No lemons this chapter, not yet. But earning my rating for suggestive themes and language ...

It was one thing to decide to seduce a man. It was another thing staring at the bed. Levy could feel her cheeks heating up alarmingly as Gajeel worked to bring up their luggage. Well, her luggage anyway.

He was grumbling and making noises about women and their incessant need to fill up bags with 'nonsense'. But Levy could tell he wasn't really angry. A growing familiarity with the iron Dragonslayer was helping her be able to read his emotions better.

Take anger for example. There were levels. If she were to apply a numerical scale, this was a level one or two irritation for him. And ….well, drat. What this really, really was? Avoidance. For her. Level 12 out of ten.

Her eyes moved back toward the bed. The large, comfortable looking bed. The only one in their shared room. Levy's gaze shifted over to the couch. One that looked rather slouchy and had seen better days, and one that didn't look like it would accommodate Gajeel's height even if he were so inclined to sleep there.

"Drat!" She muttered, squeezing her eyes shut and shaking her head, soft tendrils of her hair brushing the sides of her face. This was a GOOD thing for her, right? This meant that Gajeel would be sleeping in the bed with her. She hesitated. Unless he expected her to sleep on the couch.

Which wasn't a bad idea. Except she had decided to seduce Gajeel. So, not a good idea to be sleeping apart from him. Her stomach turned over nervously. Could she even do that? Should she?

Levy sighed lightly, wishing she had her friends here to discuss this with. Her lips firmed as she mentally called them up in an exercise of decision making.

A poll. Okay. First. Jet and Droy. Levy bit her lip and smiled as she imagined their reaction should she have asked them about seducing Gajeel. Two negatives. So. Who would be on the positive end?

Cana. The card mage had been teasing Levy about her innocence for about a year now. Technically eight years now if you counted the time spent in suspension on Tenrou. Levy chuckled. One for, two against. Though Cana might have a problem with whom she wanted to sleep with.

Lu-chan? Lucy …that was tougher. Levy sighed. Lucy would be a good sounding board, but ultimately she'd trust any decision that Levy made in either direction. No help.

Natsu? Probably wouldn't understand the question. Gray would be against on general principle. Juvia? Well now. Juvia was friends with Gajeel, how would she see this development.

So. Basically. One maybe and many, many negatives.

"Oy. Shrimp-girl. You losing it? I said I'm heading down to the pool. I need to cool off. Hey! You listening?"

Startled, Levy turned and the world tilted on its axis and stopped spinning.

Gajeel Redfox stood there in their shared room only feet from a bed they'd be sleeping in together. His chest was bare, which wasn't that surprising considering the fact that he'd never put a fresh one on since the train ride. It was his feet.

Such a ridiculous thing. Levy's eyes went to his bare toes on the rather shaggy carpet and it felt intimate. Domestic. As if they were really married. The thought shook her and all mental decision making charts flew apart and shredded in that instant.

"Hey. Did you buy me swim trunks while you shopped? No big if you didn't. I saw a shop downstairs." Gajeel stared at the bags containing her purchases and reached in, dragging out an iron-gray shirt. "Soft. I like this, thanks."

Emotion swelled up within her as she saw the simple pleasure on his face. Levy knew the bare bones of Gajeel's history, the entire guild did. When he'd first arrived and everyone had been in an uproar, Juvia had shared some things. Natsu had also provided some context. Most in the guild had seen the fire Dragonslayer grow up, and heard him going on and on about finding his lost father, Igneel. They'd experienced his highs and lows whenever a rumor of a dragon sighting came his way. They'd shared his pain. Turned out that Gajeel had a dragon for a foster father as well, one who had vanished on the same day as Igneel.

That knowledge alone had cooled some of the more hot-headed in their guild and given Gajeel a chance to show them his real self. Knowing and living with Natsu and his loneliness and pain, and loving him, had translated into giving Gajeel a chance.

Which all meant, standing here alone in a room with the man, and seeing him be surprised and pleased with the fact that someone had gone to the trouble of picking out a soft shirt for him ….Levy's eyes moistened her heart swelled. "I didn't know what you had brought, but yes, I did bring you a bathing costume though I'm not sure what bag it's in."

o.o.o.o.o

Gajeel was a man used to balance. He was a fighter and good balance was a basic requirement for survival. Levy had a way of destroying his equilibrium.

He watched as the tiny blue fairy that the law said was his wife dug through piles of bags to find something for him to go swimming in.

The couch was covered in shirts, trousers, a nice belt and even a brand new toothbrush. Thick socks and some boxer shorts that he sneered at. He hadn't been kidding about not wearing any. Suddenly he coughed, swallowing wrong. There were no sleep pants. Levy hadn't thought about that. Or had she? Had she neglected to buy any in the hopes that they wouldn't be needed? The top of his head nearly came off before he violently shook his head while she was looking away.

The boxers. Hell. He'd get a chance to wear them after all. Or sleep clothed. Yeah. Maybe. He needed some barrier between them if he was going to keep his hands off.

Gajeel scowled darkly, his thoughts grim. He wanted Levy, well why the hell not? He was male and she was cute and pretty and sexy and it was simple biology. Which was a lie and he knew it. He wanted her. Levy. Not just anyone. But he needed to repair what he'd damaged when they'd first met. He needed her to see him as someone to trust and asshole comments aside, he needed to keep his hands to himself. At least for right now.

"What? You don't like the color?"

Startled, Gajeel's red eyes slid over to Levy who looked worried as she eyed his scowl. She was holding up a pair of slate-blue trunks.

"'bout time." He growled, nabbing them as he walked by her into the bathroom. Halfway across the threshold he mentally kicked his own ass. He shouted out behind him. "Er …thanks."

He unfastened his trousers, something else Levy had picked out for him, which he rather appreciated. No one had ever cared enough about him to worry about his clothing, not even Metalicana. The dragon had been satisfied as long as Gajeel and his clothing had been clean enough not to foul the dragon's sensitive sense of smell.

"Gajeel? OH! Oh, stupid ….shut the door!"

He peeked around the corner, his trousers still on one ankle, bare as the day he'd been born. Gajeel grinned widely, showing off a smile worthy of any dragon son, including the flash of fang. "You knew I was changing."

"Well, I didn't think you'd start until the door shut!" Levy wailed, clearly embarrassed.

Vow to be nice and get Levy to trust him? Yeah. It didn't stop his mouth. "You just wanted to use those eyes on me, check to see if things down under are pierced. I don't mind. Though I would have rather you chosen hands or mouth to check me out." He winced heavily as he heard her screech from the other room.

"You are horrid!"

Gajeel could only agree as he gave himself a chastened look in the bathroom mirror. That had been a dick thing to say. About his dick. His amusement stirred and he gave himself a cocky half-smile. Cocky. He laughed aloud at himself.

"It's not funny!" Levy shouted from the other room.

Gajeel shrugged, not bothering to explain his perverse sense of humor. He finished changing and even rubbed at the indelible words Levy had inked onto his abdomen earlier. Yeah, that wasn't coming off anytime soon.

He walked out of the bathroom, running a finger around the waistband of his trunks to make it settle comfortably and then he froze, stunned. Levy had taken the opportunity to change into a swimsuit of her own.

A modest two-piece with a skirt.

His heart skipped a few beats and his fingers and palms started to itch as he stared.

Levy was going through the bags still on the couch, her butt in the air and the short swim skirt doing nothing to hide her from his view. His mouth literally watered and he railed at himself for being a worthless and ravening jerk. It wasn't helping much. What else wasn't helping? The new swim trunks were doing nothing, nothing to hide his physical reaction.

o.o.o.o.o

Levy had run around and grabbed one of her swimsuits as soon as Gajeel had even stepped toward the bathroom. She needed to move fast if she wanted him to walk out and find her in a sultry pose wearing a bikini.

Problem. Her swimsuits, even the two-piece ones, didn't run toward sultry. They were cute. Adorable. She loved them. They weren't sexy though. Second problem. Where to change? Gajeel was in the bathroom. Which meant theoretically she could change in the room. Only he hadn't shut the door.

More problems. With that dratted door open she felt faint, he was just a few feet away and getting undressed. No barrier between she and a naked Gajeel. Which was the damnable point in trying to seduce him! Yet the thought alone left her feeling woozy.

She'd raced into the tiny closet and fumbled quickly into her swimsuit. In the dark, as the light didn't work in here. Rushing out, she'd been relieved to find that he hadn't beat her out there.

Okay, okay. Sultry pose. Levy tried a few and started to feel more and more ridiculous with each passing moment. Seduction? Her? She was only making a fool of herself.

Maybe she could buy a new swim outfit in the resort's shops? The prices would be exorbitant and she needed to watch her spending, as she had still to pay back Jet and Droy for seven years of paying the rent on her apartment.

Levy looked down at her feet, her bare toes peeking up at her from the thick carpet. The same carpet that Gajeel's bare feet had been touching. Silly, silly thought. It nearly melted her poor brain.

Shaking herself off, she remembered buying a cheap pair of sandals for Gajeel, just for poolside or the beach. She hurried to the bags from her shopping trip, digging through them while Gajeel came into to the room.

Not that he said anything, but she could feel him. Standing there. She blushed. So much for seduction or sultry poses. She wasn't capable of such. Pasting on a smile she turned only to see him escaping back into the bathroom. This time the door slammed shut behind him.

"Gajeel?"

"Forgot to rinse off." He shouted back at her. "You go on down!"

Levy bit her lip, devastated. Sure she hadn't been posing for him when he came out here, but she'd not made any impression on him at all. He'd not spared her a single glance before going to get ready to swim. He didn't even want her to wait for him.

A growled expletive from the bathroom had her eyes snapping back open as she stared at the closed door. "You alright?"

"Water's freezing!" He barked.

"You should have waited for it to warm up before turning it on!" She scolded, then grimaced. She sounded more like a sister than a wife. "I'll go on downstairs. Do you want me to order you a drink?"

She didn't get a response, which sunk her mood even lower.

o.o.o.o.o

Gajeel braced his hands on the tile in the shower, letting the freezing water he'd deliberately chosen, beat down on his back and run down his body.

He'd heard men talk about taking cold showers before, in order to cool off their bodies and to kill an erection when necessary. He only hoped it worked. He'd never had to take one before, but he thought he might have to get used to it seeing as how he was staying in a room with Levy McGarden. For several weeks. Alone.

"Fuck." He bit out the word. The freezing water wasn't helping much! Physical training in extreme conditions had left him with a high tolerance for such trivial matters.

Cursing, he swung the temperature control to something approaching boiling hot instead. His hand going down his body. There was another way.

o.o.o.o.o

"Where's Gajeel?" Pantherlily sat in the shade of the umbrella on a cushion Levy had snitched for him from another lounge chair.

"Bathing." Levy said, trying to sound normal and not devastated. She decided to divert the Exceed cat from her erstwhile husband. "Find anything?" She asked of his decision to roam some of the resort while she and Gajeel had checked into the room.

"They have excellent kiwi juice." The cat yawned widely.

"Lily!"

The black cat chuckled, looking unconcerned and not even bothering to open his eyes. "The lady who protested my having a ticket on the train? Is the owner of this resort. She's also the one who posted the job in the guild."

"Oh." Levy settled down, leaning back in her chair and letting the sun warm her body. Across the pool she spotted Phen and Shagon. The woman gave her the classic thumbs up hand sign and patted her stomach, indicating she approved the bathing suit. She made a self-depreciating wave at her own one-piece that showed off the slightest hint of a baby bump.

Levy's face flamed. She'd been so intent on seducing Gajeel that she'd forgotten part of her cover story about being pregnant! Rookie mistake! And it hadn't even worked ….

"Rumor has a few couples disappearing over the course of this past year. At first it looked like runaway marriages who just decided not to go back home. But there have been six now. That's more than a coincidence, at least according to Ms. Milestone, our benefactor. Whom I still don't like."

Levy made an agreeing sort of noise and let the cat continue.

"She suggested that you and Gajeel get involved in all the activities out here, as that's what most of the couples did before vanishing."

Levy nodded thoughtfully. "Did they disappear from the resort or from the train station? Somewhere else?"

"Good question." Lily actually blinked and looked over at her. "No, not all the couples were staying here, but four of the six were. They vanished, taking all their luggage with them, but having already paid up for several more days or having train reservations that were at least a week in the future."

"So. They all had expected to stay longer." Levy mused the information, picking it apart with her sharp mind. "Doesn't sound like they'd just run off and not asked for a refund. Our information stated these were not wealthy couples and no ransom had been demanded."

"Exactly so." Lily agreed. "And. At least three of the couples were expecting a child already. According to gossip."

"Gossip?" A deep voice grumbled from behind the two of them. Gajeel reached over the top of Levy's lounge chair and snitched her drink. He sucked on the straw and kept going, drinking down at least half of it. Then he had the gall to pull a face and complain. "Fruit juice!"

Levy snarled at him and pointed at the bar on the far end of the pool. "I would have ordered you a beer, but I thought you might like it cold rather than sitting out. Took you long enough to rinse off." She snarked.

Gajeel said nothing as he threw himself into the lounge chair next to hers. "In a minute. I just need to stretch out, feeling cramped from the train ride and serving as your seat."

Levy sputtered, incensed. "You pulled me on top of you! And the train was crowded."

Gajeel grinned as he listened to her harangue him. Good. He needed her mad at him and not soft, sweet, and looking delectable.

Lily's head came up. He'd not said anything about the Dragonslayer's approach, but a stranger was another matter. "Heads up. Activity director approaching."

"Hi! I'm Sally!" Came the too sunny, too chipper, and completely annoying high-pitched voice.

Levy threw Gajeel a warning glare as he started to growl at the curvy blonde with the too-tight shirt. Though it pleased her that he didn't seem impressed.

o.o.o.o.o

"I'm going to kill Sally." Gajeel whispered in Levy's ear.

"We're getting paid for this." The blue-haired mage reminded him that they were participating for a reason. "Now put it on."

The Dragonslayer glared at her, but gamely wrapped the belt around his hips. Right in front was a scooped out half of a coconut shell. He did NOT want to know what it was for.

They'd already played beach volleyball with wives atop their husband's shoulders. He and Levy had won of course, as he had zero difficulties playing with her slight weight on top of him. His problem had been enjoying it too, too much. Especially as he'd been able to hold her thighs when they ran, ostensibly to keep her from falling, but more because he wanted to touch.

They'd come in third in the wheelbarrow race. He and the rest of the husbands had been the ones in the conveyances while the wives had to push. Levy had dumped him out three times as they'd raced around the course, though most of the husbands had met the same fate. It had been hilarious and fun and he'd yelled at Levy while she'd laughed in his face. Deny as he might, it had been a blast.

They'd lost the fireman's race, where they had to run around and change into clothes of the opposite gender. Gajeel had lost points for trying to wedge his wide chest into a size A bra and it had torn down the back while Levy had been on the ground laughing at him. Turnabout had been fair play as she'd fallen at least seven times trying to run in men's shoes at least 3 times larger than her feet.

Now it was this thing. Gajeel snarled as Sally made her chipper way down the line of husbands and deposited a water balloon in each scooped out coconut shell.

"Wives! Your job is to retrieve the balloon and bring it to me!" Sally winked and laughed in a suggestive way. "Only you can't use your hands."

Gajeel looked up at that, and then down at the coconut shell resting right above his privates. He leered suddenly and barked out a laugh. He wasn't the only husband to do so either.

Phen grinned and punched Gajeel in the arm in good natured fun, waggling his eyebrows as Shagon blushed.

Levy raised her hand. "Can we use teeth?" She asked, wondering at the rules and then going red in the face as the entire group burst out laughing at her.

Gajeel swallowed hard and wondered if he could throw himself into the ocean right now. Would it be cold enough? He doubted it. He stared at Levy and cursed himself. Why was he trying to be a decent guy again? "You can use anything you got, Fairy-girl."

Levy looked away, mortified and embarrassed, and really happy with the heated look that Gajeel had used.

Sally grinned and pointed at Levy. "Teeth are allowed, but remember, break the balloon and you lose. Don't want to damage what you find down there!" She called out with a wicked grin.

In the end they didn't win. Levy was able to use her chin and chest to trap the balloon and get it to Sally, but she'd been less than graceful and had bumped and pushed Gajeel rather intimately while doing so. Which was the point of the 'game' in the first place.

When Levy returned with her third place prize of a lollipop, Gajeel looked down at her and scowled, demanding that she not eat that right now.

"Why?" Levy had wanted to know, not that it mattered.

"Sand." He said, turning away with an odd look on his face. Beside him Phen laughed and shook his head, making a comment on how Levy was still so innocent.

Shagon walked over and leaned in, explaining to a wildly blushing Levy about sucking on phallic symbols in front of a needy male. How suggestive and sensual it could be.

Levy, instead of being embarrassed, smiled. A lollipop? Her plan had seducing her husband took a turn. Alright, so she didn't have the right swimsuit or lingerie. But if Shagon was to be believed, she now had a weapon in this piece of candied treat. Excellent. She'd eat it tonight. In the room. Alone with Gajeel. With no sand in sight.

The Dragonslayer looked over at his wife as Sally started explaining the last game. Levy looked rather smug, making him wonder what she was thinking.

o.o.o.o.o

"Ping-pong balls?" Gajeel held the empty tissue box while Sally filled it with the eponymous white game balls.

"Your job is to shake every last one of these suckers right out!" Sally grinned up at him. "And it will be strapped around your waist."

Gajeel rolled his eyes and nodded.

Sally looked down at his toned abdomen and the words emblazoned there. "Levy is one lucky woman." She said, walking away as Gajeel actually blushed a bit around the edges of his cheekbones. Her voice had held admiration and a hint of remorse, but hadn't been a come-on. A compliment.

Gajeel had no idea how to handle a compliment.

Levy walked over to him, seeing his discomfiture. "I am lucky." She teased as she walked by him.

Gajeel watched her walk away, liking the soft sway of her hips that wasn't over exaggerated for effect. Levy didn't have to try in order to garner his attention, she just had to be herself. He groaned. At least the sun, sand, and crowd were keeping him in control and with his hands off of Levy for the most part.

She threw a shy look back at him and gestured at him to hurry up and put on the tissue box.

Gajeel sighed, though he was glad it was him here and not Jet or Droy. Those guys would have fallen all over themselves by now. He doubted they could even have focused on the job at hand.

When the music started, Levy and the other ladies laughed themselves silly at the antics of the men. They shook their hips looking utterly uncoordinated and in the end Gajeel had shaken loose the entire box at least three times, but not a single ping-pong ball.

Sally grinned as she called for applause, then held up a hand for attention. "Ladies, ladies! Let's show the men how it's supposed to be done."

Gajeel grumped, hating to lose at anything, even something as silly as this game. He watched as Levy attached the belt with the box on it around her hips. It was too big, even at the smallest setting. He grinned. "You won't shake loose a single ball."

Levy gave him a glare, and when the music started, Gajeel nearly swallowed his tongue.

Women's hips were meant for shaking. That's all there was to it. Red-eyed pupils narrowed and his mouth suddenly went dry.

Levy shimmied and shook and ping-pong balls when flying out of the narrow box opening. Gajeel didn't see a single ball. What he saw was the move of her hips calling to him, showing him how they could move and wondering how those moves would feel with him buried deep within her body.

When she was done and declared the winner, Gajeel finally blinked and wondered if there was enough ice water in the hotel for the shower he'd need after this.

o.o.o.o.o

Levy wondered at Gajeel's mood. He barely looked at her the entire evening. Dinner had been a trial of grunted one-word answers. When she'd called him on his behavior he'd lectured her on being alert and doing their job.

Lectured her!

Levy fumed and trailed after him to their room. He wouldn't even be a gentleman and escort her, letting her go first. No. Gajeel had said something stupid about protecting her and stomped noisily down the hall.

Pantherlily had watched all afternoon and evening and now he trotted along beside Levy. She looked down at the cat and he sighed, not wanting to explain to the human girl that her rear-end was distracting to the Dragonslayer.

By the time they'd both gotten ready for the night, Levy was about ready to scream. Her head should have hurt by all rights considering how tense she felt. She kicked her sandals into the dark closet and felt some satisfaction when they hit the far wall.

"Don't tear up the room or we'll have to pay for damages." Gajeel barked at her.

Levy made an immature face behind his back.

She'd changed first and when she came out of the bathroom in a short skirted nighty with yellow flowers along the hem he'd laughed at her and wondered aloud if they were yellow ducks instead.

Levy had fumed while he'd been changing and eyed the couch. Maybe she should insist he take it. Yes. It was too short for him and would be torture for Gajeel. She decided he was sleeping on the couch.

The dragonslayer walked out of the bathroom wearing a simple t-shirt and a pair of boxers. Both of which Levy had bought for him with his money. It was two pieces of clothing more than he usually wore to bed.

He spotted the pillow and blankets on the couch and frowned sharply. Gajeel wasn't stupid. Levy was angry at him, which had been his goal. But the sight of that couch deterred him. It would be better to sleep out here, though probably on the floor as the couch would kill him. Or he could make her sleep out here.

He didn't even think on the matter, he simply threw himself onto the bed. Lacing his fingers behind his head, he whistled and ordered his wife to turn out the lights.

Levy fumed and got up, marching across the room to the switch. That's when she realized she was doing what he'd ordered her to do. "I didn't promise to obey you." She snarled, and instead of turning off the light, looked over at the dresser.

She grabbed the lollipop from earlier and unwrapped it. Looking deliberately over at him she popped it into her mouth, wrapping her lips around it and sucking audibly.

Gajeel's eyes turned dangerous as he glared at her. "Stop."

Levy pulled the lollipop out of her mouth slowly, taking her time in order to irk him. Then she licked her lips, tasting the sweetness there. "Again. Didn't agree to the vow of obey."

Pantherlily looked back and forth between the two and walked over to the door. "I'm finding other accomodations."

"Stay." Levy told the Exceed.

"Not on your life." Lily said direly, walking out the door without a backwards glance. "Good luck."

"Was that for me or you?" Levy raised her eyebrows.

Gajeel sneered and pointed at her. She opened her mouth and made as if to suck on the lollipop again.

"Don't you dare."

Levy eyed him, then stuck out her tongue and licked the candy treat up, and then down.

Gajeel was off the bed and slamming his hands against the wall on either side of her head before she could blink. "Levy, I'm trying to be good here."

"Badly." She retorted, then tilted her head to one side. "Why?"

He blinked three times and then gave her an evil grin. "Right now, I can't think of a single reason."

Levy reached out and pushed against his chest. He didn't move. "Look. You've made it abundantly clear that I'm not your type and that you have no interest in me. So why don't ….hmfph!"

Bronze eyes went wide with shock then closed slowly as he kissed her. He pressed his lips against hers, nuzzling her until she accepted his invitation and opened her mouth. Unlike the kiss on the train, he took his time. Tasting her mouth, exploring, building sensation upon sensation. Finally he pulled back. "Not interested?"

Levy stared at him in a hazy type of wonder.

"Sweetheart, you have no idea." His words were a dangerous croon that did funny things to her insides. She shivered in anticipation.

He leaned in and captured her lower lip between his teeth. Pulling until she whimpered and leaned forward for another drugging kiss.

The door to their room slammed open and Pantherlily rushed inside. "I'm not looking!"

"You'd best be leaving!" Gajeel responded in mimicry of the cat's voice and tone.

"The guards are downstairs. There's another missing couple." Pantherlily said, effectively putting an end to all other considerations.

Gajeel stomped out the door, cursing.

Levy took a moment to breathe deeply, trying to calm her speeding heartrate. Then she yelped and ran to yell down the hallway. "Clothes!"

"I'm not Gray!" He yelled back.

"You're also not dressed! Look down!" She retorted, then stepped aside as he moved by her to grab his trousers.

Gajeel refused to meet her eyes as he moved back out into the hall. She'd been right, of course. He wasn't used to boxers. Who knew that they didn't hold even a semi erection back, or even cover it effectively? Well, he did now.