English without hesitation. Funny, you only realize that English is the second most spoken language on the planet, when you go to a country with another mother tongue. But still I felt embarrassed of not being able to communicate in that wonderful language. When I'll have the time, I'll try to learn it. I already speak a bit German. Can't be that hard, can it?
The waiter sat us on the neatly arranged tables in front of the restaurant. They had white table cloth and it was already laid out. Shifting my attention to my surroundings, I saw the Pantheon stretching out right in front of us. It's beauty drawing me in again, especially with the slightly setting sun above it. How would it look like from inside, with that famous whole in the roof and sunlight hitting the walls with those amazing paintings?
"We have to go in there after dinner." I said to Mulder, not being able to hold back that thought. He smiled in acceptance and we went through the menu. Oh boy, what nice choices. Italian was already my favorite, but after this I might become addicted. Mulder looked a bit puzzled into the menu.
"I can order for us, if you don't know what to pick." He looked relieved. "You know, Dana, I'm only familiar with pizza and spaghetti Bolognese. I really love to try something else. Thanks. I'll eat what my lady recommends. And don't look at the prices. We got this covered."
Did he just call me Dana and "my lady" in one sentence? Damn, he is good. The whole way here, I was so mesmerized with the beauty, that I didn't realize what he was doing. He held my hand the whole time, showing me around, like Carry Grant did it with Audrey Hepburn. From time to time his hand went to my arm or the small of my back, guiding me through the stream of tourists and locals, making it impossible to hold my hand and I needed to walk in front of him.
Shit! He is really good with this. I am losing more and more bricks of my protective wall just sitting here with him in, I think, the most romantic place to dine in the world. Glancing around me once more, I realized, I didn't need to fear being caught by colleagues or people of that damn consortium. Nobody knows us here and there are only three people knowing that we are here, Skinner, my mom and Enzo. So, I crumbled the last part of my inner wall by my own will. What the hell! Let it happen.
I grabbed his hand, leaned in over the small round table and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you for taking me here. This is incredibly beautiful and romantic." But before he could react, the waiter came back with our white wine and I ordered pasta with eggplant, tomatoes, shrimp and a champaign sauce as secondi and as primi a carpaccio for two. For dessert I asked for a Tiramisu and was not surprised that they had it. The waiter said, that this restaurant is famous for its Tiramisu. We both laughed and started to relax and enjoy the evening.
During our fancy meal we talked about everything but the X-files, silently agreeing that this is about us and not work. We exchanged stories of our adolescence and insecurities at that time, about our favorite free time activity, our most wonderful and most embarrassing moments. It got more intimate by the minute. Not only our conversation, but also our bodies seemed to be drawn to each other like magnets. We sat now side by side, our thighs touching and his hand tracing lazy circles on my back between my shoulder blades, making me shiver.
After we watched the sun go down behind the Pantheon, we reached dessert. He started feeding me and I returned the favor. God, he nearly made me purr from his proximity and the sinfully good food. By now we both finished the whole bottle of wine and were ready to call it a night. We thanked the friendly waiter and expressed how delicious everything was and started moving towards the Pantheon.
Luckily we seemed to be the last people being let in and stood alone, handholding, in the oldest building we ever set foot in. With anybody in there but us, he turned me towards him and locked eyes with me. The tension was palpable. He reached for my cheek, caressing it with his soft palm. Deeply sighing, he traced his thumb along my bottom lip. His eyes switched from my eyes to my mouth and back again.
Oh god. He is going to finally kiss me.
And what a setting for our first kiss. I watched him leaning in closer and closer, till he was so near, that I closed my eyes in anticipation.
His lips touched mine very lightly at first. Then with more pressure. He shifted so that our chests were touching. His hand came up to the nape of my neck. Feeling that I won't pull away, he softly let his tongue glide on my upper lip. I whimpered at that and opened my lips, granting him access.
Now he whimpered and we were lost in the feeling. God, he tasted so good like the Tiramisu and wine we had. And pure Mulder. I knew it would be good to kiss him, but this was intoxicating.
My knees went weak, but I was held up by his strong arm at my waist. We sank into that kiss, letting our tongues duel for supremacy, but both failing miserably. Equal, even in kissing, like our whole partnership. It was sensual, longing, sweet and languid.
As I thought earlier on the flight, I don't want it to stop, ever. This kiss won't be enough.
Mulder held me so close that I didn't know where I began and he ended. Lost in each other, we didn't realize that we created quite a show. The ward chuckled lightly in the background, saying "L' amore, si, L'amore." And approached us silently, cleared his voice, saying "Fermare ragazzi. Prego."
Recognizing the ward finally, I tried to break the kiss, shifting my lips from his mouth to his cheek. Still hugging him, I whispered "We have to go. This fine man, wants to close up."
"But I don't care." He whispered against my ear, caressing my back, still holding me very close and kissing me again along my neck. Jesus, I didn't care myself, but I want to be alone with him so badly.
"Sweetheart, we really need to go. I want to finish that in private." I whispered into his ear in return.