A/N Quite a long chapter this time so apologies in advance!
It was only after Maria had insisted for the third time that she and the children were perfectly okay, that Georg finally relented, retiring to his study with Max for a much needed discussion.
The adrenaline from the confrontation with Zeller was still coursing through his veins and if he was honest with himself, Georg wanted nothing more than to get Maria alone, to find an outlet for his body's fight or flight reaction, to turn the frustration into something positive and beautiful, something only her body, her soul, could provide for him.
When she had first come into his line of vision in the drawing room, his anger, his hatred for the Nazis had been so strong, that he'd felt a sudden and startling desire to release Zeller's throat, take Maria by the hand, and lead her silently upstairs to show her all the ways they could escape in one another. In those moments his primal instincts had been so intense, that he'd needed nothing less than to simply be inside her, to lose himself fully in her silken body. It hadn't been a physical reaction but a deeply innate, emotional desire to lay with his future wife until nothing and no one else existed, until they had only each other and their thundering heartbeats for company. He'd wondered briefly whether she'd seen it in his eyes, for she had met his heated gaze unashamedly, with a bold determination that seemed to speak of the very things he'd been thinking. She had known what he'd needed in those moments and the fact that she hadn't shied away from it had stirred him deeply.
But Georg had neglected his oldest friend for long enough. He knew he needed to finally enlightening Max to his plans for the future of his family. He'd been wanting to tell him about it ever since he'd decided to leave the country, but he'd wanted to make sure his affairs were in order and that Elsa was out of the picture. He knew that Elsa and Max were good friends, or at least they had been, and he hadn't wanted to put Max in a difficult situation.
Pouring them both a much needed whiskey, Georg handed his friend a tumbler before sinking into a nearby chair, gulping a generous mouthful of the liquid and sighing heavily in relief. In allowing the tension to leave his body, he suddenly realised he ached everywhere. He was utterly exhausted after endless days of planning, completely downtrodden by the escalating dangers on their doorstep, and utterly frustrated by the lack of opportunity for physical release with his wife-to-be. His mind wondered back to their earlier encounter when he'd somehow ended up with his mouth on her bare breasts. He felt the familiar pull deep within when he imagined what it would be like to have her nimble fingers, her sweet tongue, tracing the lines of his aching muscles until he was finally sated. If the look in her eyes back in the drawing room was any indication, she'd need very little direction in helping him unwind..
"Better?" Max asked, interrupting Georg's train of thought and gesturing to the glass of whiskey in his hand.
"Much," Georg replied, taking another mouthful and eyeing his lodger pensively. Eventually he cleared his throat and leant forward in his chair, "listen Max.. I owe you an apology, my friend."
"What for Georg?"
"Well- " he took another swig of the amber liquid, buying some time while he tried to find the right words.
"For plotting to leave the country without telling me?" Max interjected casually.
Georg's eyes flew wide open and he began choking violently on his drink in surprise, pounding on his chest to stop the persistent spluttering. Entirely unfazed by his friend's coughing fit, Max sat swilling the contents of his own glass nonchalantly, as though what he'd said was of no more consequence than what he'd eaten for lunch.
Eventually Georg managed to catch his breath, "how in God's name - "
"As self-absorbed as you believe me to be Georg, I'm more observant than you give me credit for," Max retorted, raising an amused eyebrow and fixing his friend with a pointed look, "as I think I've told you previously, you're not exactly subtle."
Georg was baffled. Clearly his oldest friend knew him better than he knew himself at times.
"Well.. There's something else you don't know," he confessed, to which Max roll his eyes emphatically.
"You mean the fact that you're taking Maria with you?"
Whiskey sprayed in every direction as an unsuspecting Georg chose that particular moment to take another poorly timed gulp of the liquid and proceeded to choke on it all over again.
Max took a casual sip of his own drink while he waited patiently for his friend to stop spluttering and regain some level of composure.
"Perhaps a glass of water would be somewhat easier for you to handle Georg?" Max smirked.
"How the hell - " Georg choked.
Max sighed impatiently, though secretly he was rather enjoying Georg's bewilderment. It wasn't often that he had the upper hand against Austria's most loved naval hero.
"It's quite evident to anyone within a ten mile radius that you and the Fraulein are in love," he stated matter-of-factly, taking a sip of his drink, "it's the perfect cliche, don't you agree? You were an insensitive boar. She ran away. She came back. You kissed and made up. And so on and so forth.. I could make a play out of it!"
"A very apt description of events.." Georg drawled sarcastically, having finally regained his composure.
"Not only that, you've been locking yourself away secretly for hours on end - and you made a deal with Hitler that I know full well you'd rather die than fulfil.." Max explained, picking some imaginary lint off his trousers casually, "my only logical conclusion was that you were planning to leave the country before being called upon for duty. And I knew the minute you got rid of Elsa that you had your heart set on taking Maria with you."
"Well it seems you've thought of everything Max," Georg smirked, rather amused.
"Far more than you have my friend!"
"And what exactly does that mean?" Georg's eyes narrowed and he cocked his jaw to the side impatiently. He didn't much care for being outsmarted by his layabout lodger.
"While you've been cavorting around stealing forbidden touches from the governess and attacking Nazi officers," Max quipped, tugging at his moustache proudly, "I've been making some plans of my own.."
"Oh?" Georg responded with unmistakable mirth, "and what might they be?"
"I'm coming with you," Max stated, draining the rest of his glass as though he'd said the most obvious thing in the world.
"Oh you are, are you?"
"Come now, Georg," the impresario gestured dramatically with his empty tumbler, "you can't possibly think I'm going to let the best talent in all of Salzburg slip from my clutches? I hardly think so. There'll be nothing left for me here if you all leave.."
The sentiment wasn't lost on Georg, who felt a rush of sudden tenderness for his friend. In his own twisted way, Max was letting him know that he considered the von Trapps to be his closest family.
"Ever since I sussed you out I've been plotting our escape," Max explained proudly, getting up to refill his glass, "and the Mother Abbess at Nonnberg has been helping me."
Georg was glad he hadn't taken another mouthful of whiskey at that precise moment because he would surely have choked to death on it. His jaw hit the floor and his friend looked entirely unperturbed by his blatant gawping.
"You have got to be joking," he snorted in disbelief. The thought of the Reverend Mother being party to a escape plot against the Nazis was almost too absurd to comprehend.
"Not at all, she's an absolutely brilliant woman," Max retorted, completely deadpan, "She could give you a run for your money when it comes to strategy."
"And what exactly is this collaborative strategy you've devised with the Nun-cum-secret-agent?" Georg smirked, his sarcasm entirely lost on Max who seemed immensely chuffed with his proactivity.
"The Nazis will be watching," Max declared, beginning to pace the room importantly as though suddenly in charge of an entire fleet of men, "they have eyes everywhere."
"So what do you suggest?" Georg humoured him.
"Send Maria back to the abbey."
"What?!" Georg had jumped to his feet in complete outrage, "are you mad!"
"Only for a night or two!" Max insisted, placing a firm hand on his stubborn friend's shoulder and shoving him back into his seat bossily.
"Absolutely not!" Georg retorted, the Captain in him ready to shout everybody in the villa into submission. The thought of Maria leaving him for a second time, especially in his hour of need, threatened to send him into a panic.
"Would you just listen for five minutes!" Max insisted, holding his own under Georg's thunderous glare. His friend said nothing but finally nodded reluctantly, gesturing for Max to continue.
"Send Maria back and to outside eyes it will appear as though her time here as governess has come to its natural end," he watched as Georg's scowl deepened but still he pressed on, determined to be heard, "On the second day we'll send the children to see her and it will seem as though they're merely visiting. When they get there, Maria will be waiting for them and can make an escape in the caretaker's vehicle under the cover of darkness."
Georg leant forward in his chair and knitted his fingers together, the previous mirth having disappeared as he pondered over Max's idea.
"It's you the Nazis want, not your family," Max continued, "While Maria gets the children across the border, you and I will make our own escape in your car in the dead of night and we'll meet them in Switzerland."
He drained the contents of his second helping of whiskey, thumped the empty glass down on the desk, and clapped his hands together in a triumphant grand finale.
Georg eyed the impresario suspiciously, utterly convinced there must be a flaw in his plan.
"It's risky to separate.." he murmured after a time, staring into the fireplace pensively.
"Surely it's even riskier to travel with them," Max took a seat again, the previous triumph having been replaced by a grave sympathy, "your presence will put Maria and the children in greater danger. At least if the Nazis catch wind of your plans, you can be sure the eight of them will make it safely across the borders."
Max watched the cogs turning behind Georg's eyes. It was evident he didn't like what he was hearing but he knew he couldn't argue with the logic behind it.
"Where was all this vigilant thinking when we were in the navy, old timer?" Georg quipped.
"Well it's hazy, but I believe I put it to far better use in chasing alcohol and women," Max grinned. He was immediately rewarded by a hearty laugh from his old comrade - a true, honest, belly laugh that rumbled from his chest and broke across his face. It was a laugh that Max hadn't heard in a while, given everything that had come to pass. He was glad he could still elicit that kind of reaction in his best friend.
Georg wiped the laughter from his eyes as he sighed heavily, eventually leaning back in his seat, his smile fading, "I'm not agreeing to anything unless Maria is on board."
"Naturally."
Not ten minutes later, Maria was sat calmly on the sofa in Georg's study with her hands in her lap as both men paced determinedly in front of her, waving their arms emphatically and finishing each other sentences as they explained everything they had discussed. She suddenly understood how these two had become such fast friends during their time in the Navy; once they got an idea in their heads it seemed there was no stopping them - she felt as though she were watching a theatrical performance! It would almost have been comical if it wasn't for the gravity of the situation.
Eventually they fell silent as they finished their presentation, sinking into their respective chairs and eyeing her wearily like small boys, as though expecting her to suddenly scold them both for their idiocy.
"I told you it was a bad idea!" Georg hissed after Maria said nothing, giving Max's foot an insolent kick.
"You're the one who said we should ask her!" Max spat, incredulous.
"Only because your plan was so absurd -"
"You're absurd.."
"When you're both quite finished," Maria interjected with stern authority, causing both men to fall deadly silent, staring sheepishly at the ground under her scrutiny.
"It just so happens that I've been speaking to the Reverend Mother myself," she enlightened them coolly, watching as both heads jerked up in astonishment. Max looked positively gleeful while Georg looked as though he needed a crane to lift his gaping jaw off the floor.
"She's already informed me of her plans," Maria continued casually, "yes Max, I'm well aware it was mostly her idea.."
"Ha!" Georg exclaimed triumphantly as the gleeful smirk was wiped from the impresario's face - only to fall silent again when Maria fixed him with another pointed glare.
"I'll leave at nightfall," she concluded matter-of-factly, much to Georg's outrage.
"And just when were you going to enlighten me to this little scheme?!" He barked, desperately attempting to take back control of a situation he'd had no part in.
"I was going to tell you this morning but you were somewhat distracted pinning a Nazi officer to the wall by his neck," Maria retorted with fire in her eyes, silencing her captain immediately.
"Ha! She's certainly got you there Georg!" Max snorted sardonically.
"Shut up, Max!" His friend snapped, a sulky scowl darkening his features.
Much to Georg's annoyance, Maria ignored his strop and rose from her seat, placing a grateful hand on Max's shoulder, "I'm glad you're coming with us Max, truly."
She was met with a sheepish smile and an affectionate pat on the hand, both parties completely oblivious to the daggers that Georg was throwing in Max's direction.
"Thank you Fraulein," Max murmured, grateful that the two of them were gradually becoming fast friends.
"Oh, why don't you just run away with each other!" Georg grumbled, folding his arms across his chest and sinking lower in his chair haughtily, "since you've both plotted such a through escape with me.."
Maria and Max shared a bemused look before the latter stood, placing a grateful kiss on Maria's cheek and throwing Georg a devilishly provocative look, only to be met with the ultimate death stare, "well, it seems I've outstayed my welcome," he smirked, "if anyone needs me, I'll be in the kitchens pestering cook about lunch."
"So I suppose you'll be taking it upon yourself to be our chaperone, no doubt," Georg interjected with annoyance.
There was an unmistakable twinkle in Max's eye before he replied, "in times like these, no one deserves the inconvenience of a chaperone.." And with that, he turned on his heels and left the lovers to quarrel.
Georg had intended to tell his fiance off the minute they were alone, to let her know how much her secrecy had irked him. But Max's departing words must've had a lasting effect on Maria because the door had barely closed before she was suddenly in his lap, her velvet arms slipping around his neck and her tongue invading his mouth with effortless ease.
He gave a low growl in response to her boldness and wrapped his arms around her as his previous rage gave way to the white hot flames licking relentlessly at his loins. He found her sudden urgency painfully arousing - the thought of his previously wimple-clad governess wanton and desperate for his touch was almost too much to bare. Had she ached for him this way when he'd been nothing more than her employer? he wondered. The possibility made him dizzy with longing as the blood rapidly rushed south, lost to the feeling of her featherlight body straddled against him.
She tore her mouth from his and bit at his earlobe gently, mimicking the things she'd learnt from him only a few days ago.
"What did you need in the drawing room when you looked at me my darling?" She murmured, nuzzling into his neck. Georg couldn't mask his sharp intake of breath. He knew she'd meant it as nothing more than an innocent question, but the words sounded like an irresistible seduction on her naive lips. She had no idea how arousing her curiosity was and he was struggling to contain his growing frustration. He wanted to show her exactly what he'd needed.
"Darling?" She whispered against his skin when he failed to answer.
"Ah," He choked, attempting to breathe through the pounding in his ears, "you.."
"But what about me?" Her lips travelled lower still, and he found himself scrambling to loosen his tie and tug the button of his collar open to give her better access to more of his untouched skin. She obliged willingly, tasting the flesh of his collarbone as he attempted to determine up from down. They needed to discuss their imminent plans, they needed to talk about her departure later today, but he couldn't think straight with the heady sensation of her tongue against his thundering pulse.
"If you can't show me, then tell me," she whispered.
He tried desperately to control himself, unwilling to take their caresses as far as they'd gone previously - partly for fear that it would scare her and partly for fear that he wouldn't be able to stop this time. But her bold fingers had begun releasing the rest of the buttons on his shirt and he was rapidly losing his inward battle with himself as she splayed her warm hand against his chest, running her fingers through the curls she found there.
"Tell me.."
He gulped.
"Your.. Your body," he gasped, running his hands down her back as her mouth followed the same fiery path as her fingers.
His answer left Maria breathless with desire. She could hardly believe her own courage but the look she'd seen in his eyes back in the drawing room had unleashed something dark and stirring within her. The heat and frustration in his gaze had spoken volumes about what he needed from her - and she realised, as his body trembled beneath her, that he had awoken a similar instinct in her that somehow told her exactly what to give.
"It's all yours," she breathed against his torso, and something primal in Georg snapped. Releasing a repressed grown he finally gave in to her bittersweet torture and began frantically popping open the buttons on the back of her dress, nipping at her throat impatiently and tugging the inconvenient garment from her shoulders. Letting go of his previous restraint he wasted no time in freeing her breasts, barely having had a chance to taste them during their last encounter. She threw her head back as his lips made contact and leaned into the sensation of his tongue licking at her skin, threading her fingers through his hair.
Without warning, his agile fingers found their way up her skirts and suddenly cupped the burning heat between her legs. "This," He growled frantically against her breasts, pressing his hand more firmly against her, "this is what I need."
He words reduced her to nothing but a pool of needy desire. As his hand shifted slightly against her, she realised that she was entirely ready to beg.. for what? She wasn't sure. But it hardly mattered because she had completely forgotten how to speak.
And as quickly as he had touched her, as quickly as he had reduced her to utter desperation - he withdrew his hand again, pulling away from her and stilling their frantic movements. She almost sobbed with sheer frustration, the ghost of his hand still sending a deep ache from its point of contact to the rest of her trambling blody. The sheer intensity of it left her burning all over.
"But not yet darling," he murmured against her lips, gazing into her crestfallen eyes and running the back of his hand down her silken cheek, "not like this."
"But.." She gasped for breath, words escaping her as she clung to him, desperate and bereft.
"Believe me sweetheart, it's practically killing me but you deserve more than a frantic fumble in my study," he kissed her chastely then, cursing himself for his blasted morals - her breasts were still tantalising close to his lips and his aching arousal was mere inches from her lithe body. But he could, he would, wait for her.
Eventually she nodded, breathing a deep sigh of frustration, "perhaps it's for the best that I'm leaving tonight!"
He chuckled, kissing her again and whispering words of love against her lips.
"Come on," he shifted under her to indicate that they should get up, "I think it's time we found the children and made one or two more memories in this place before we leave our home."
A/N I hope you liked this chapter, please do review! All thoughts welcome. I'm not sure if you all like the steamy scenes or would like to see less of them, but I've always been a fan of mixing it up a bit!